We challenged four social work professionals to outline how they would overhaul the social care sector, if they found themselves...
IN CHARGE FOR A DAY DIANA KATOTO Final year student social worker at the University of Birmingham, & Activist If I was in charge for the day, I would aim to disrupt the corrupted systems to rebuild them in a anti-oppressive way. There are many areas I think could be improved in the world of social care services. However, I would want to specifically tackle discrimination against people with lived experiences and professionals based on their protected characteristics - for example, their race, gender, sexuality or disability. The harm of discrimination isn’t just seen or felt personally, but can also create systemic difficulties, so my plan would tackle each level.
Why is tackling discrimination important? Not only does it affect all aspects of an individual’s life, sometimes it can be the deciding factor of whether you “deserve” certain treatments. Your voice might not be heard or valued as much as others because of your race, religion or sex etc. If that is our reality, how can we possibly turn a blind eye to the serious dangers of discrimination and oppression? No one should be above being criticised. It should be used as a stepping stone to improve, as no one knows everything. I WOULD DIVE IN AND EVALUATE THE LEADERS IN THE PROFESSION. WHO ARE THEY? WHAT DO THEY STAND FOR? DO THEIR PROFESSIONAL ACTIONS ALIGN WITH SOCIAL WORK’S CORE VALUES AND ETHICS? ARE OPPORTUNITIES BEING SHARED EQUALLY?
But I would also evaluate the quality of services being provided. Are service users being listened to? What happens after reporting discrimination? Are we creating a safe environment? Within the organisation, I would be asking more critical questions around personal and professional identity. Are we safeguarding our professionals? Is career progress accessible to all or only a few? I wouldn’t be able to achieve this all in one day, but I would structure a detailed plan and process so that we can start disrupting the system. From there, we would make the necessary changes! Time and money would go into how to improve our practice and services. There isn’t an end date to this because we should constantly be challenging and improving. We can’t become complacent. If I was in charge for only one day, I would take that opportunity to amplify the voices of those who go unheard. We must challenge and make changes as awareness can only go so far.
