Human Rights in this Age of Uncertainty: Social Work Approaches and Practices from Southeast Europe (European Social Work Education and Practice)

This book, grounded in a human rights framework, takes a close look at social work approaches and practices in Southeast Europe. Human rights are central in today's understanding of social work as an academic discipline and as a professional practice. Looking at social work through a human rights lens unmasks inequality and discrimination, promotes ethical engagements, and contributes to the social, political, and economic betterment of society. Moreover, human rights and social work are interdependent and have far-reaching implications at macro, mezzo, and micro levels both in the realm of social policy and in professional practice. This collection of eight chapters provides an overview of human rights practices in social work in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Romania, and Slovenia. It presents state-of-the-art research on human rights and social work through individual country-focused chapters. In addition, it includes an integrative introductory chapter that identifies and discusses the commonalities and differences across the region as well as future directions. The book takes an integrated approach with conversations among the contributors on three main questions: What is the state of human rights in social work? How are human rights practiced in social work? What are the prospects for an integrated approach to human rights in social work in contemporary Southeast Europe? Human Rights in this Age of Uncertainty is essential reading for social work academics and practitioners in Southeast Europe due to its geographic focus and standpoints from the specific countries of the region. The book also should appeal to a wider European audience (especially as the book features chapters from both inside and outside of the European Union), as well as to an international audience of social work scholars. In addition, policy-makers may find the book a useful resource because human rights discourse features prominently in the international approaches to welfare systems across Southeast Europe as part of the Europeanisation processes currently at play. Foreword Acknowledgements Contents About the Editors and Contributors Editors and Contributors Contributors List of Figures List of Tables Chapter 1: Human Rights, Social Work, and Uncertainty: The View from Southeast Europe 1.1 Southeast Europe: A Region of Continuous Transition and Uncertainty 1.2 Southeast Europe: Difference and Diversity 1.3 Southeast Europe: Current Challenges 1.4 The Interplay of Human Rights and Social Work in Southeast Europe 1.5 Conclusion References Chapter 2: Overcoming Troubling Practices Against Roma and Among Roma People: A Human Rights Perspective in Slovenian Social Work 2.2 Understanding Antigypsyism in Slovenian Social Work 2.3 The Historic Roots of Today’s Antigypsyism 2.4 The Detrimental Social Consequences of Harmful Social Norms Against Girls in some Roma Families and the Lack of Social Work Responses 2.5 National and International Social Work Ethical Principles Against Harmful Social Norms 2.6 Conclusion References Chapter 3: Integrating Social Work with Human Rights in Croatia: A Long Way to Mutual Recognition 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Social Work History in Croatia: Context and Practice 3.3 Human Rights and Social Work Education in Croatia: Dealing with Uncertainties 3.4 Social Work During the Socialist Time in Croatia: Needs Versus Rights 3.5 Democratic Transition of Croatian Society and New Social Challenges 3.5.1 Main Sociopolitical Influences to the Professional Development of Social Work 3.5.2 Europeanization as New Impetus 3.5.3 Social Work Becomes Visible in the Field of Human Rights Advocacy and Protection 3.5.4 Importance of Human Rights in Social Work Education and Professional Practice 3.6 Contemporary Challenges in Human Rights Protection and Promotion in Croatia: The Role of Social Work 3.7 Continuing Uncertainties: Challenges to Human Rights 3.8 Conclusion References Chapter 4: Pathways to a Rights-Based Paradigm in Social Work: The Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina 4.1 Introduction 4.2 A (Social) Needs Paradigm as a Basis for the Emerging Social Work Profession During Socialism 4.3 “The Wind of Change”: From Human Rights Abuses to a Culture of Human Rights? 4.4 Social Work Responses: Integrating Human Rights Perspectives into Social Work Education 4.5 Translating a Human Rights Approach into Social Work Practice: From Needs to Rights and Back 4.5.1 Professional Social Work Approaches to Poverty 4.5.2 Professional Social Work Approaches to Disability 4.5.3 Professional Social Work Approaches to Addressing the Rights of Children and Women 4.6 The Prospects for Rights-Based Social Work Practice References Chapter 5: Human Rights and Social Work in Pandemic Times in Kosovo 5.1 Introduction 5.2 The Context of Human Rights: Institutional and Legal Framework 5.2.1 Human Rights Challenges in Kosovo 5.3 History and Dynamics of the Social Work Profession in Kosovo 5.3.1 Human Rights and Social Work: Evolving Professional Identity of Social Worker in Kosovo 5.3.2 Human Rights and Social Work Education 5.4 The COVID-19 Pandemic: Limitations on Freedoms and Rights in Kosovo 5.5 Social Work Responses During the COVID-19 Pandemic 5.5.1 Social Work Education During COVID-19: Challenges and Perspectives 5.6 Conclusion References Chapter 6: Social Work and Local Democracy: Promoting Human Rights Through Community Action in Albania 6.1 Introduction 6.2 Political Social Work Practice and Community Action 6.3 Studying Local Democracy and Human Rights in Albania 6.4 Social Work Education in Albania 6.5 Methodology 6.6 Findings 6.6.1 Meeting Attendance 6.6.2 Frequency of Speech 6.6.3 Cases Addressed by Community Members 6.6.4 Officials’ Responses to the Claims of Community Members 6.7 Conclusions 6.8 Implications for Social Work Practice References Chapter 7: Human Rights and Social Work Practices in the Age of Uncertainty: The Case of Romania 7.1 Introduction 7.2 A Short History of Social Work in Romania 7.3 Contextualizing Human Rights After the Romanian Revolution of December 1989 and Positioning Social Work as a Human Rights Profession 7.4 Human Rights and the Regulation of the Professional Practice of Social Work in Romania 7.5 Vulnerabilities in Social Work Practice, Human Rights Challenges, and Best Practices During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Romania 7.5.1 Vulnerable Children 7.5.2 Roma Population 7.5.3 Elderly People: Good Practices as Response of the Social Welfare System in the Context of COVID-19 7.6 Social Workers’ Response to Uncertainty During the Pandemic 7.7 Conclusion References Chapter 8: Human Rights and Social Work in Bulgaria: Policy, Practice, and Education 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Human Rights in the Bulgarian Context 8.3 Human Rights, Social Policy, and Social Work 8.4 Human Rights and Antidiscriminatory Policy 8.4.1 Disability Policy and Practice 8.4.2 Social Work with Vulnerable Groups 8.4.3 Human Rights Challenges in an Age of Uncertainty 8.5 Social Work Education and Human Rights in Bulgaria 8.5.1 Social Work Study Programs 8.5.2 The Development of Social Work Curricula and Its Current Status 8.5.3 Human Rights in Social Work Education 8.6 Conclusion References Index