Practising Feminism for Social Welfare: A Global Perspective [Minkštas viršelis]

There has been an explosion of interest in feminism in recent years and this book argues that it still has a necessary and vital role, for feminism’s core objectives – not only to address the persistent issue of women’s inequality, but to fight against women’s oppression and improve women’s lives – remain of central value across the world. As a result, social work, and social welfare more generally, are overdue for a re-examination through a feminist lens.

This text explores what feminism means in theory, policy and practice as it is conceptualised and engaged with in different social welfare contexts today. Beginning with an overview of feminist scholarship in the twenty-first century, it is mainly comprised of six substantive chapters which examine feminism from within a specific policy or practice setting. The topics discussed include globalisation and social justice; sex and sexuality issues, domestic violence, working in criminal justice settings, working with children and working with older people. Practising Feminism in Social Welfare concludes with a framework for feminist policy and practice in the future, whilst acknowledging that there can be no single or hegemonic feminism across all sites of social and political processes and in all social work settings.

Designed as an introduction for a social policy and social work audience, this volume will also speak to a range of academic disciplines, including sociology, criminology, politics, women’s studies, gender and feminist studies, and cultural studies.