1. Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
SOCIAL WORK IN CANADA An Introduction Third Edition
Chapter 10: Social Work with Women
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

2. Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
Social Work With Women
Social Work Beginnings
Equal Pay and Employment Equity
Persistent Problems
Sexism and Gender Equality
Principles of Feminist Practice
Violence Against Women
Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment
What Is the Role of a Social Worker?
Other Areas of Social Work Intervention
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

3. Social Work Beginnings
Movement for greater participation of women in public life arose at the end of the 19th century.
Women were typically maternal feminists
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

4. Social Work Beginnings
There were a number of strands:
Temperance movement
Women’s missionary and charities
Suffragette movement
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

5. Equal Pay and Employment Equity
Many legislative changes in the post-war period
fostered greater equality for women:
Equal pay policies
Equal employment policies
Other facilitating policies
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

6. Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
Persistent Problems
There are persistent problems for women in
many areas of economic life:
Poverty
Part-time work
Minimum wage legislation
Maternity and parental leave
Dependent care
Free trade and globalization
Pension programs
Recessions
Employment insurance programs
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

7. Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
Persistent Problems
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

8. Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
Persistent Problems
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

9. Sexism and Gender Equality
How we identify as male, female, or transgendered and
adhere to cultural norms of femininity and masculinity;
in contrast to sex, which is biological.
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

10. Sexism and Gender Equality
Means that women and men live in an environment that
affords them equal opportunity to realize full human
rights; to contribute to national, political, economic,
social, and cultural development; and to benefit from the
results.
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

11. Sexism and Gender Equality
Prejudice or discrimination based on a person’s sex. It
is a system of discriminatory, interrelated physical and
social controls, derogatory beliefs and institutional- and
societal-level policies.
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

12. Sexism and Gender Equality
Patriarchy
Literally means “rule by the father” but, in a broader
sense, it has come to mean the domination of society
by men.
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

13. Principles of Feminist Practice
There are thirteen components of feminist social
work practice:
Validating the social context
Re-valuing positions enacted by women
Recognizing difference in male & female experiences
Re-balancing perceptions of normality and deviance
Taking an inclusive stance
Paying attention to power dynamics
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

14. Principles of Feminist Practice
Components of feminist social work practice cont’d:
Recognizing how “the personal is political”
Taking a deconstructive stance
Taking a partnering stance
Fostering inclusive scholarship
Challenging reductionist models
Adopting empowerment practice
Countering the myth of value-free psychotherapy
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

15. Violence Against Women
Many social workers take exception to the phrase “family violence” or “domestic violence”
They believe it glosses over the fact that it is usually men who are violent against women
According to Statistics Canada 2004, 7% of women experienced spousal violence in the previous 5 years
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

16. Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment
Any form of unwanted sexual activity including fondling,
touching, and penetration, that is forced upon another
person without that person’s consent.
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

17. Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment
Any unwanted behaviour, comment, gesture, or contact
of a sexual nature that treats the person receiving it as
a sexual object.
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

18. Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment
Acquaintance Sexual Assault
Also called date rape, acquaintance sexual assault
involves an assailant who is known to the victim. Forty
percent of sexual assaults are this type.
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

19. What is the Role of a Social Worker?
The role of social workers in helping abused
women may include crisis intervention, support
and empowerment, support group facilitation,
and the provision of information.
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

20. What is the Role of a Social Worker?
The social worker may partake in one or several of the following activities:
Intervene in a crisis
Facilitate an empowerment approach
Listen to what the women has to say and empathetically respond
Connect the woman to a support group
Teach the woman how to assess the assault/homicide potential
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

21. What is the Role of a Social Worker?
Make an appropriate referral
Teach the woman how to recognize abuse, name the problem and its source, and avoid self-blame
Advise the abused women of her legal rights
Mobilize safety, legal, and community resources effectively
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

22. What is the Role of a Social Worker?
Implement agency policy regarding mandated reporting and keep accurate records
Use the consultative process and review one’s referrals and interventions
Complete the crisis management and follow-up referral or treatment steps
Provide full follow-up and counselling with the woman and her assailant
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

23. What is the Role of a Social Worker?
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

24. Other Areas of Social Work Intervention
Women and poverty
Mounting numbers of women with low incomes and lone-parent mothers are receiving social services across Canada. Phrase coined to capture the problem – the feminization of poverty
Women and HIV/AIDS
Number and percentage of women living with HIV/AIDS in increasing
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

25. Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
Websites
Status of Women of Canada
National Clearinghouse on Family Violence
Canada Health Coalition
International Museum of Women
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

26. Questions for Discussion
What social work programs today have their
roots in campaigns of the early women’s
movements?
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

27. Questions for Discussion
What are some of the reasons behind why such
a large proportion of part-time workers in
Canada are women?
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

28. Questions for Discussion
In what ways does sexism create barriers for
women’s economic opportunity?
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

29. Questions for Discussion
How can social workers be involved in
addressing discrimination against women from
a practice perspective? From a policy
perspective?
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

30. Questions for Discussion
In what ways does violence against women
influence child poverty?
Chapter 10:
Social Work with Women
Social Work In Canada
Copyright © 2010 Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.