There are instances where ethical issues among social welfare practitioners are raised as social issues. Describe what welfare ethics should be emphasized more in our society.
I. Introduction
II. Main Body
- Ethics and Necessity of Social Welfare Practice
- Ethical Code for Social Workers
- Basic Ethical Standards for Social Workers
- Welfare Ethics That Need More Emphasis in Our Society
III. Conclusion
I. Introduction
In recent years, ethical issues among social welfare practitioners in the field of social welfare have increasingly become social concerns. Ethics refers to the principles that a person should abide by or uphold as a member of society, involving judgments of right and wrong conduct. It is a concept distinct from values, representing judgments of moral goodness or badness, rightness or wrongness, in actions. Therefore, ethics provides criteria for assessing whether social welfare practitioners have acted in accordance with social welfare values. To establish these criteria, guidelines are provided through the Code of Ethics for Social Workers.
The Code of Ethics for Social Workers formalizes the values that professional social workers should hold, outlining the self-regulatory standards they should adhere to, including their self-image as professionals, their professional obligations, and minimum behavioral guidelines. Additionally, the Declaration of Social Welfare Ethics emphasizes that social welfare services should be performed by social welfare practitioners with specialized knowledge and ethical standards. Social welfare services constitute a practice in which the encounter between social workers and clients forms the stage for social welfare practice, and social workers convey the professional interaction with individuals or families with problems based on their professional abilities, ethical responsibilities, and human relationship processes. Particularly, the ethical principles in the Code of Ethics for Social Workers suggest that social workers should continuously enhance their professional skills and strive to apply them in practice. This report will explore what aspects of welfare ethics need to be emphasized more in our society.
II. Main Content
1. Ethics and Necessity of Social Welfare Practice
1) Concept of Ethics in Social Welfare Practice
Ethics can be defined as the principles of what is morally good or bad, right or wrong. Simply put, it refers to the duties that individuals should uphold as members of society. These ethics provide principles and guidelines for what people living in communities should do and by what standards. Ethics is distinct from the law and exists within the inner world of each individual, manifesting outwardly in everyday language and behavior.
2) Importance of Ethics
Ethics, as the rightful duties of individuals, is demanded in various ways within the field of social welfare. It is necessary to systematically confirm the commonalities and differences between the values of professionals and those of others. It is also needed to understand ethical dilemmas and develop the capacity to deal with them. Furthermore, it is necessary for establishing relationships or hierarchies among various conflicting values and for reflecting on the righteousness of the current leading values in social welfare and establishing values that are in line with the trends of the times. Lastly, it is essential for developing social welfare practices or advancing the professional codes of experts.
2. Code of Ethics for Social Workers
1) History of Ethical Codes
The pursuit of unique ethics in social welfare practice began in the United States, where professional organizations were established earlier than in other countries. In 1951, the American Association of Social Workers (NASW) first announced its code of ethics, and in 1955, with the establishment of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the significance of ethics in relation to the professionalism of social workers was discussed. Subsequently, a new code of ethics was published in 1986. Similarly, in 1975, the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) proclaimed its code of ethics. In South Korea, the Korean Association of Social Workers (KASW) adopted the code of ethics for social workers in 1980, followed by two revisions leading to the current code of ethics.
2) Code of Ethics in South Korea
Social workers, grounded in the principles of humanism and egalitarianism, dedicate themselves to respecting the dignity and worth of all individuals and ensuring the protection of inherent freedoms and rights. They take a leading role in realizing social justice, equality, freedom, and democratic values, particularly by advocating for the socially and economically disadvantaged. Additionally, they collaborate with those in need to enhance their social status and functions, and actively participate in activities related to improving social systems. Social workers strive to safeguard individual autonomy and decision-making rights, ensuring that no individual is unjustly sacrificed under any circumstances. To fulfill this mission, they continually develop professional knowledge and skills and endeavor to maintain competence and dignity as professionals who embody and uphold social values. Therefore, we declare the following ethical standards for social workers' actions and activities related to clients, colleagues, organizations, local communities, and society as a whole, and pledge to abide by them.
3. Ethical Standards for Social Workers
1) Professional Attitude
- Social workers maintain dignity and competence as professionals and take responsibility for their assigned tasks.
- Social workers do not discriminate based on clients' religion, race, gender, age, nationality, marital status, sexual orientation, economic status, political beliefs, mental or physical disabilities, or other personal preferences, characteristics, conditions, or statuses.
- Social workers perform their duties diligently and impartially as professionals, and do not compromise under any unfair pressure.
- Social workers dedicate themselves to achieving social justice and promoting clients' welfare, demanding the creation of conducive environments from the state and society.
- Social workers perform their duties based on professional values and judgments without undue interference or pressure from within or outside the organization.
- Social workers do not undermine the values and authority of the social work profession for their own benefit.
- Social workers actively participate in professional activities organized by organizations such as the Korean Association of Social Workers to advocate for social justice and protect the rights of social workers.
2) Efforts for Professional Development
- Social workers have a responsibility to strive for the development of knowledge and skills to provide the best possible service to clients and to utilize and disseminate them.
- Social workers conducting research with clients must obtain voluntary and informed consent to ensure their rights.
- Information obtained during the research process must be handled according to the principles of confidentiality, and clients must be protected from physical, mental discomfort, or risks and harm.
- Social workers must make efforts to develop their professionalism, but they must not neglect the provision of services as a result.
- Social workers should actively participate in various education programs conducted by organizations such as the Korean Association of Social Workers to develop their professionalism.
3) Attitude towards Economic Gain
- Social workers must provide services regardless of the client's ability to pay, and they must not discriminate based on this.
- When necessary, social workers should fairly and reasonably determine fees for services provided.
- Social workers must not engage in unjust methods to gain economic benefits related to their work.
4. Welfare Ethics That Should Be Emphasized in Our Society
The code of ethics for social welfare is the only standard that social workers must adhere to in the field of social welfare. Therefore, there should be an emphasis on institutions and roles responsible for preventing unethical behavior of social workers in the field from becoming social problems. Prior to this, efforts are needed to relearn the code of ethics so that members of the field can empathize with it, and above all, efforts are needed for the operating policies of institutions to be declared based on the code of ethics.
- Relearning the Code of Ethics
The principles and detailed standards of our code of ethics provide most of the value standards required in practical fields. Rather than presenting new ethical codes, adherence to existing ones should take precedence. To establish these standards as practical practice logic, relearning should precede so that all members can share and adhere to them.
- Expansion of Solidarity
Social welfare services are not the product of any one institution or organization. Furthermore, social welfare services are not activities conducted for profit like profit-oriented institutions. They are activities that are carried out through the collaboration of various entities such as the government, various private organizations and associations, and corporations. While there may be friendly competition, responding to the socially vulnerable requires mutual cooperation to ensure there are no blind spots in welfare. To achieve this, it is necessary to approach local issues not only through cooperation between social welfare organizations, but also through the participation of various resources within the community.
- Discovery of Values
The most important aspect of value realization is how social workers perceive the issues they face. The judgment of what becomes an ethical issue in routine work depends on the sensitive eyes of social workers. That is, sensitivity to discovering values should be viewed from the perspective of the socially and economically vulnerable.
- Expansion of Ethics Committees
Currently, the ethics committee is operated at the association level, but it is difficult to consider it as permanent. In addition to the function of making ethical judgments and recommendations on important matters, it is emphasized as a space that can accommodate the daily conflicts of social workers. Furthermore, activities such as developing educational programs, promoting to the public, and disseminating practical cases are needed to apply social welfare ethics in the field.
III. Conclusion
It is natural that social welfare practices aimed at human welfare should be ethical in their function and role. However, social welfare practices often deviate from ethics and values. The reason for this is that humans are involved in practicing it, and the beneficiaries of welfare are also human. As long as we are not machines, emotions come into play, and we cannot always live based on rational judgment alone. And that judgment can be right, but it can also flow in the wrong direction, inevitably leading to ethical issues. Therefore, social workers must have a strong sense of ethics and possess desirable values, as they may misjudge clients based on their own standards and thus make mistakes. Therefore, it is necessary to have a clear self-awareness. Moreover, it is desirable to accumulate knowledge through continuing education on ethical practice and training and guidance from supervisors on ethical conflicts, among other indirect experiences.
As the importance of securing professional manpower for social welfare increases amid changes in the social welfare system, the outlook for social workers is bright. Social workers work with various individuals and groups in the field of social welfare practice, performing various roles as they address challenges according to the changing needs of clients. While many social workers are being trained, the true sense of duty as a social worker shines brightest when providing ethical social welfare services in the field of social welfare practice.
