Social Workers have a duty, professionally and morally to support refugee children and asylum seekers.
Social workers have a professional and moral duty to ensure that services are provided to those who most need it. The duty that Social workers have toward Refugees and asylum seekers, particularly children is strong but not often met. People’s wellbeing is a key ideal within social work and is strongly represented within the Care Act 2014, the earlier Children’s Act 2004 is also clear on the protection of children’s rights in the UK. In the essay there will be a discussion on how in some areas the statute is not strong enough to allow Social Workers to work properly, but also how there needs to be changes regarding social work focus on refugees.
Recently, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has campaigns to help reform the UK’s current law on family. The law only recognises parents or spouses and civil partners as family. A child refugee may have an older sibling, or more extended family such as an uncle but they would not be allowed into the country under the Family Reunion rules. The dangers for children trying to reach family in the UK are high and it leaves them at risk of exploitation, 78% of adolescents face some form of exploitation whilst travelling the Central Mediterranean route to Europe, UNICEF (2017). Social Workers have a duty here to protest the UK’s laws, and the decision of the Government not to join the EU’s relocation scheme for Refugees. They did
Her mission is based on Jesus, and the gospel value of “when I was a stranger you welcomed me” (Matthew 25:35). BASP aims to: provide hospitality and practical support for asylum seekers. Promote advocacy for the rights of asylum seekers. Engage in education about asylum seekers’ issues. The BASP’s actions in regards to refugee and asylum seeker treatment is influenced by the ideal vision of society through the distinctive belief of following the in Jesus’ footstep as alter-Christi. They achieve this by sharing their resources with migrants, refugees, displaced persons and those in
The Australian Human Rights Commission headed an inquiry into the children living conditions in detention centres and through this inquiry accumulated evidence of human rights breaches, breached by to Australian Government in relation to children. One such area they documented was concerning the provision of clothing and footwear provided to children. After conducting this inquiry they found that the delivery of essential goods was inadequate for many children in detention centres. A 13 year-old girl living on Nauru explained her struggles living with little clothing,
(2014). Our Refugee Crisis, Nation, pp. 4-6. The authors purpose. Was to bring the readers up to speed on the problem of unaccompanied immigrant children coming across the border seeking asylum and how complex the issue is.
This essay explores how unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) are oppressed in the UK. An unaccompanied asylum seeking child is a person under the age of eighteen who has left their country of origin in order to seek refuge and is ‘separated from both parents and are not being cared for by an adult who, by law or custom has responsibility to do so’ (UNHCR, 1994:121). They are therefore applying for asylum in their own right.
In this assignment I will underpin how the multi agency team can help safeguarding children’s rights linking in to practise, with past, present and future legislation including policies and procedures which have protected children and families and also safeguarding incidents that have changed our practice. The assignment will discuss safeguarding across the board from settings, local and national policies and procedures, what they
The first part of the essay will draw upon knowledge gained from different legislations in Wales related to the case study. it will also include ASPIRE social work process model to interpret and demonstrate an understanding of Khalid's circumstances as an unaccompanied asylum seeker.
Surprising in one so young, a large focus of Allie’s life is on her responsibilities – to her job, but also a personal responsibility to “her families” – the refugees she chooses to help. Not many people would choose to dedicate as many years of their lives to advocacy as Allie, let alone those of their twenties.
The necessity to safeguard children applies both to charities working in the UK and other countries where children may face different or additional risks of abuse or exploitation. These safeguards should include a child protection policy and procedures for dealing with issues of concern or abuse. For the purposes of child protection legislation the term ‘child’ refers to anyone up to the age of 18 years. • the welfare of the child is paramount • no child or group of children must be treated any less favourably than others in being able to access services which meet their particular needs • all children without exception have the right to protection from abuse regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality or
Refugees and immigrants have a specific set of needs that differ from other families. Oftentimes they suffer from a lack of resources and do not fully understand the culture that they live in. I would like to work with this population because I have experience in helping refugee/immigrant families succeed in the United States, while helping them to retain their own culture and identity. Though I have some experience working with this population, I would like to learn more about the depth of their needs and the ways that social work as a profession is seeking to fulfill that need.
Another important stakeholder in this issue is the children themselves. Almost all of the children present in detention centres are asylum seekers whom arrived in Australia by boat, and are classified as ‘unauthorised maritime arrivals’ (Humanrights.gov.au, 2015). These asylum seeker children all held the same responses to some degree. Their responses were all surrounded by the main aspect of ‘Wanting to be free and safe’.
The Australian Code of ethics for Social work AASW (2003), which replicates the highest international ethical standards, conditions a respectable social worker to exhibit ethical awareness in their field of work, whilst observing the standards of accountability (Hugman, Pittaway & Bartolomei 2011, p.1272). Social workers, indifferent to their type of service are encouraged to promote ethical values and standards. However, the shift to ethics in research involving human participation was particularly concerning especially after the insensitive research practices involving human subjects in Nazi Germany during the WW2. The abuses led to the establishment of the Nuremberg Code, which highlighted a number of key principles that continues to remain the foundation of any human research (Sherlock 2010, p.2). This essay will demonstrate the importance the importance of adhering to ethical principles in research process, especially around vulnerable groups in particular the refugees. Concentrating solely on the notion of self-determination due to the enormous selections of ethical principals, it hopes to develop the argument that ethical practices such as informed consent, confidentiality and protection from harm are crucial concepts that when disregarded and overlooked can cause a hazardous situation for the participants in the study (Walter, 2013).
The Children Act 1989 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC; United Nations Charter for the Rights of Children 1989) and the Children and Families Act 2014 have driven a theoretical and policy shift in the attitudes and understandings of children’s involvement in the services relevant to them (Goodyer, 2012; Simpson, 2015). Goodley, (2012 p394) argues children’s rights under the UNCRC are based on the three premises of rights: the rights to protection, provision and participation. This distinction can contribute to the ways in which welfare provision in England operates different models, simultaneously creating tensions between parallel provisions. The child development model underpinning the current child and family practice enables the provision and protection aspects of children’s right to be addressed. Child and family social work has been extremely preoccupied with providing children with a safe and protected childhood, with looked-after children being deemed a low priority in the participation, design, delivery and monitoring of their services (Goodyer, 2012). According to Cocker and Allian (2012 p36) “the philosophy of the Children Act 1989 is that the best place for children to be brought up is within their own family, and that children in need can be helped most effectively if the local authority – working in partnership with parents – provides an
The role of the Social worker is varied as it involves the facilitation of change and empowerment of the individual through social, cultural and environmental influences. Between 1910 and 1970, the role of the social worker was significant due to the impact of the Stolen Generation on Australian society. The Stolen Generation was a dark period in the Australian history where many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were often taken without consent from their homes and families by the government, police and welfare authorities. The children were taken from their homes in order to try to ‘"civilize" them by assimilation into white society’ (McCarthy 2000). The impacts of this period often resulted in severe psychological consequences for the children, the loss of identity, social isolation, depression, alcohol abuse and an increased level of violence. The role of the Social Worker was significant during this period as they were often involved with removing children from their homes and were also required to participate in the reconciliation process to improve the relationships between Indigenous peoples and the wider Australian community. One of the lasting effects of this practice is the distrust of indigenous people towards the social welfare profession.
I need to start by admitting that this video was difficult to watch! Within a few seconds of watching the video I was reminded of the level of difficulty of the social work profession. As described in the video, Child Protection Services’ role is to protect children from neglect and abuse (Mierendorf, 2000). Similarly, social workers play several significant and complex roles within child advocacy. Social workers need to ensure the safety and well-being of children and be their voice when they are being silenced or maltreated. Social workers need to identify the abuse and address the situation accordingly. This could be particularly difficult when is in the best interest of children to be removed from their
For this end of module assessment I will be looking at the case study of Safia Nazir, her husband Nazir Rashid and their 3 children Taqi, Asif and Amina who live in Scotland and have been bought to the attention of social services for various reasons. I will be demonstrating my understanding of what the social workers role would be in relation to this family, including the skills and knowledge needed to meet the family’s individual needs. The social worker in this case study is called Shona and what I have read of her and her initial steps to work with the family come across as appropriate and professional. I will go into more detail about Shona’s work and my understanding of her role later in the assignment and make potential comparisons or reflect on what I may or may not do differently. I will consider issues in relation to my personal and professional values and will also refer to policy and practice from English legislation; as this is my country of practice. I will be focusing on early intervention and the initial steps in social work, such as making contact, meeting and the initial assessment.