Social work responses to terrorism: Balancing ethics and responsibility

Abstract

This article presents a qualitative study that examined how Israeli social workers contend with ethical issues regarding confidentiality and disclosure in the aftermath of a terrorist attack. Respondents of this study shared examples from their own experiences of how ethical issues emerged as a result of confidentiality obligations.

Irish Field Education/Social Work Placement: The Making of Multi-Touch eBooks as a ‘Wrap Around’ Resource

“…Economic situations, tribal and religious wars, health scares, and political regimes, can all contribute to unhealthy, unstable communities. The aim for a healthier society is to achieve sustainable, collaborative outcomes which, influenced by the skills of social work professionalism, creates a variety of multi-faceted, pragmatic solutions to highly complex problems, both individual and social [19,20]. Further studies on global agendas and international social work are covered in Jones and Truell [21], Doel et al [22] and Russell et al [23].…”

The Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development: A place to link together and be effective in a globalized world

“…There are similar debates about the extent to which it is possible to promote statements of ethical principles which are truly universal (see for example, Annan, 2003;Banks and Nøhr, 2011;Banks et al, 2008;Healy, 2007;Healy and Link, 2011;Jones, 2011;Lovat and Gray, 2008;Pettifor, 2004;Sweifach et al, 2010). Within the Asian context, many argue that the importance of social cohesion and family stability should be more explicitly weighted against a perceived Western preference for individual autonomy (Alphonse et al, 2008;Hugman, 1995;Liu and Lu, 2007;Sun, 2009) and that traditional spiritual and philosophical insights offer relevant perspectives for local practice and need to be recognized in universal statements (Hatta, 2009;Liu and Lu, 2007;Sun, 2009).…”

“…This represents a re-positioning of the global social work profession, together with social development professionals. The aim is to achieve sustainable, collaborative outcomes drawing on the acknowledged skills of social workers in creating multi-faceted, pragmatic solutions to highly complex problems, both individual and social (Sucharipa, 2001;Sweifach et al, 2010).…”

Developing a social work curriculum on political conflict: findings from an IASSW-funded project

“…Concerns about the ability of social workers to deliver services whilst living amongst fears for their own safety and that of their families in times of collective crisis have been echoed for some time (Campbell & McColgan, 2001;Lindsay, 2007) but are often not addressed in practice. Sweifach, Heft LaPorte, and Linzer (2010) and Banks and Nøhr (2011) explore the ways in which social workers deal with ethical concerns and complexities such as maintaining confidentiality in situations of conflict where different pressures from various agencies come to bear.…”

“…Ellis (2006) reports on the policy directives given to service providers (public health, psychiatry, nursing, education, teachers)*to address anger, fear, rage, revenge, prejudice and concerns in the classroom; and to social workers (in conjunction with psychiatrists and public health professionals) to assess the impact of trauma and disaster on mental health. Sweifach et al (2010) note the role of social workers involved in disaster relief which provides a human face amidst the beleaguered and grief-filled environment. Cemlyn (2008a) and Hayes and Humphries (2004) show examples of social workers engaged in advocacy and immigration campaigns to highlight the plight of asylum seekers whilst Hill, Mora, and Garcia (2008) show ways in which the lives of undocumented migrant workers can be made easier by social workers advocating for them and raising funds as well as creating clear and fair eligibility and assessment processes.…”