Description
By using human rights as a guidepost, social workers can help create social welfare policies that better serve societal needs. However, in applying human rights to contemporary situations, social workers often encounter challenges that require thinking outside the box. Bringing together provocative essays from a diverse range of authors, Elisabeth Reichert demonstrates how approaching social work from a human rights perspective can profoundly affect legislation, resource management, and enforcement of policies. Topics include the reconciliation of cultural relativism with universal human rights; the debate over whether human rights truly promote economic and social development or simply allow economically developed societies to exploit underdeveloped countries; the role of gender in the practice of human rights; the tendency to promote political and civil rights over economic and social rights; and the surprising connection between the social work and legal professions.
The timing of Elisabeth Reichert's reader is excellent, given the growing recognition by the social work profession of the important connection between human rights and social justice, the latter being one of social work's foundational values and guiding principles. -- Hank Liese MSW, Ph.D.,, associate professor, College of Social Work, University of Utah In this groundbreaking text, Elisabeth Reichert and the contributing authors address the paucity of social work literature on human rights and the critical importance of correcting this lack. The text facilitates infusing human rights' principles into social work practice and social welfare policies and defintions of human rights are provided. The text correctly asserts that a human rights approach emphasizes a perspective that advocates a focus from the 'needs' of an indiviudual to the 'rights' of an individual. For example, under the United Nation's Declaration of Human Rights, the United States is obligated to provide helath care to every legal resident. The human rights approach is applied to many areas in this text, including: the creation of a human rights culture, community activism, poverty, the rights of women, and the well-being of children. -- Charles Zastrow, George Williams College of Aurora University This remarkable collection is a 'must read' for any professional interested in human rights. It brings the work of the most distinguished social work experts on human rights from diverse countries together in a single volume of global relevance. Comprehensive in scope, Challenges in Human Rights addresses human rights theory, legal frameworks, issues in human rights practice and advocacy, human rights of special populations, and the always thorny dilemma of universalism versus cultural relativism. -- Lynne M. Healy, professor and director, Center for International Social Work Studies, University of Connecticut School of Social Work
About the Author
Elisabeth Reichert is a professor at the Southern Illinois University of Carbondale School of Social Work and is the author of two previous books on human rights.
Reviews
A lively and serious contribution to social work education, and remarkably timely... Highly recommended. Choice An inspirational book, pleading social workers to use human rights as a guidepost. European Journal of Social Work
Book Information
ISBN 9780231137218
Author Elisabeth Reichert
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press
The timing of Elisabeth Reichert's reader is excellent, given the growing recognition by the social work profession of the important connection between human rights and social justice, the latter being one of social work's foundational values and guiding principles. -- Hank Liese MSW, Ph.D.,, associate professor, College of Social Work, University of Utah In this groundbreaking text, Elisabeth Reichert and the contributing authors address the paucity of social work literature on human rights and the critical importance of correcting this lack. The text facilitates infusing human rights' principles into social work practice and social welfare policies and defintions of human rights are provided. The text correctly asserts that a human rights approach emphasizes a perspective that advocates a focus from the 'needs' of an indiviudual to the 'rights' of an individual. For example, under the United Nation's Declaration of Human Rights, the United States is obligated to provide helath care to every legal resident. The human rights approach is applied to many areas in this text, including: the creation of a human rights culture, community activism, poverty, the rights of women, and the well-being of children. -- Charles Zastrow, George Williams College of Aurora University This remarkable collection is a 'must read' for any professional interested in human rights. It brings the work of the most distinguished social work experts on human rights from diverse countries together in a single volume of global relevance. Comprehensive in scope, Challenges in Human Rights addresses human rights theory, legal frameworks, issues in human rights practice and advocacy, human rights of special populations, and the always thorny dilemma of universalism versus cultural relativism. -- Lynne M. Healy, professor and director, Center for International Social Work Studies, University of Connecticut School of Social Work
About the Author
Elisabeth Reichert is a professor at the Southern Illinois University of Carbondale School of Social Work and is the author of two previous books on human rights.
Reviews
A lively and serious contribution to social work education, and remarkably timely... Highly recommended. Choice An inspirational book, pleading social workers to use human rights as a guidepost. European Journal of Social Work
Book Information
ISBN 9780231137218
Author Elisabeth Reichert
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint Columbia University Press
Publisher Columbia University Press
