SCW3303 Insights into

practice
Lecture 11: Anti-oppressive
practice with families
Unit coordinator: Debra Manning

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What is a family?
•  Most of us grow up in families of an increasingly
wide range of configurations.
•  Many of us have started our own families and
can be surprised how easily we ‘hear’ our
parents’ values and beliefs coming out in our
‘voices’.
•  We have developed strong notions about family,
what it is, what it is for, and how a family should
operate.
•  Even if we ourselves have not experienced the
‘ideal’ family environment we know what it
‘should’ be.

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Family case study
•  How do you feel about the issues in this
case study?
•  Does it make a difference to you that this
is an Indigenous family? Do you think it
makes a difference to your colleagues?
•  Can you identify cultural values and beliefs
that are oppressive in this case study?’
•  What possibilities does anti-oppressive
theory offer you in this practice situation?
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 ‘Cultural’ beliefs about families
•  Beliefs about ‘families’ are reinforced at
governmental, organisational and cultural levels
in our society. We only have to look at the sex
balance of our decision makers at all these
levels to find that men still predominantly make,
propose, support or reject notions of family and
policies about families.
•  Advocacy by feminist groups has been largely
responsible for changing attitudes, policies, laws
and practices around families.

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Social work with families
•  Jan Mason (2005:83) reminds us that traditional
approaches to family work have been based on
the assumption ‘the family is an interacting and
interdependent system, so that ‘problems’ for
any family member are typically understood as
being related to the dynamics within that
person’s family (Zastrow 1995).
•  She continues that ‘an alternative approach
considers the family as a social construction with
the interactions of family members being
influenced by the structure context in which they
are located.’

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Social change focus to family work
•  Mason (2005:92) explains that ‘working with
families within a social justice framework, the
reflective practitioner is challenging policies that
oppress individuals in relationships within
families and within the broader social and
political context in which families exist.’
•  These include challenging the stereotypes
around ‘problem’ families that marginalise and
focusing on issues of power in decision making,
ensuring decisions are genuinely made with not
for families.
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Reflexivity a core social welfare tool
•  Reflexivity is the tool social workers need
to achieve the insight necessary for
working with families in an anti-oppressive
way. Mason (2007:92) says that accepting
that ‘neither their frameworks of
knowledge nor their interactions with
clients occur in a neutral context,
practitioners can recognise and work to
decrease power inequalities between
themselves and those families and
individuals with whom they work.’
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Working with Indigenous families
•  Briskman (2007:188) emphasises the
structural as well as historical context in
which Indigenous families live, especially
in the context of family violence in
Indigenous communities. She says
‘violence in Indigenous communities
needs to be understood within the context
of colonisation, a violent process in itself,
and its aftermath including
intergenerational impact.’ (2007:188)
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Popularist law and order responses
•  Briskman refers to popularist law and
order responses to family and community
violence in Indigenous communities. Last
year the federal government responded to
the horrific sexual abuse of children and
women by sending in the Army to control
community violence. Given the extent of
Indigenous deaths women are more
reluctant to speak out if the focus is on law
and order.

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Family violence and colonisation
•  Briskman urges us to listen to Indigenous
women to ask for an holistic response.
•  By treating Indigenous family and
community violence as a law and order
issue we will not achieve the long term
improvements necessary in Indigenous
people’s lives (Calma ATSIC Social Justice
Commissioner 2006 cited in Briskman 2007:188).

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Inappropriate western concepts
•  The western concept of family violence,
that focuses on violence within intimate
relationships, does not encompass ‘the
concept of family violence embedded in a
social context of colonisation, loss of
culture and poverty (Taylor et al cited in Briskman
2007:190)
•  Increasingly Indigenous women are
speaking out locating the problem within
the context of colonisation and proposing
holistic, community initiated solutions.
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Social work responses to Indigenous family
violence
•  Briskman says ‘a holistic response is
crucial and so is an understanding of the
historical factors associated with
colonisation and frontier violence, which
includes the violence, including rape,
perpetuated by white settlers. The
disintegration of Aboriginal life was so
rapid, violent and racist that it became
enshrined in communities without being
fully confronted.’(2007:195)

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Working with Indigenous people
•  Briskman urges social workers ‘to use
their skills and knowledge to work with
Indigenous communities, policy makers
and community organisations to find
solutions to issues that remain still largely
hidden.’(2007:195)
•  She says ‘social workers can seek out
ways to join endeavours to reframe
Indigenous family violence within
Indigenous terms of reference’ (2007:196)
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Indigenous women speak

•  NSW Indigenous women have ‘publicly

stated that domestic violence in their
communities must be analysed within the
framework of the disintegration of tribal
and kinship ties.’ (New South Wales Women’s Co-
ordination Unit, 1991 cited in Briskman 2007:196)
•  Finally Briskman urges us not to let the
complexities and controversies lead us to
retreat from working with Indigenous
people to address family violence.
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In summary…
•  Anti-oppressive theory and practice principles
have underpinned both Jan Mason and Linda
Briskman’s approaches to family work in
different ways.
•  For both the challenges for social and
community welfare workers centre on working
with not for families and using our skills and
knowledge to ensure family issues are seen and
responded to within the cultural, structural and
historical contexts in which they live and which
are important to their life experiences.

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Anti-oppressive work:focus on all levels
•  When you are working in a counselling or
casework role with individuals and families
you are also always planning cultural and
structural interventions to change the
conditions of their lives and experiences.
•  Both Alston and McKinnon’s and
Briskman’s books revisit these principles
in different ways in the different areas of
practice such as health, criminal justice,
aged care, housing and with women,
children and young people
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rural, refugees and migrants.
Required readings:
•  From the following chapters read those
which either reflect your practice interests
or arouse strong feelings in you,
particularly antipathy.
•  In your prescribed text edited by Alston
and McKinnon read chapters 2,7,8,14.
•  From your prescribed text by Briskman
read chapters 12 &14.

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Next week:

•  We will review what we have learned

about oppression and anti-oppressive
theory and practice and explore some
further issues as you look to you
placements and to your futures as social
and community welfare workers.

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