Disability and Social Work Reflective Journal 2pages
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_InequalityOppressionDisability.pptxInequality, Oppression & Disability
Chapter 5
Introduction
Disability is something that affects all of us at some point in our lives to a greater or lesser extent – in fact, that is universal.
Disability should be viewed as a lack of fit between people and their environments
Need:
More universal policies that recognize that the entire population is “at risk” for the concomitants of chronic illness and disability
Separate but unequal society
Oppression
As processes that prevent people from learning, developing their capacities and communicating their perspectives in situations in which others will listen; theses are constraints on self-development.
1
Embedded in unquestioned norms, habits and symbols
2
Assumptions underlying institutional rules and the collective consequences of following the rules.
3
Domination
Involves constraints on self-determination.
Oppression includes domination
Oppressed people are often constrained by rules set by others
A social worker should aim to achieve….
Choice and control
Dignity and respect
Economic well-being
Improved quality of life
Health and emotional well-being
Making a positive contribution
Freedom from discrimination and harassment
Types of Oppression
Exploitation
Marginalization
Powerlessness
Cultural imperialism
Violence
Exploitation
Marxist analysis draws on the labor theory of value.
The gap between the cost to an employer of labor necessary to add value to a product and the amount that product can fetch in the market.
The amount of time to produce good which are worth so much money, for this you are paid by the hour, and the time you spend producing converted into cash, is less than the value of the thing produced. If the spare cash is collected by someone else, then your labor is being exploited.
Individuals with disabilities not paid at the same rate as the able-bodied peer
Individuals with disabilities are under-represented in professions or “higher level jobs”
We also see this in television series, movies, media, etc.
Marginalization
The most dangerous forms of oppression
A whole category of people is expelled from useful participation in social life and thus potentially subjected to severe material deprivation and even extermination.
Individuals with disabilities are under-represented in high level jobs
May be because of discriminatory practices
Given less responsibility
Being ignored
Unfair assessment or appraisal
Marginalization - Debts
Problems with budgeting
Long-term low income
Problems with benefits
Additional costs of disability
Fuel costs
What happens when a bill comes in to be paid? Is it accessible to read or inaccessible?
Creditors still send the bill in a form that the individual with a disability cannot access to be able to charge more in interest or late payment.
Marginalization
Blocks opportunities to exercise capabilities in socially defined and recognized ways and can lead to uselessness, boredom and lack of self-respect.
People with disabilities are denied employment
Decreased access to productive activities
Volunteering
Barriers to volunteering
Lack of confidence
Perceived attitudes of colleagues
Fear of losing welfare benefits
Physically inaccessible environments
Failure of some organizations to pay expenses
When barriers have been overcome for someone with a disability to volunteer they have a reduction in feelings of
Social isolation
Increased self-confidence and self-worth
Marginalization
Moral exclusion
Applies to groups and individuals
“who are outside the boundary in which considerations of fairness apply and may be treated in ways that would be considered immoral if people within the boundary were so treated”
Appears to be a factor in the harassment and violence towards people with disabilities
Extermination
Enforced sterilization
Powerlessness
Result of social division of labor
Policy
Use of services
People talking down to the individual with a disability
Physical barriers to accessing goods and services
Legal channels for redress were felt to be expensive and inaccessible
Exacerbating powerlessness
Powerlessness : Social Workers Role
Legitimate power
Arising from legislation, policy and organizational procedures
Gail: social worker is empowered by law to take action to protect Gail’s children
Access to resources
But dependent on assessment
Gatekeeper role
Dependent on social worker giving access to resources
Expertise
Necessary knowledge to identify needs
Cultural imperialism
The meanings and culture of dominant groups become pervasive and the norm, reconstructing difference as “deviance and inferiority”
Internalized oppression
Internalizing dominant stereotypes in a way that restricts who a person can be
Invisible impairment to try and “pass as normal”
Psycho-emotional disablism can be both direct and indirect
Interaction with others
Being stared at
Invasive questions about one’s disability
Disablist jokes
Being avoided
Indirect psycho-emotional disablism
Emotional response to inaccessible physical environments
Accessing benefits (emphasizes the deficits rather than their capabilities
Harry
What type of disability does he have?
What caused the most distress in his life?
What decision did he make? What impact did it have on him?
Would Harry have benefited from counseling?
What are the views of others
Violence
Incidents in which the perpetrator is motivated by prejudice or hatred of the victim because of their disability are regarded as disability hate crimes.
Link of vulnerability and hatred to oppression
Individuals with disabilities are victims of domestic violence
IWD are 50% more likely than able-bodies to have experienced violence in the previous year
IWD 2.3 times more likely to have been the victim of violent crime
2.6 times more likely to have been the victim of a hate crime attributed to their disability
Violence
7% of harassment and hate crimes were committed by family members
25% by known people in the neighborhood
17% by school children
11% by strangers in the street
13% by “friends”
IWD living in severe poverty are at a significantly greater risk of violence and hate crime.
Conclusion
Social workers should be prepared to promote the Code of Ethics within their own organizations.
The social workers should acknowledge the expertise of IWD and their organizations and be prepared to work with them to promote social justice.
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