Climate of Fear

I was reading an article today in Social Work News, which focused on the negative perception of Social Workers by the public. Resulting, it argued, on families being fearful and loathe to trust Social Workers. Thus making it harder for social workers to undertake their tasks, and at the same time impacting negatively on recruitment, and the amount of workers willing to remain in front line positions, and continue to work in negative, highly critical environments.

The article mentioned that newly qualified workers expressed their families concerns around their choice of career and the impact on them.

Such has been the concern, about the negative press attributed to Social Workers, that BASW and SWU (Social Worker's Union) have taken action by holding meetings with IMPRESS and the Independent Press Standards Organisation, to ensure better standards and more accurate coverage of social work cases.

Politicians have also pledged their willingness to work with Social Work England, with a view to both educate society on the role of social workers, and promote social work, as a rewarding profession, in order to support the recruitment and retention of staff.

Whilst these actions by BASW and SWU are obviously welcomed (and this is not a criticism of either union because at least they have taken some action) as a practitioner of many years standing, it is of substantial concern that the government, the judiciary, the media, local authorities and social work profession have, in my view, failed to address this serious issue.

For Politicians to effectively inform and educate society on the vital role played by social workers, they need to be open to receiving education themselves, on the harmful role many of them, have played over many decades, before they can stand a chance of producing worthwhile change, in some distant future.

It strikes me given what social workers know about their role, particularly on the frontline, that for politicians to promote social work as a rewarding profession, will likely be seen as disingenuous by the majority of social workers, who know from painful experiences, just how challenging, blaming and vituperative social work often is.

This is not to negate that social work can be very rewarding, but my remarks reflect my intention to be congruent with the experiences faced by many social workers.

It needs to be borne in mind that whilst it is true that communities and families are fearful of social workers and in requesting help from them; it is also true that social workers, like families, but in a different way from them, also conduct their work in a climate of fear.

And it should be recognised that this fear is not just the fear of verbal and physical abuse, that can accrue from working with families, it is a fear that can and often is associated with vilification from the public, the media, the courts, management, other professionals and even at times your colleagues.

This article is not intended in any way to deny, or attempt to mask the fear that children, parents and families experience when working with, or having to work with, social workers.

It is instead, attempting to highlight matters that have been callously ignored, and with harmful consequences for children and families, as well as social work practitioners, for far too many years.