Reflections of an activist social worker: challenging human rights violations

Abstract

Activism in social work can arise from practitioner wisdom that prompts action to respond to human rights violations. This paper offers reflections on the Eileen Younghusband keynote address in South Africa in 2008. I lament the lack of human rights advancement in subsequent years where infringements on the rights of many of the world’s most vulnerable people receive negative responses from governments and scant attention from professions. The paper calls for ascendancy of the active moral practitioner, born from outrage and a desire to combat racism, the marginalisation and demonisation of those ‘othered’ in dominant discourse. Social work values and principles provide leads.