Practising Social Work Ethics Around the World

Sarah Banks is Professor in the School of Applied Sciences, Durham University, UK. She teaches and researches in community, youth and social work and is co-director of the Centre for Social Justice and Community Action. She is co-editor of the journal Ethics and Social Welfare, and author of several books on ethics for the social professions. Kirsten Nøhr is a qualified social educator, MA in Higher Education, currently working at Hogeschool van Amsterdam (University of Applied Sciences) in the Netherlands. She was a senior lecturer for social educators in Denmark for many years and co-editor of the journal, Dansk Pædagogisk Tidsskrift (Danish Journal of Education).

1. Global ethics for social work? A case-based approach. Sarah Banks; 2. Negotiating roles and boundaries; Introduction, Frank Philippart; Case 2.1: Doing harm with a good heart: volunteer social work in a post- disaster situation in China; Case 2.2: ‘When the tables turned’: a social work intern’s moral dilemma in a Botswana police station; Case 2.3: When is it right to accept a gift? A Lithuanian social work student‘s dilemma; Case 2.4: ‘Why should I have to reveal anything about my personal life?’ a dilemma for a lesbian student in Britain; 3. Respecting rights. Introduction: Linda Briskman and María Jesús Úriz Pemán; Case 3.1: Issues of choice and coercion: working in a psychiatric hospital in the USA; Case 3.2: The reluctant vegan: the case of an older man in a Swedish care home; Case 3.3: Social work in Vietnam: a Dutch student’s perspective; Case 3.4: Ethical issues in international social work research: a case from India; 4. Being fair. Introduction: Frederic Reamer; Case 4.1: Dilemmas in working with an illegal migrant: a case from Japan. Case 4.2.: A young man waiting for a transplant: dilemmas for a hospital-based social worker; Case 4.3.: Dilemmas in working with a gypsy family: a story from a Portuguese social educator; Case 4.4: A gay applicant who wants to adopt a child: a case from Turkey 5. Challenging and developing organizations. Introduction: Donna McAuliffe; Case 5.1: Establishing the facts: issues for organizations working with young women in Iran; Case 5.2: Deciding on the right to health care insurance: a case from Peru; Case 5.3: The vicious cycle: issues for a church-based social worker in Australia; Case 5.4: Bending the Law? A case about reporting child abuse in Denmark; 6. Working with policy and politics; Introduction: Derek Clifford; Case 6.2: Maintaining organizational integrity in an area of conflict: a women’s NGO in Pakistan; Case 6.3: The shrinking welfare state: caring for older people in Finland; Case 6.4: Maintaining professional integrity in an area of conflict: working with a sexually abused girl in the Occupied Palestinian Territories; 7. Working with cases and commentaries; Introduction: Kirsten Nøhr; Case 7.1: Taking money from a dubious source: a dilemma for a social worker in China; Case 7.2: Maintaining professional secrecy: a French ethical situation Case 7.3: Institutional pressures and social work ethics: a case from Jamaica; Case 7.4: Between education and punishment: dilemmas for a Malaysian youth worker; Case 7.5: Maintaining the rules: a dilemma about a homeless person in Spain; Case 7.6: Balancing a girl’s need with a mother’s decision: a dilemma for a youth worker in Finland; Using cases and commentaries in teaching and learning: Sarah Banks and Kirsten Nøhr; Exercises