Summary

Bangladesh achieved its independence in 1971. The year 2021 marks its 50th anniversary. The country has come a long way since its birth and, in 2020, graduated as a member of the middle-income countries category by maintaining a steady economic growth of 6-7 percent over the years. It has been able to hold on to its democratic processes over the years, despite the numerous obstacles thrown at it periodically. However, currently there is a serious concern about fairness of national elections, freedom of speech, growing inequality, and gross violation of human rights.This paper will explore the multidimensional aspects of poverty, including social, political, environmental, economic, and psychological. It will examine factors that are contributing to inequality such as population, economy, politics, education, religiosity, inclusion and diversity, corruption, leadership, and disaster impacts. All these elements have severe consequences for the limited social safety net prevalent in the country. The residual approach of the social safety nets is a major impediment to human security in Bangladesh. Inequality caused by poverty will be analyzed based on population as well as several other indices: poverty line, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Human Development Indicator (HDI), and Human Poverty Index (HPI). Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are further deteriorating the socioeconomic and political condition of Bangladesh and widening the inequality that threatens its democracy and human security.

Keywords (separate with commas)

Inequality, Democracy, Human Security, Governance, Human Rights

Summary

Book Chapter-Those of us who live in the imperial core and embrace political praxis know that the United States has been in decline for a while. A country in decline will undoubtedly find some of the most significant battles within its educational institutions. This chapter offers a combination of lived experience and political and professional insights into the hurt done not only to an individual in the classroom but to entire communities. One wonders where it will all end between censorship, erasure, student loan debt, meritocracy, the centering of industry needs, and the urgent desire to suppress critical thinking in the classroom. This chapter is a call to action for educators within the helping professions to leverage their power in the classroom and co-construct learning spaces with students that invite criticality and history, including the social, economic, political, and power dynamics that shape the students’ lives. An empowered community of learners can co-create a space where problem-solving happens, tensions are held, contradictions are thought through, and solutions that can transform our social conditions are born.\ \ 

Keywords (separate with commas)

Liberation psychology, Critical pedagogy, Epistemic violence, Intersectionality, Inequity

Summary

Homelessness continues to grow as a significant social issue facing individuals and families in England and beyond. Social work is well placed to respond to the multiple sources of exclusion that homelessness intersects with, including mental distress, substance use, experiences of trauma and poverty. At present, homelessness is not a well developed specialism for social work in England and there is evidence that social workers are ill-prepared for work with people facing homelessness when encountering such issues in their practice. No previous studies have considered the extent of homelessness being embedded on social work curricula in England. This presentation will outline the results of a call for evidence survey which was sent to all social work education providers in England. Responses were from 42 higher education institutions across England, which represents approximately 50% response rate. All responses indicated that homelessness was incorporated in their social work qualifying programme curricula but the strategies adopted ranged from limited, passing reference up to a minority of institutions offering more than a single lecture on the topic. However, most responses indicated that they offered placements in homelessness settings. Follow up interviews with 10 academics, 10 students and 5 placement providers provided further insights. Academics emphasised the pressure of time in tight curricula and the lack of staff specialism. Students and placement providers discussed the lack of preparation for placement and the complexity of homelessness. The presentation will outline recommendations for social work education, drawing on the most innovative practices we encountered, to enable students to prepare appropriately for this complex work. The presentation particularly corresponds to conference theme 17b - Social Work and Homelessness and conference theme 4 - Poverty and Social Inequalities.

Keywords (separate with commas)

Homelessness, Social work education, Social Inequalities

Summary

Historically, domestic slavery has been made invisible (PEREIRA, 2021, p. 168), which is related to the fact that the majority of victims are women (HADDAD; MIRAGLIA, 2020, p. 16). Thus, data on this type of exploitation is still scarce. This paper aims to analyze the infraction notices relating to domestic slave labor formalized in Brazilian states between 2020 and 2022. The purpose of this analysis is to trace the profile of the victims of this crime, considering age, gender, race, education and the period in which they were subjected to slave labor conditions, as well as the profile of those responsible.Using a data collection methodology, the research is carried out through the investigation of Notices of Infraction in Brazil, from the years 2020, 2021 and 2022, provided by DETRAE (Inspection Division for the Eradication of Slave Labor). Based on these reports, the profiles of the victims and employers are drawn up, as well as information about the post-rescue period and the prospects for the effective reintegration of the rescued people invto society. The profiling takes into account the race, social class, gender and schooling of those involved.Based on the readings already made and the infraction reports analyzed so far, it is possible to outline a profile marked by central issues of gender, race and class. So far, most of the victims can be identified as black women with low levels of income and education.The second partial conclusion is the possibility of underreporting. Considering the circumstances in which these people were rescued - often after years of forced labor; without known relatives; at risk of social and state abandonment after the rescue - it is likely, or at least possible, that the number of complaints is derisory in relation to the number of workers in this type of situation.\\ 

Keywords (separate with commas)

Domestic slavery; modern slavery; work fiscalization.