Anti-Oppressive Perspectives on Social Work’s Responsibilities Towards Irregular Migrants in South Africa
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12901802 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sheron Mpofu (0000-0003-1962-5652, University of KwaZulu-Natal, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 20-35 |
| Publication date | 2021-01-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Ethics and Social Welfare (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1749-6535 • E-ISSN: 1749-6543 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17496535.2021.1879890 |
| OpenAlex | W3127448336 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 17 |
This paper is centred on a critical incident involving the South African Department of Social Development (DSD) vis-à-vis a group of irregular migrant children that was intercepted in November 2017, while en route from Zimbabwe to their parents, who were awaiting them in Cape Town, South Africa. Upon this interception, a South African Children’s Court ruled that the children were in need of protection and placed them in the custody of the South African state, pending their repatriation back to Zimbabwe. Social workers employed by the DSD were instrumental in this process, in the course of which parents were denied physical access to their children. The purpose of the paper is to discuss the ethical dilemmas that arose from this case and critique the role played by the DSD and social workers in its employ, using an anti-oppressive framework. I argue that this framework provides an appropriate basis from which to explore social work’s complex role where they find themselves rendering irregular migrants voiceless, powerless, and, further exposed to interpersonal and structural violence, instead of helping to work out ways of protecting people rendered vulnerable by conditions beyond their control
Cape · Criminology · Interpersonal violence · Poison control · Political science · Repatriation · Sociology · Suicide prevention · Gender Studies · Healthcare innovation and challenges · Law · Migration, Health and Trauma · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work
Anti-Oppressive Social Work Theory and Practice
Understanding International Social Work
Justice and the Politics of Difference
No Recourse to Social Work? Statutory Neglect, Social Exclusion and Undocumented Migrant Families in the UK
Assuming Responsibility for Justice in the Context of South Africa's Refugee Receiving Regime
Moral outrage! Social work and social welfare
Social Workers as Collaborators? The Ethics of Working Within Australia’s Asylum System
Migrant children separated from their parents
Local Reactions to Global Problems
Social work with asylum seekers in Canada
The immigration detention center as a transnational problem
Institutional Constraints Limiting Social Services for Immigrants
Encounters With Irregular Migrants in Social Work-"Collateral Damage" and Reframing of Recognizability in Swedish Public Social Services
The People's Inquiry into Detention
Who to Blame and What's to Gain? Reflections on Space, State, and Violence in Kenya and South Africa
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2023 (2) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |