*This is one of my all-time favorite stories, and favorite messages, too, so I’m republishing it in these final days of my maternity leave, as an inspiration to me and, I hope, to you, too.
Fairly often, when I talk with social workers about involving their clients in advocacy and organizing, encouraging them to find their own voices and to create social change for themselves, I hear some variation on “yes, but our clients are too poor/overwhelmed/scared/uneducated to play that role. We have to advocate for them.”
And that always prompts a discussion about how we are often the biggest barriers to our clients’ full empowerment, that we project our own fears and limitations onto their lives, or lack the relationship with them that would create a context for real risk taking. We need to get over ourselves, so to speak, and figure out ways, hand-in-hand with our clients, over, around, and through every obstacle that we might imagine (and many are, in fact, imagined) to their self-advocacy. But we have to figure out how to do that authentically and respectfully and honestly.
As I’m sure you’re not surprised, there was something in Half the Sky (have you read it yet? Go get it!) that spoke to this, too. Chapter Three was probably the most stunning part of the whole book for me, because it basically tells the story of a slum in India where women rose up against a violent criminal warlord who was raping, stealing, and murdering. Galvanized by his threats to a prominent woman from their own community, the women overcame their fears and, collectively, stabbed him to death, each one cutting him once.
No, I’m not saying that we start encouraging our clients to take this kind of direct action; we have a Code of Ethics, and I’ve written before about what that compels regarding appropriate means and ends.
But what got to me, and to the authors, was this: these were women who not only had generalized fears about taking action that is contrary to cultural and social ideas about women’s roles but was also in direct contradiction to the political powers in the area (all of whom also feared this guy)–they also had abundant evidence that their lives were directly at risk; he had, in fact, tortured and killed many of their neighbors.
And yet they did it anyway. And their lives, and their community, were transformed as a result. And the lessons that the authors take from this utterly dramatic tale are ones that carry tremendous significance for social workers and all who work with vulnerable people who must find their own voices and their own emancipation, too:
I used to answer those social workers who would give me excuses for why their clients couldn’t be their own advocates with something like, “if limited English proficient immigrants who aren’t even legally supposed to be in this country can be their own spokespeople, and can get out in the street and protest and testify in the legislature and organize unions, then so can [fill in the blank].” Now I’ve got a better answer: “if Indian women of the lowest caste, living in a slum ruled by a sadistic gangster, can rise up together and rid their community of his violent barbarism, then [fill in the blank]…”
If we can lose our hesitations, the possibilities are endless.
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Melinda,
Thought you might be interested in this
Just concluded, the first ITUC World Women’s Conference, entitled “Decent Work, Decent Life for Women” examined how trade unions are taking the lead on economic and social justice and equality. A major focus of the program will be on reaching out to the most vulnerable and exploited women such as domestic workers, while discussions will also center on the position of women within trade unions, achieving gender equality through collective bargaining and extending social protection and social security.
http://talkingunion.wordpress.com/2009/10/18/ituc_womens_conference/
Thanks for the link! I still remember my first women in labor conference; I translated for some Mexican maquila workers who had come to share their stories of resistance. It was a really powerful gathering. Obviously, I believe that only solidarity and collective action can create the safe spaces in which the most vulnerable among us can fully advocate on their own behalf. Trade unions hold this promise.
Something which prompted me to convert to this profession is the ability to educate, empower, engage, and edify. Here, you discuss one component – empowerment. Increasing another’s spiritual, political, social, or economic strength and developing confidence in his/her own capacities promote warm fuzzies. I agree that empowering clients is crucial when it comes to advocacy. In my practicum last year at a local domestic violence shelter, I heard similar comments about the deficiencies in clients which prompted a “mothering” approach to advocacy. But, if we do the work for our clients, are we really helping them?
It is especially imperative in those instances when our clients are too poor / overwhelmed / scared / uneducated, that we educate, empower, engage, and edify them. I agree that we must do so within the limits of legality, ethics, and morals. We cannot not act because we fear what clients might do with that power. Our work is a constant struggle between enabling self-determination and conferring disciplined restraint. It reminds me of Proverbs 22:6, “Teach your children to choose the right path and when they are older, they will remain upon it.” We have to have faith that when we give our clients tools – like the notion of empowerment – they will use them and use them well.
Kuddos to this post!! One of the main reasons (I think) that individuals and groups continued to be oppressed is because the very individuals they trust to lead and guide them do so with limitations. This ties back into your other post on fear, if we as social workers are fearful of change or those obstacles to be changed then how can we expect those around us to be empowered. What would your suggestions be to a manager that is trying to change or re-focus an agency on full empowerment? Are some strategies more effective than others?
Operating from an empowerment perspective requires a culture change, Leah, which is never easy. The folks at the Building Movement Project have done a lot of work on this with direct service providers, including compiling case studies of organizations undergoing this transformation. I think that acknowledging the power issues within practice is important, as is finding ‘bright spots’, rather than focusing on people’s reluctance to change. What do you see, from your work? Where does resistance come from, and how can we use our social work skills–motivational interviewing, authentic relating–to connect with people and help them push themselves?
To me, there is no question about whether or not we should empower instead of shelter our clients. Rather, this discussion makes me wonder if empowerment as a theory and practice has been struggling to infiltrate the profession. In undergrad, the term “empowerment” was present in just about all of my courses. However, I haven’t heard nearly as much about empowerment in the social service agencies I’ve worked for. I might come across it in a policy or it might get some lip service from time to time, but it doesn’t seem to have entirely transcended the status of a pretty buzzword in the field. It will require individual social workers and groups of social workers within these agencies to help create cultures that really buy in to the concept. However, without some form of support, it is incredibly easy to acclimatize the predominate culture of your employing agency. In hindsight, I would have benefited from more in-depth discussions in undergrad about the realities of social service agencies and what strategies we could take as new professionals to counteract some of those bad habits in our agencies. I think it is important for us, as social workers, to push ourselves to stay connected to these types of debates and forums—continuing education isn’t really enough. It is particularly challenging when you are one of the only social workers in a given environment and/or when social workers are not in management positions.
Absolutely, Anna–so much of what you’ve said here resonates with me. We give short shrift to discussions of organizational culture and how to impact it, in social work education, and that doesn’t equip social workers well to work within the confines of their employing agencies while seeking actively to transform those environments. And, as you said, the reality of interdisciplinary practice only heightens those potential tensions. Do you see ‘bright spots’? Are there examples of where organizations have embraced empowerment practice and are thriving as a result? If so, what might we learn from those inspirations?
I echo some of what Anna said. Sadly, there are times I have felt like I had to get permission to empower a client. It isn’t so much about my agency, but the state agency with which we contract. More and more I feel like social workers, in my area of practice anyway, aren’t allowed to freely do what we do. A bright spot: recently I have been involved in a roundtable process that really allowed for youth empowerment.
Yes, Michelle, there are so many ways in which social work settings serve as barriers to empowerment–often without meaning to. What made this roundtable process work? What about its structure really facilitated youth empowerment? Is there any way in which it could be an inspiration/model for other efforts?
The roundtable brought people together from all agencies, who are normallly in competition with each other, to talk about the most vulnerable of youth and how those youth can achieve legal permanency. The youth were not present, but their ideas and plans and aspirations for their life were presented. Ways for those ideas, plans, and aspirations to come to life were discussed and people from all agencies were given tasks to complete to help the youth. It was an awesome experience and a good reminder that even though we may work for competing agencies, we all have one very important thing in common, we all want what is best for the kids. That common goal unites us and is very powerful.
That sounds great, Michelle! What are opportunities to include the youth themselves in these discussions, and how could those set the stage for shifts towards the direction of empowerment practice? How did the other professionals process the experience, and how might some of them be allies for your work around empowerment cultures?
True empowerment is a great thing. Those who can do it effectively, provide people with the information they need to make choices. Often, we work with clients that have to make some very difficult decisions, particularly when they don’t necessarily feel that they have a choice. But, indeed they do. Empowerment is a skill that takes careful thought and patience. It is often a word tossed about too freely, such that when I hear it being heralded, I want to know “how and wherefore.”
Empowerment can be delivered in various ways, but when performed with the right intention, a sense of magistery comes over me and I am humbled by the architect. Michelle said it best, “It was an awesome experience and a good reminder that even though we may work for competing agencies, we all have one very important thing in common, we all want what is best for the kids. That common goal unites us and is very powerful.”
Yes, Kimberly, but we also need to make sure that clients have good choices available, which, to me, suggests that true empowerment requires policy change, to set the right conditions!
Melinda Lewis 816.806.6094 melindaklewis@gmail.com
What an inspiring post! I think many social workers get so caught up in the small victories for the individuals that they serve (which I absolutely do not discredit), that they forget to look at the big picture of the purpose of social work. If we’re truly advocating for our clients, then that means we’re teaching and empowering them to advocate for themselves. While reading this post, I thought of an agency that serves and houses individuals who are considered chronically homeless. Recently, staff from this agency went to Washington D.C. and they took several of their clients with them to lobby. I bet this was an exhilarating experience for those individuals who have probably never had such an opportunity to have their voices heard. After all, who could portray the experiences of those who are vulnerable better than those who are actually living it?
I love that story, too, and I would live to hear their reflections on the experience. We must always be sure we are not interfering with empowerment, even by good intentions!