1. Practice with Diverse
Groups
Lecture 3
Anti Oppressive Practice
(Bains. D., (2007). Doing Anti-Oppressive Practice
Building Transformative Politicized Social work)

2. They came for the Communists, and I did not speak up because I was
not a Communist. Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak
up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they
came for the Protestants and I did not speak up because I was
Catholic. Then they came for me and by that time there was no one
left to speak up.
Martin Niemoeller (Minister)

3. Mission of Social Work
• To expose the roots and effects of social oppression
• Social oppression
• The “isms”
• A short hand way of categorizing the systemic mistreatment of people according to one of
their many identities, biological or cultural.

4. Oppression
Oppression = Prejudice + Power

5. • If we live long enough, all of us will experience some form of
oppression.

6. • There are different types of power:
• Power over
• Power from within.
• Systems work by imposing power over
• Works through coercion, fear
• Undermine – withdraw consent , non-cooperation
• We have endless reserves of power from
within, creativity, imagination

7. How would you define…..
• Collective Power
• When we act together…
• Social Power
• Example - power men have over women, white people have over people of
color, etc.

8. What is Oppression?
 Victimization
 Power imbalance
 Bullying
 Lack of Rights
 Discrimination
 Less eligibility
 Disempowerment
 Low self worth
 Lack of respect
 Alienation
 Being kept down
 Feeling of isolation
 Internalised oppression

9. There are different forms of
oppression

10. Types of Oppression
• Individual
• Attitudes and beliefs that motivates acts of discrimination against a social
group
• E.g. a store owner who suspects all teenage customers of stealing.

11. Types of Oppression
• Institutional:
• Laws and policies enacted by institutions that disadvantage some but
advantage others, reproducing systems of inequality.
• Examples of institutions include government, education, law, religion, and the media;

12. Types of Oppression
• Cultural: Social norms, roles, language, music or art that reflect and
reinforce the belief that one social group is superior to
another, rendering inequalities as normal and deserved
• E.g. most popular characters on a television program are white, thin and
heterosexual

13. When SSW’s empower people, they need to work at three different
levels:
1. The individual
2. Themselves
3. Social Movements

14. The Individual:
•An individual’s problems are not due to individual failures, but are
due to society’s oppressive structures.
Private problems = Public Problems

15. The Social Service Worker:
•The SSW does not hold the power within the therapeutic
relationship.

16. Social Movements & Alternative Social Services:
•Social movements are groups that advocate for social change.
• Challenge privilege
• Look at the roots of oppression
•Alternative Social Services emphasize the principle of consumer
control.

17. Forms of Oppression
• Ablism
• Ageism
• Classism
• Ethnocentrism
• Heterosexism
• Racism
• Sexism

18. Marilyn Frye - Birdcage
If you look closely at the cage
you can not see the other bars.
It is only when you step back
and take a look at the whole
do you see how multiple bars
work together to form a cage.
Those on the outside are also
restricted – they are locked out
of that location

19. Define Anti-Oppressive Practice
(AOP)
(Dalhousie University School of Social Work n.d.)
• Recognizing:
• Power imbalances and working towards change to redress the
balance of power
• That oppression does not work in isolation

20. What does it mean to work from an anti-
oppression framework?
(Dalhousie University School of Social Work n.d.)
• Actively working to acknowledge and shift power towards
inclusiveness, accessibility, equity and social justice.
• Ensuring that anti-oppression is embedded in everything
that you do by examining attitudes and actions through the
lens of access, equity and social justice.
• Being conscious and active in the process of learning and
recognizing that the process as well as the product is
important.
• Creating a space where people are safe, but can also be
challenged.

21. Why Use AOP
(Dalhousie University School of Social Work n.d.)
• Difficult for us to recognize that we oppress others, we need to
recognize that we do.
• E.g., We oppress when:
• We form stereotypes
• We meet someone who doesn’t fit into our stereotype and think that they
are an exception to “their group”

22. We oppress when: (continued)
• We do not want to think about racism, sexism, etc. because it makes us
uncomfortable, angry, defensive, guilty, etc. Instead, we “make believe” that
everything is fine.
• We do not speak up when someone tells a racist, sexist, etc. joke.
• We tell or think that someone is “making a big deal” out of nothing e.g.
instances of discrimination
• We think that people are rude or slow if they respond differently e.g.
different traditions, difficulty speaking English, etc

23. Direct Service Strategies
(Bains. D., (2007). Doing Anti-Oppressive Practice Building Transformative Politicized Social work)
Anti
Oppressive
Practice
Engaging Authentically
Empowerment &
Capacity Building
Educating
Service Users
Educating other
Service Providers
Assisting Service Users
to navigate systems

24. Direct Service Strategies
(Bains. D., (2007). Doing Anti-Oppressive Practice Building Transformative Politicized Social work)
• Assisting Service Users to navigate systems
• Recognizing that many of the systems clients use every day can be
problematic e.g., legal, financial, educational systems
• Helping clients understand how these systems function
• Providing options within these systems

25. Direct Service Strategies
(Bains. D., (2007). Doing Anti-Oppressive Practice Building Transformative Politicized Social work)
• Empowerment & Capacity Building
• Helping clients develop the confidence and skill necessary to negotiate
systems for themselves
• Educating Other Service Providers
• Sensitizing other service providers to the needs of clients
• E.g., educating OW workers about domestic violence

26. Direct Service Strategies
(Bains. D., (2007). Doing Anti-Oppressive Practice Building Transformative Politicized Social work)
• Engaging Authentically
• Creating a safe space for clients
• Working being present and interested in the client
• The worker is – fair, non-judgemental, welcoming
• Educating Service Users
• To the issues
• New ways of considering thing (information e.g., other ways to discipline
children beside spanking)
• About services