In looking at social work’s response to the human rights of refugees, the profession has not been historically very engaged with the social issue and there seems to have been a general lack of awareness regarding the human rights issues facing refugees (Libal & Popescu, 2018). However, by viewing social work as a human rights profession, social workers may have the opportunity to become more prepared to aid refugees globally not only in a clinical response, but also on the level of advocacy and policy implementation to advocate for and ensure the rights of refugees around the world (Karlsson & Johnsson, 2020). This paper will first engage in a historical analysis, discussing historical social work approaches, historical framing, and present-day social construction and response to the global refugee crisis. The paper will then analyze the overall mental health, wellbeing, and other challenges facing refugees, providing specific attention to the those faced by Syrian women and girl refugees, followed by an analysis of how social work can address these challenges. The paper will then highlight assumed causes and consequences of these challenges while addressing how those in power have framed the refugee crisis throughout history. The paper will then dive deeper into the prevalence of these human rights challenges and who they impact. After discussing how this issue relates to social work values, this paper will then detail potential advocacy steps social workers may implement at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels to address it.

The UN Refugee Agency, the UNHCR, has stated that climate change will disproportionally impact the displaced as it becomes more unpredictable, intense, frequent, and dangerous (Gaynor, 2020). The UNHCR reported that in 2019, weather-related hazards resulted in almost 25 million displacements in 140 countries. This paper will examine the effects of climate change and ensuing conflict on refugees in the Sahel Region of Africa. This paper will first look at the effects from a social-ecological systems perspective, analyzing the interrelating contexts. This paper will then examine the harmful effects of climate change and ensuing conflict on humans, other species, and the environment. This paper will follow this examination with an analysis of which actors benefit from the systems that initiate these detrimental effects, and how they can be held accountable. The general media narratives of refugees will be examined, establishing barriers for humanitarian aid and public support to reach those in need. Then, this paper will examine three leverage points through which the profession of social work and other helping professions could intervene to address the problem, followed by the identification of one specifically poignant leverage point from the three – community organizing, providing a blueprint to effectively address the harmful effects climate change and conflict are having on refugees in the Sahel.

Evidence supports trauma-sensitive yoga's (TSY) efficacy, but little is known about participant processes in TSY. This qualitative study's purpose was to examine the lived stress experiences of sexual assault survivors in an 8-week TSY intervention. Data were collected as part of an embedded mixedmethods design testing the intervention. Licensed Clinical Social Workers-Registered Yoga Teachers facilitated the intervention which is grounded in evidence from the Trauma Center at the Justice Research Institute TSY and Herman's model of trauma therapy. Participants (n = 23 women) provided a rationale for their level of stress via check-in/check-out sheets at the beginning and close of each group meeting. Analysis followed a constant comparative approach and was conducted in Atlas-ti over a series of five steps. Findings indicate three umbrella themes: stress with four subthemes, sense of wellbeing with eight subthemes, and group effects with three subthemes. Implications of the study suggest that survivors were processing stress experiences, emotions, and integrating skills and concepts across the 8week TSY group. Findings suggest different stressors experienced by sexual assault survivors in a TSY group as well as experiences that connect them with their bodies and minds. Further study is required for generalizable and definitive statements to be made about sexual assault survivors' experiences while participating in a TSY.