Competency III
Advance Human Rights and Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice
It is my belief that the core of all social work practice is human rights and social justice. Since the inception of the social work profession social workers have been fighting for human rights. It is imperative that social work professionals continually advocate for change and equal treatment for all.
Practice Behaviors:
- Apply understanding of social, economic and environmental justice to advocate for human rights at the individual and system levels.
- Engage in practice that advances social, economic, and environmental justice.
I have learned and demonstrated these practice behaviors by:
In my social welfare institutions class I learned how it felt to live on food stamps alone giving me the foundation that I need to understand what others are going through. This knowledge is important if one is expected to fight for social injustice.
Here is the reflection paper covering the experience of living in poverty.
In this same class, I learned more and reflected more on poverty and how to advance their rights by responding to the statement and question “if you’re not living in poverty, you don’t see it, and you don’t think about it. How do we shield ourselves from having to think about poverty”? My response is here.
In my human behavior and social environment class I read the book Picking Cotton about a man Ronald Cotton who was wrongfully convicted, and the fight to get him exonerated. Read my reflection on the book here..
Thompson-Cannino, J., Cotton, R., & Torneo, E. (2010). Picking Cotton: our memoir of injustice and redemption. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin.