Explain how the notion of social harm is connected with ideas of social justice.
In order to explain how the notion of social harm is connected with ideas of social justice it is important to identify how these concepts are defined in order to use supporting evidence.
There are many forms of social harm, ranging from physical harm of violence, rape, child abuse which show the entanglement between harm and crime, and other forms of social harm which are more ambiguous arising from working environments.
Social justice evokes various connotations, such as freedom, equality, and having a fair distribution of resources to name a few. Individuals in society need to feel free from harms in order to obtain social justice. It is therefore evident that social harm is an end result of social injustice towards groups of individuals in society. In my assignment I will be showing how social policy is implemented in different societies to achieve social justice, and how social harm emerges from social injustices which are created in society.
Social justice evokes the notion of well-being and social inclusion by having access to resources, having freedoms and having equality. Amartya Sen argues that well-being and freedom depends on the development of capabilities. This is much more than having equal opportunities, the government’s role is to provide extra resources for certain individuals for them to translate opportunities into capabilities since some people need for help to develop their capabilities and overcome disadvantage. For example, a single mother needs childcare support and often housing benefits in order for them to participate fully in society.
The Term Paper on The Effect of Social Media on Society
Introduction to social media Social media refers to the means of interactions among people in which they create, share, exchange and comment contents among themselves in virtual communities and networks. Social media or “social networking” has almost become part of our daily lives and being tossed around over the past few years. It is like any other media such as newspaper, radio and ...
“An equal society recognises different people’s needs, situations and goals, and removes the barriers that limit what people can do and can be.” (Cited in Widdowson, p 67, DCLG, 2007, .126)
This shows how social justice can be obtained by looking at it from a wide social context and how the care and support provided to individuals are essential for their well-being. However there is the suggestion here that people need to take personal responsibility for themselves to overcome social injustice by developing their qualities and skills by engaging in paid work rather than relying on ‘handouts’. Therefore there needs to be a balance of responsibility between the government implementing support schemes and the individuals taking part in order to ensure social justice and avoid social harm.
The act of caring for and being cared for by others is a source of satisfaction and well-being by the altruistic nature of the profession for many, but there are many tensions due to the many that face this due to unfortunate circumstances. The carer is contributing in the process of social justice, but often at the cost of financial resources and recognition. The receiver of care is having their needs of well-being met but on the other hand are losing their independence of looking after themselves and feeling to be a burden on others. For example, in caring for a sick relative.
“The concept of care seems to many disabled people a tool through which others are able to dominate and manage our lives.” (Cited in Widdowson, p.75, Wood, quoted in Barnes, 2006, p.147)
This therefore shows how social harm is connected with ideas of social justice. There are also more obvious social harms associated with the caring profession. For example a World Heath Organization in 2002 demonstrated the reality of abuse for many receivers of care whereby workers abuse their position of the caregiver by abusing, neglecting or exploiting the very vulnerable. This report was from conducting qualitative research from interviews. However, the report also described the social harm similarly experienced by care workers by abusive behaviour from patients, low pay and the lack of recognition from working in the profession.
The Term Paper on Health And Social Care 33
Explain how a working relationship is different from a personal relationship 1. A working relationship is different because of boundaries, professional codes of conduct, employer policies and procedures. In your working relationship you would be friendly have a different approach treat with equality you would know your role and responsibility you would not share personal information as you ...
The profession of care work is traditionally viewed as a natural vocation for women, fit to relatively marginalised groups like working-class and ethnic minority women. It would seem that for social justice to be achieved, the perception of individuals in care work need to change. Care work is a vital element of social justice; a decent society with an effective government needs to provide caregivers and receivers with capabilities to result in well-being for both parties. There will always be the potential for social harm due to the often sensitivity of the practice in some circumstances, however, those who campaign for social rights empower those who are powerless to promote individual well-being, to prevent social harms.
Paid work is also a focus of social harm, and it is argued again that working-class, ethic minorities, and women suffer the most. It is argued that paid work promotes social equality and well-being but this depends on the type of work involved, as Amartya Sen would suggest, work is good for individual well-being if the employment promotes worker’s capabilities and is ‘decent’ work.
“decent work is the key to the eradication of poverty…Extending opportunities for decent work to people is a crucial element in making [societies] more inclusive and fair.” (Cited in Widdowson, p.76, ILO, 2007, p.3)
Fortunately, in many contemporary societies there are provisions in place to promote worker’s capabilities to attain well-being and social justice. For example, worker’s rights, trade unions ensure that workers are fairly paid, in safe working environments and free from discrimination and other social harms. However, these provisions do not protect workers from harm where the worker’s do not have rights. An effective example of this is the case of the Chinese migrant workers who drowned whilst cockling in Morecombe Bay in 2004. This reiterates how some individuals abuse positions of power, as mentioned previously in the profession of care workers. The case of the Chinese Migrant workers shows how the employers took advantage of vulnerable migrant workers who were unaware of their human rights in fear of their deportation. This is evidence that those “in the socio-economical groups are most vulnerable to occupational death, injury or disease.” (Cited in Widdowson, p.81, Takala, 2002).
Strategies Of Working Effectively With Parents Social Workers And Teachers
Strategies of Working Effectively with Parents, Social Workers and Teachers in Providing Disabled Children with Full life and Education in their Community The paper is designed for defining the possible strategies of ensuring and persuading parents, social and educational workers in the need for disabled children in getting full school education in normal surrounding without any limitations and ...
This evidence demonstrates how despite many provisions in place to ensure social justice, social harm is connected and raises questions about how reliable official statistics are on work-related deaths and injuries due to many ‘hidden workers’ where the figures are not recorded due to the worker’s being illegal migrant workers. This also shows the relationship between responsibility and crime due to the irresponsibility of the employers who fail to safeguard their workers and provide a safe working environment. This also raises questions about how governments should take responsibility for tragedies such as this which occur. The media attention from tragedies such as this, raise awareness of work related injuries and death as a big social issue, prompting government’s policy makers to change the law to avoid similar occurrences in the future, thus promoting social justice for all.
From the previous evidence used, it is fair to deduce that social harms are an effect of social injustice. Social injustices are caused by inequality, poverty and social exclusion. The individuals are categorised as distinctly separate from, ‘the rest of society’ and these populations of people are often associated with particular places. By categorising populations of people and places, labels are given which stigmatise and further exclude people from participating fully in society, preventing development of their capacities to achieve social justice. The labels include, the workless, the poor, the immigrants, the criminals to name a few. People are demonised by these negative labels as it represents groups which others fear to fall into. People in these groups are blamed for society’s problems and are discriminated against, stigmatised by their social position reproduced by the culture in which we live. This can be understood as a product of government failure, or of an inadequate welfare state for groups of people to be collectively misrepresented and stigmatised without regard for individual experiences and perceptions of the people involved.
The Essay on Theories Of Justice Plato Society Good
In his philosophy Plato gives a prominent place to the idea of justice. Plato was highly dissatisfied with the prevailing degenerating conditions in Athens. The amateur meddlesome ness and excessive individualism became main targets of Plato's attack. This attack came in the form of the construction of an ideal society in which justice reigned supreme, since Plato believed justice to be the remedy ...
Evidence of how social harms are connected with ideas of social justice, or lack of it can be seen by the circumstances during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The US government was heavily criticised for failing to act quickly and effectively to meet the basic requirements to millions of American citizens. This was an unprecedented social disaster due to the reports of looting, violence, rape and murder; this shows poverty and criminal activity are closely linked. This event also raised questions of race and class, inequalities between rich and poor people due to the selective film footage and sensationalised media stories conveying predominately black and working-class people in a negative light.
“All day long, we saw other families, individuals and groups make the same trip up the incline in an attempt to cross the bridge, only to be turned away – some chased away with gunfire…others verbally berated and humiliated.” (Cited in Mooney p. 104, Bradshaw and Slonsky, 2005 pp. 4,5)
This eye witness account shows the injustice felt with the violence experienced, however personal accounts although offering a personal insight, are often bias as they are subjective. Similarly with qualitative research where the reliability is questionable. However, the event demonstrates the wider social issues of social inequality, marginalisation, poverty and discrimination which cause social harms, and how these social harms are related to ideas of social justice.
To conclude, there is evidence demonstrating that individuals in society need to feel free from harms in order to obtain social justice. It is therefore evident that social harm is an end result of social injustice towards groups of individuals in society. Government’s are responsible for implementing social policy to achieve social justice, by offering support to individual’s to help them develop their capabilities to overcome their social difficulties. However social harms emerge from social injustices which are created in society, often by those abusing their position of power of by governments that fail to address social problems.
The Term Paper on The Effects of Social Networking on Our Society
The use of electronic and social media has become a staple in our society. No matter where one travels one can have access to this great resource. But has this accessibility and dependence upon electronic and social media gone too far? Is this passion for instant gratification affecting our ability to communicate with those around us on a personal level? Another question to ask is whether or not ...
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