First, read through the Social Work Shared Case

1. Describe the social and economic justice issue(s) at stake in Anita’s case. Please include at least one citation from the readings \”Social Justice in social agencies- Encyclopedia of Social Work\” and a citation to the NASW Code of Ethics to support your description.

2. Selecting one of the social and economic justice issues that you described, how could social workers use community organizing to address this issue? Use the \”Beckwith and Lopez community organizing\” handout readings to identify at least two community organizing techniques that may be particularly effective in this case.

Social Justice

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Social Justice

Communities worldwide are suffering from social and economic injustices that hinder the development of certain groups of people. Social and economic justice issues can harm the physical and mental health of individuals (Finn et al., 2013). In the shared case study, Anita has either witnessed or experienced various forms of social and economic injustices that have impacted her life negatively. For Example, Anita does not have stable employment, she works part-time as a teacher’s aide, and the money she gets is not sufficient to provide for her financial needs. Therefore, she struggles to buy food, clothing, and other basic needs. The community she lives in is experiencing high rates of poverty, community violence, and substance abuse (Finn et al., 2013). Violence against women is conspicuous in the case study: Anita’s e husband used to abuse her physically, also, Anita’s father murdered her mum. Violence is a resinous social injustice that needs urgent attention to address.

Social workers can apply community organizing techniques to violence against women in the community. Social workers should be at the forefront of addressing issues of social and economic injustices in society (NASW, 2022). Community organizing involves grouping together people who want something to ask for it. For instance, women as victims of violence can be grouped to fight for their rights in this community.  Community organizing will help such a group meet with corporates or government decision-makers to stop and prevent violence against women (Beckwith & Lopez, 1997). Community organizing also provides the opportunity for advocacy by involving lawyers or social workers to attack the problem for those who cannot speak for themselves, like women in this case (Beckwith & Lopez, 1997). Therefore, community organizing is a good strategy to help social workers address the identified social and economic issues. 

References

Beckwith, D., & Lopez, C. (1997). Community organizing: People power from the grassroots. https://comm-org.wisc.edu/papers97/beckwith.htm

Finn, L., Molly, J., & Trautman, A. (2013). Social Justice in social agencies. Encyclopedia of Social Work.  https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.364

NASW. (2022). The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English