Social Work's Role in Human Rights for Refugees: Challenges Facing Syrian Refugee Women and Girls

Abstract

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.