Identification of Key Issues

The profession of social work is associated with the maximization of the well being of the society and the individuals in it. This profession believes that the social and individual well-being is interrelated and it is mostly underpinned by the socially inclusive communities that emphasizes that there should be adequate respect for human beings and principles of social justice, human rights and right of freedom within the society (Turner, 2017). Domestic violence is a severe issue in the present day Australian society. Even the statistics show that around sixteen per cent of Australian women tend to experience violence in an intimate relationship. The number of partner violence is running high, especially those are towards women. Data shows that at least one woman in every six women have experience of physical violence by their respective partners, whereas one in every seventeen men tend to face the domestic violence from their partners (Fook & Pease, 2016). This essay focuses on the contribution of the critical approaches of domestic violence relating to the social work practice and role of a social worker.

The profession of social work is a vast and diverse profession which aims to improve the quality and outcomes of daily life practices for the ones who are leading life in vulnerability. It can also be said the social work profession helps the individual life and the societal life to move to a better future. The social workers are a great force that can help the society to grow, but most of them are fighting alone along with the private agencies. Even though they are working on this level, this profession should come in the front with the help of political outlines (Sue, Rasheed & Rasheed, 2015). Most of the times, this profession is not taken seriously like any other professions that have been identified politically. The face and voice of social work against the ongoing social work needs to be seen and heard by the government so that the government can also make a difference for this issue.

Social workers make a great help for people who are trying to cope up with their existing situation. Not only the individuals, but they also help families for restoring their abilities of functioning within the society. As this field mostly focuses on interactions between the social institutions and people, it may impact the capabilities of an individual for accomplishing the necessary life goals and lead a normal life. Therefore, for such purposes, they require resources, services, opportunities and support from the fellow members of the society (Rubin & Babbie, 2016). If the social workers are working towards improving the situation of the ones who have suffered from domestic violence, they have to arrange occupational or physical therapies or health care. In such situation the members of society can be of great help.

The ongoing global economic crisis tends to raise more concerns for the social workers who are working for improving the situation of women, children who have suffered domestic violence. One of the most significant outcomes of the financial crisis is the socioeconomic decline and the marginalizing the population that are excluded. The present economic situation needs a much more egalitarian, engaged and reflexive practice that are based on the societal rights which can match the magnitude of this present social crisis and the negative influence it has on the conventional social work constituencies (Donaldson et al., 2014). The social exclusion policy is mostly dependent on the present global crisis, namely, developing dependency, severe social isolation, deprivation and the internalized oppression. Moreover the patterns of social exclusion are a lot dependent on the ongoing economic crisis.

Analysis of Critical Theories

The post-modern ideas help the practitioners in various ways. Firstly, postmodernism helps the social workers to explore and comprehend the existing social trends in imaginative and creative ways. Secondly, it also helps them to comprehend the theory and practice as well. Along with these, modernist and postmodernist theories also help the social workers to give ideas regarding working with people in practice. However, it needs to be said that the social work is mostly considered to be a modernist approach as it tends to represent the timeless and universal humanistic ideas regarding the accountability of people for others in the society (Payne, 2015). The theory of postmodernism also contrasts that the human beings and the entire world can be understood in a rational way through the evidences that are building up into one allover perspective of the society (Healy, 2014). Therefore it tends to disturb the stability of the previous assumptions which underlie the social work practices. However, even though sometimes both the modernist and postmodernist views coexist, both the theories benefit the social practitioners in taking on the social work.

Radical social work theories are one of the social work theories that provide the insight into the reasons of hardship for the individuals and it also offers ways that can help the social workers to come in contact with the general population. The radical social work includes the comprehending the oppression within the context of economic and social structure; rather affixing the issues of the individuals who are being oppressed. This theory states that the role of a radical social worker includes positive assistance, maintaining the mutual respect and locating the problems in the broader political and social context. This theory has declined during 1980’s. Payne (2015) had indicated that the less professionalization of the social practitioners has made them soft targets and most of the governments had banned them. However, the radical social work theories generally stress the collective action between the users and the professionals. Gould and Taylor (2017) has stated that the most dominating characteristics of these theories is that it mostly focuses on the value of involvement, justice and equality within the society in a collective way.

Structural social work is a major part of the progressive, critical tradition which is mostly associated with the political, social and economic dimensions of the society, mostly with the impacts of the influences such as capitalism which create unequal relationship among individuals. The primary goal of this theory is reducing social inequality; therefore it helps working towards diminishing the domestic violence in the intimate relationships (Burt, 2013). This theoretical approach is mostly focused on the interaction between the structures and individuals, especially aims the wide structural barrier that has a huge influence on the material situation of the users. This theory also considers the society as a group with interests that are continuously conflicting. Therefore this theory considers the social issues as the outcome of faulty rules, so it tries to diminish the class struggle.

The radical social theories were the early theories and it has evolved with the course of time. The most significant aims of this theory that has evolved through time are linking system and power, education, building the counter systems and the structural and individual responses (Godden, 2017). On the other hand, the strength of the postmodern theory of is that it suggests the significance of comprehending complex things and changes the existing social order and social structure in place of adopting the unrealistic static assumption. Therefore, this theory helps the social practitioners to evaluate various positions regarding the social order and the way the social order van help the general population to deal with a complicated situation (Nicholson, 2013). Therefore several competing situation may get resolved.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Social Work Approaches

In this way, the evolution of postmodernist theory shows that it is important exploring the discourses and debates regarding the significant issues in the society, so that the general population can follow the trends on certain issues that can bring changes in social work. Therefore, as social workers, it is important to carry out discussions and debates regarding the women and child empowerment while they are going through adverse situation. Moreover, if people who are suffering from domestic violence can evaluate the discourses and debates closely, they along with the social workers are capable of understanding the influence and power of such discourses both in the society and between the family and the individual members. Therefore it can be said that the postmodernism is suggesting that there may be huge uncertainties in the society and it may be increasing in the developed ones (Galarza & Anthony, 2015). This may lead to the higher risk of misinterpretations and unsuitable reactions to the social expectation and it may further lead to personal insecurity. Therefore, in place of rejecting the social orders, the social workers require to understand the significance of the continuously changing social structure and order and help the population to deal with such changes.

Recommendation and Conclusion:

In conclusion, it can be said that, as social practitioners, the most significant duty is to have the postmodernist understand of the social structure and social order. This will bring a lot of changes in the though process of social workers. It has to be understood that the social structure and social order will change and it will be a part of the social and human interactions. Individuals can change even if they have to go against the cultural expectations. Moreover psychological changes can also bring out the changes while coping with the social structures as well. 

Reference list

Burt, R. S. (2013). Toward a structural theory of action: Network models of social structure, perception and action. Academic Press.

Donaldson, L. P., Hill, K., Ferguson, S., Fogel, S., & Erickson, C. (2014). Contemporary social work licensure: Implications for macro social work practice and education. Social Work, 59(1), 52-61.

Fook, J., & Pease, B. (Eds.). (2016). Transforming social work practice: Postmodern critical perspectives. Routledge.

Galarza, J., & Anthony, B. (2015). Sexuality social justice and social work: Implications for social work education. Journal of Baccalaureate Social Work, 20(1), 27-41.

Godden, N. J. (2017). The Love Ethic: A Radical Theory for Social Work Practice. Australian Social Work, 1-12.

Gould, N., & Taylor, I. (2017). Reflective learning for social work: research, theory and practice. Routledge.

Healy, K. (2014). Social work theories in context: Creating frameworks for practice. Palgrave Macmillan.

Nicholson, L. (Ed.). (2013). Feminism/postmodernism. Routledge.

Payne, M. (2015). Modern social work theory. Oxford University Press.

Rubin, A., & Babbie, E. R. (2016). Empowerment series: Research methods for social work. Cengage Learning.

Sue, D. W., Rasheed, M. N., & Rasheed, J. M. (2015). Multicultural social work practice: A competency-based approach to diversity and social justice. John Wiley & Sons.

Turner, F. J. (2017). Social work treatment: Interlocking theoretical approaches. Oxford University Press.