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Essay On Social Work Oppression

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Introduction The goal of social justice is to combat oppression by focusing on equitable treatment and equal opportunities (Benner, 2022). The social work profession values advocacy and service as methods to combat oppressive practices. Oppression is apparent in all aspects and systems of our society (Hatcher et al., 2022). The existence of oppressive practice within the social work profession is debated, with many supporting the existence of oppression in social work practice. In this paper, I will describe the five facets of oppression, analyze the alignment of oppression and critical race theory, and reflect on the oppressive aspects of the social work profession. Five Aspects of Oppression Oppression has no single definition (Benner, …show more content…

Exploitation has been evident in history since the beginning. A significant example of exploitation in the United States was the practice of slavery in which a dominant group, white males, enslaved and exploited labor from African Americans and indigenous peoples. Alongside this historical exploitation lies prevalent examples of everyday life. Even today, exploitation is utilized in the form of sweatshops that produce a significant percentage of the clothing seen in stores. Marginalization In society, there are certain groups or populations that are perceived as incapable or undesirable. This represents marginalization. There are many groups labeled as marginalized. Black Americans, indigenous peoples, LGBTQ+ identifying individuals, and individuals with disabilities are all referred to as marginalized in our society. A specific example of this is how individuals with disabilities are seen as “incapable” and “unworthy” due to misconceptions that they are not educated and that they lack all abilities. …show more content…

Critical race theory (CRT) holds that racism is normalized and permanent in all aspects and systems within society (Hatcher et al., 2022). CRT examines societal models that are racially oppressive, such as the presumption that black Americans, indigenous peoples, and people of color are deficient, an example of marginalization. CRT recognizes and observes all facets of oppression as it pertains to racism: exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism, and violence. As a theory composed of activism, the goal of critical race theory is to combat oppression by advocating for the change of the relationship between race and power (Benner, 2022). A modern example of the alignment of CRT combating oppression is the advocacy and agreement with policies such as affirmative action, which seeks to ensure equal opportunities for BIPOC Americans. As oppression pertains to individual and systemic maltreatment, critical race theory aligns with combatting all facets of oppression by recognizing complex intersections of oppressive systems within

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