The personal biography of a social worker from their anti-oppressive framework is essential because it helps them know how they act or tilt to justify what is wrong in the more significant societal setting, the power dynamics, and oppression. It becomes noticeable in Karen Healy’s book, especially when discussing anti-oppressive practice. Healy directs the social worker’s role to enter a process of self-reflection to challenge oppression and provide respectful and good services to any individual, no matter their class( Healy, 2014).
My learning process has been facilitating and complex by taking time to reflect. The circumstances of being raised in a working-class family have given me a sense of being very far from issues related to inequality; in other words, since childhood, I perceived myself as being against those who are the victims of social injustice, but I also perceived me to be far from doing anything against it. However, through the process of self-reflection, I did come to the understanding that I was sometimes unknowingly the beneficiary of specific social structures, and my privilege from that did not come free from oppression. This dilemma became a fundamental phase in grasping all the intricacies of social work practice involving many diverse groups.
Among the most critical encounters that shook my being was with the person I had met, who felt the effect of systemic inequality within the education sector (Barber et al., 2020). The story that this person told allowed me to comprehend the understanding that racism was not only limited to just an individual but rather manifested in many different spheres of a person’s life. Every time I look back at my childhood, I find myself in places where I was already a participant in an oppressive system. Often, ignorance or acceptance of society’s norms could cause how I became involved in the system. That understanding was not easy; instead, I learned to stay on the path that led to the awareness of my role in supporting injustice. In addition to other factors, the experiences of oppositional communities along this have contributed to my different understanding of oppression. By engaging in conversations with other colleagues and reading material on social topics, I have gained a more profound knowledge of oppression in terms of multilevel factors, including sexism, ethnic ageism, and ableism.
Healy’s implication of anti-oppressive practice that requires the combination of personal biography with structural analysis roughly refers to the situation I am facing in my course. To question and check my prejudices and privileges, I will be able to comprehend the relevance of these factors in clients’ welfare and the work of social workers. The process of contemplation is essential in that it allows me to look inward, evaluate my assumptions, reject dominant narratives, and advocate for systemic alterations. Additionally, reliving the experience of my oppression as part of my personal biography class has equally made it easier to understand clients and to see how persistent they are despite being oppressed. Such knowledge helps develop anthropological work that is inclusive and all-encompassing, which involves the determination of complex situations in which individuals find themselves (Social Work Action Network, n.d).
In conclusion, anti-oppressive principles have allowed me to increasingly understand the functions of power relations, privileges, and the oppressive nature of the unconscious, both on a personal and social level. Through my journey of recollecting the past and analyzing its consequences, I have realized some things, advocated for social justice, and empowered those who have not been heard. As Healy skillfully emphasizes, critical reflection is not just for the sake of academics but a necessity of being a social worker of integrity and efficiency.
References
Barber, P. H., Hayes, T. B., Johnson, T. L., Márquez-Magaña, L., & 10,234 signatories. (2020). Systemic racism in higher education. Science, 369(6510), 1440-1441. DOI: 10.1126/science.abd7140
Healy, K. (2014). Social Work Theories in Context: Creating Frameworks for Practice. ISBN-13978-1137024244
Social Work Action Network. (n.d.). The Social Work Action Network constitution. https://socialworkfuture.org/about-us/
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