preview

Ethical Dilemmas In Social Work Research

Better Essays
Open Document

Social work is one of the noblest professions today, particularly considering that the primary responsibility of social workers is to help in making people's lives better by acting as advocates for the disadvantaged (Berg-Werger, 2013). Apart from this, the uniqueness of the profession lies in its scope of practice, which is very broad, as well as the strong values on which it is entrenched. More importantly, social workers are one among the persons that are highly committed to economic as well as social justice (Berg-Weger, 2013). These are the same features that make social work a sensitive, demanding profession. To be precise, social workers are prone to facing legal charges on account of having violated ethical standards.
This paper explores the ethical frameworks, principles, and dilemmas involved in social work.
Ethical frameworks for social work practice
One of the key frameworks upon which the social work profession is founded is the Code of Ethics created by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). In brief, the NASW Code recognizes social workers as existing to improve the …show more content…

For example, social workers who specialize in offering help to victims of substance abuse and addictions are not necessarily confronted by the same challenges as those dealing in corrections and criminal justice. For social workers specializing in substance abuse, one of the ethical challenges that abound relates to the issue of self-determination and consent. As stipulated in the NASW Code of Ethics, it is wrong for a social worker to obtain a client’s private information without his or her consent (National Association of Social Workers, 2017). While this is understandable, it is important to bear in mind that some people are either reluctant or shy of disclosing addiction to substances (Miller,

Get Access