Doing Anti-Oppressive Practice

Social Justice Social Work, 2nd Edition

Edited by Donna Baines

Doing Anti-Oppressive Practice introduces students to the emerging tradition, the historical and theoretical roots and the specific contexts of anti-oppressive social work practice. AOP understands the problems faced by clients as rooted in the socio-political structure of society rather than in the personal characteristics of the clients themselves, and argues that social change must be a key component of social work practice. Using practice vignettes, personal experience and case work examples to discuss a variety of issues, this updated edition adds a new chapter on the theoretical basis of AOP as well as several practice chapters dealing with issues of child protection, poverty and welfare rights, disability rights, working with unions and standardized assessment procedures.

Contents

Introduction • An Overview of Anti-Oppressive Practice: Roots, Theory, Tensions (Donna Baines) • An Overview of Anti- Oppressive Practice: NeoLiberalism, Inequality and Change (Donna Baines) • Section 1 Types of Practice • Doing Anti-Oppressive Child Protection Casework (Gary Dumbrill) • Let Us Work Together: Welfare Rights and Anti-Oppressive Practice (Jeanne Fay) • Bridging the Practice-Activism Divide in Mainstream Social Work: Advocacy, Organizing and Social Movements (Donna Baines) • Reconceptualizing Feminist Therapy: Violence, Problem Drinking and Re-storying Women’s Lives (Catrina Brown) • Indigenous Pathways to Anti-Oppressive Practice (Bonnie Freeman) • Anti-Oppression Community Organizing: Lessons from Disability Rights Activism (Samantha Wehbi) • Evidence Based Practice and Anti-Oppressive Practice (Michelle Bates) • Research in Practice: The Community-based Research Practicum as Anti- Oppressive Social Work Education (Saara Greene and Lori Chambers) •Business as Usual: Doing Anti-Oppressive Organizational Change (Lisa Barnoff) • Section 2 Reflexivity • Occupied Spaces: Unmapping Standardized Assessments in Health and Social Service Organizations (Kristin Smith) • Crossing Boundaries to Radicalize Social Work Practice and Education (Notisha Massaquoi) • A Resettlement Story of Unsettlement: Transformative Practices of Taking it Personally (Martha Kuwee Kumsa) • Section 3 Resistance • Social Work Activism amidst Neoliberalism: A Big, Broad Tent of Activism (Meaghan Ross) • Unions: A Vehicle for Anti-Oppressive Resistance (Donna Baines) • Self-Care, Social Work and Social Justice (Norma Jean Profitt) • Afterword: Doing Anti-Oppressive Social Work: The Importance of Resistance, History and Strategy (Akua Benjamin) • References • Index

About the Author

Donna Baines is Associate Professor of Social Work and Labour Studies at McMaster University. In 2006-07, she was Visiting Scholar, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia.

Donna’s teaching interests include social movements and advocacy, social policy, globalization and restructuring and social justice. Her research interests focus on the impact of restructuring on work in the human services, particularly in the social services; race, class, and gender in everyday social service work; social services work and unions; caring labour; radical social work practice and theory including feminist social work; gendered and racialized impacts of restructuring work, particularly in the social services; anti-racist social work; post modern social work; women and social policy; and structural social work.

Donna has published extensively, in a wide variety of areas, including restructuring, health and safety, bullying, the organization of work for social workers, and social service public policy. Her articles have appeared in Social Work, Journal of Health and Safety, Women and Work, Australian Social Work, Social Justice and Studies in Political Economy, among several other journals. Donna is also editor of Doing Anti-Oppressive Practice. Building Transformative, Politicized Social Work.

Donna is also a board member of Ferncliff Daycare and After School Programme, as well as a member in Canadian Association of Schools of Social Work, Progressive Economics Forum, Society for Socialist Studies, National Activist School Planning Project and Flying Flamingo Sisters.