This essay aims to discuss the reasons for and against, why social workers have a professional and moral duty to support both asylum seekers and refugees. An asylum seeker is a person who has asked for protection but has not received a decision on their application to become a refugee, or is waiting for the outcome of an appeal (United Nations-UK, 2002). According to the United Nations Geneva Convention (1951), a refugee is an individual to whom the UK government has offered protection and granted leave to stay for a certain period of time. Women and children asylum seekers and refugees need the most support because they are the most vulnerable groups in the society. Women and children are more exposed to violence, crime and human trafficking therefore social workers should work to protect them from harm. The United Nations Convention, Article 22 on the Rights of the Child (1989) states that both groups are “particularly vulnerable to discrimination”. Both asylum seekers and refugees flee from their countries because of conflict, famine, persecution and/or war and they seek refuge in the United Kingdom (UK) so that they can have a fresh and peaceful start to a new life. According to the Refugee Council (RC), the number of applications for asylum in the UK increased in 2015 to six thousand and twenty three (6,023) compared to 2014 which was five thousand, five hundred and sixty-two (5,562). The greatest numbers of applications were from Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan and Syria. …show more content…
Social workers also have a moral duty to promote asylum seekers and refugees’ right to make their own choices and decisions as long as their choices do not threaten other people’s rights and