Human Rights Perspectives in Social Work

At this course students learn about the substance of human rights and about the ways for their implementation to a social work practice. According to the global definition of social work, human rights are the substantial part of the social work profession. During the studies at this course, students learn about the history of human rights, the categories of human rights and the areas of their implementation. Students learn about the human rights standards that are established by the Conventions of the United Nations. Specifically, during this course students will study the human rights standards for persons with disabilities, children and women, embedded in the relevant conventions of the United Nations. Students will learn about the extent to which the human rights standards must be implemented in the States Parties and why they are not necessarily implemented for combating violence and discrimination of vulnerable. The comparative approach is also presented to students. Students are invited to design the implementation of the rights of women, persons with disabilities or children in a specific social work practice.

To educate the capacity of social workers to understand the social work as human rights based professional and, respectively, to critically reflect the social work practice from the human rights perspective and to apply the human rights standards and provisions in social work practice, including the social policy.

Social work. Qualitative research. Quantitative research.

History of human rights: from Magna Carta to United Nations. Categories of human rights. 1st generation of human rights, political and civil human rights, its understanding as object of immediate realization. 2nd generation of human rights, economic, social and cultural rights, its understanding as objects of progressive realization. 3th generation of human rights, rights to sustainable development. 4th generation of human rights, rights of future humanity regarding the use of technologies, genetic engineering. Individual and collective rights. One-dimensional and complex rights. Human rights as universal and inalienable; indivisible; interdependent and interrelated. Substantial rights: equality and non-discrimination, dignity, self-determination. How governments become repressive? Human rights as a moral discernment. Rights as the ground of the respectful human, institutional and political behavior with regard to other people. Concept of decent society by Avishai Margalit. Rights as duties and obligations. Concepts of rights (Dworkin and Hohfeld). Distinction of moral and legal rights. Distinction of specific and common rights. Theories of human rights: of dignity, of interests, of a personhood. Capability theory by Amartya Sen. Rights and their subjects. Positive and negative rights. Understanding of the violation of rights. Generalized understanding of human rights. Skepticism with regard to and critic of theories of human rights (Rorty and MacIntyre). The role of civil movements and civil society. The human rights standards and its implementation in social work. Definitions, roles and professional name of social worker. International definition of social work. Qualification and awareness. Accountability and organizational contexts. The role of social work for developing social work practices based on human rights. From the conceptualisation to the practice of human rights. Standards and practices of human rights in social work. Micro level intervention for human rights. Advocacy against oppression, inequality and discrimination. Struggle for the implementation of human rights. Mezzo level intervention for human rights. The development of community. Involvement of the members of community, promotion of participation and activation of them. Empowerment, and strengths-perspective. Building the human rights culture: equal non-hierarchical communication, dignity, respect to the subculture of a client, promotion of self-determination and autonomy. Macro level advocacy: social participation in the municipal, local and national meetings, discussions, public spaces, media when promoting the client’s voice and standpoint, including the human rights values. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the United Nations (CRPD). The Convention on the Rights of the Child of the United Nations (CRC). The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Standards within the, structure of, essential principles and provisions of these Conventions. Official and alternative reports by the States Parties and civil society to the United Nations. Consideration of the reports by the human rights treaty bodies, the committees of the Conventions. Concerns and recommendations to the State Parties by the committees of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Recognition of relevant concerns and recommendations to social work practice. Comparative analysis between a home country (Lithuania or other) and other country using the databases of the United Nations. Lessons and recommendations for the social work practice in the home country (Lithuania or other).

• To be able to describe main generations and categories of human rights • To be able to define the substance of human rights • To know the development of human right • To know ontological theoretical foundations of human rights. • Perform the observation of social work practice. • Identify the human rights’ implementations in social work practice • Identify the human rights’ issues in social work practice. • Provide with the recommendations for implementation of human rights at social work practice. • To know essential international human rights frameworks. • To compare the implementation of human rights in social work practice in Lithuania and foreign countries. • To identify the role of civil non-governmental organizations. • To identify the human rights violations in the society. • To design the implementation of human rights in social work practice.