Out of the Blue and into the Black: The Global Incarceration of the Mentally Ill.

"I proceed, gentlemen, briefly to call your attention to the present state of insane persons confined within this Commonwealth, in cages, closets, cellars, stalls, pens!  Chained, naked, beaten with rods, and lashed into obedience."
      -Dorothea Dix, Memorial to the  legislature of Massachusetts, 1843

               The red, sun baked earth crunches under the boots of a security guard outside a ward of the Enugu Prison, in the southeastern portion of Nigeria.  Unlike other sections of this prison, this portion of the prison has been set aside for people the government has listed as "civil lunatics".  According to the BBC, thanks to legislation from British era administration, the government can incarcerate individuals based on their perceived mental illness, often indefinitely.  In similar ways to asylums and hospitals in 1960's America, both family members and police can request an individual be sent to the ward without sufficient evidence of a crime or dangerous behavior.  More often than not, the request is granted.

              On January 7th, Idaho Governor, C.L (Butch) Otter gave his State of the State address to the Idaho legislature.  Otter, who is an outspoken critic of the Affordable Care Act, provided an extensive outline of his ideas to bring quality health care to the residents of the state.  One such recommendation, stemming from a request from the Department of Corrections was to build a $70 million, 579 bed, secure "mental health facility".  This is the Governor's second attempt to create such an institution for the incarcerated mentally ill.  The Department of Corrections and the contracted Corrections Corporation of America came under fire in 2010 with an ACLU exposé on prison conditions that foster extreme prisoner to prisoner violence. "Marlin Riggs, one of six named plaintiffs in the lawsuit, entered ICC in May 2008 and was targeted by a group of prisoners he believed were associated with a gang that prison officials knew had a history of threatening and extorting money from other prisoners. Despite his pleas, prison officials refused to move Riggs to a safer living area and he was violently assaulted and left lying in a pool of his own blood with a broken nose and a crushed cheekbone." 

                In 2003, the Hartford Courant published a story about the mentally ill in Connecticut's prisons.  They report that at Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown (the same town that a young man living with mental illness opened fire on an elementary school) "a schizophrenic man with a long history of severe psychiatric illness was intentionally deprived of his medication, became agitated and was fatally asphyxiated while being shackled by guards." The article goes on to state that "one inmate at this state's maximum-security facility was intentionally denied anti-psychotic medication that had been ordered by his psychiatrist and then tied to a steel bed frame for 22 hours. Another young schizophrenic man at the Hartford Correctional Center was asphyxiated by guards and then- while unconscious and dying- injected with powerful sedatives, shackled to a bed and left in a cell, naked and alone. He was discovered dead several hours later."

              From Canada to the United Kingdom, Japan to South Africa individuals living with mental illness are warehoused in prisons that are overcrowded, isolated from social supports, and a lack of evidenced based treatments.  According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 450 million people are living with mental illness at any given time.  In prisons however, individuals with mental illness are disproportionally represented compared to the general population in the countries where they live.  The WHO has identified that prison environments are in fact an impediment for the treatment of psychiatric disorders, even for those who committed serious crimes while ill.  Despite the availability, knowledge and resources of effective treatments, governments around the world continue to penalize the mentally ill whether they committed a crime or not.

              Most countries around the world carry puritanical ideologies regarding individuals who break the social contract of the culture that they find themselves. Even in countries that guarantee freedom from cruel and unusual punishment, conditions in prisons and jails lack basic structures to maintain the dignity and worth of the individuals housed there.  However, for individuals who are living with severe and persistent mental illness, they are often not only deprived of their civil rights, but their ability to connect to others as they are forced into isolation in solitary confinement despite evidence that this in fact worsens or creates mental illness.  The stigma of having mental illness and committing a crime are often compounded by racism, anti-gay, anti-transgender, and anti-poor sentiment.

             Social workers can utilize the strategies outlined by the World Health Organization to improve the lives of individuals living with mental illness as well as their families.  Regardless of the abundance of resources, each country has mental health systems in place that can be utilized and expanded to prevent the incidents that cause the incarceration of the mentally ill.  If in prison or jail, providing immediate, comprehensive, evidence based treatment in lieu of punishment would shorten the time an individual is locked up and save valuable tax dollars.  Providing adequate training for all staff on mental illness and treatment would reduce stigma and increase positive outcomes for prisoners.  Lastly, the WHO recommends that all legislation take a human rights perspective when directing legislative agendas for the mentally ill.

            The quote at the beginning of this post is taken from testimony from Dorothea Dix, a nurse and social reformer who sought to improve the lives of individuals living with mental illness from the squalor and penal environments that they lived.  More than 150 years since she spoke in the Massachusetts General Court, individuals around the world and here in America continue to live in the same conditions she sought to correct.  As social work professionals we can honor her memory to finish the fight she started so long ago.  Indeed, we must to stay true to our commitment to the dignity and worth of all peoples.

The Right to a Nationality When a Nation Does Not Exist

Post-Holocaust era, Jews from around the world flocked to the pinpoint location provided by the Torah, which later became known as Israel. As Jews immigrated to this location, specific geographical boundaries were not established. Historically, there is avid debate over whether the land was purchased fairly, as argued by Jews, or Jews forcibly and manipulated homeowners to turnover their land, as argued by Palestinians. Without entering the debate of how the land became divided, the result is a humanitarian crisis of chronic human rights violations on behalf of both parties. In 1948, the Israeli diaspora became so great that the community mutually decided to create a declaration and declare independence for the British Mandate. In May 1949, the Security Council of the United Nations recognized Israel as a state party. In the United Nations decision to recognize Israel, there was no further discussion about the origin of the country, nor was there further debate over the specificity of the boarders. Conversely, Palestine continues to have observer status, although allowing full member has been in debate for over eight years. Palestine lacking member state status to the United Nations is in fact creating more of an issue at the local level. Israel is charged by the United Nations to provide sovereignty to the entire land of Israel which includes the Palestinian territories (CRC, 2010, ¶ 2). However, when it comes to implementing policy, Israel is mandated to allow Palestinian’s fend for themselves. Not only does this place Israel in a precarious position, but it also creates false sovereignty for Palestine.

While laws have been passed regarding nationality, Palestine is still denied recognition as a member state at the United Nations.  This lack of rights allows for violations upon children and adults in regards to their nationality, identity, and homeland. From the onset, there was angst between Palestine and Israel. The United Nations chose to group Palestinian Liberation from the British Mandate together with issue of European Jewish refugees seeking a nation state to call home. As a result, “the Palestinian leadership in the Arab Higher Committee decided not to participate” in the dialogue of a one states versus a two state solution (United Nations, 2008, p. 4). Poignant to the discussion, “Australia abstained from voting on either plan because it maintained that the recommendation exceeded the Committee’s terms of reference (United Nations, 2008, p. 5)”. Under most other circumstances, the United Nations does not acknowledge countries that are not member states. However, in this instance, the United Nations was becoming fully involved in the conflict without Palestine or Israel being a member state. When the United Nations declared acknowledged an end to the British Mandate and the existence of the Jewish State, clear boarders were still neglected to be identified only increasing the negative political climate in the region. There is no justification for denying individuals their rights regardless of how the conflict began. However, just solving the issue on paper will not suddenly generate peace; it will be the work of social workers and humanitarian workers to aide in generating peace. 

            The very nature of the conflict deprives everyone involved the “right to life, liberty, and security of person (UDHR Article 3)”. With the understanding that “everyone has the right to a nationality” and “no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality... (UDHR, Article 15)”, there is a clear human rights violation committed against the Palestinians that is not shared with Israelis. The United Nations granted and acknowledged Israeli nationalism, by encouraging a two state solution, the United Nations should abide by its own president and grant Palestine full member state status. As a full member, the United Nations would have proper jurisdiction to be involved in the conflict to help negotiate peace, aide in establishing concrete and comprehensive borders, and encourage Palestine to establish its own government by which to implement international humanitarian standards.

In addition Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary…exile” which is precisely what Palestinians are facing. By not being given the right to acknowledge their own nationality synonymous with their identity they are essentially exiles. While Israel argues that closing the border between Israel and Gaza was out of protection, it violated the human rights of the Palestinians. As verified by Article 13 of the UDHR states: “(1) everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.” It is a complex issue to morally justify. If the borders were left opened, the right to life of the Israelis would continue to be threatened by a constant barrage of qussam rockets on homes and community structures. In contrast, by securing the border, the right to work, freedom of movement, and supplies that are imported in to meet a basic standard of living are denied. The most contested, as previously discussed, is the right to land. A nation cannot be established without land. Both sides of the conflict argue that they are being deprived what is justly and morally theirs, which means that both sides are in violation of Article 17 of the UDHR which states that  “no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property”.

The conflict between Israel and Palestine is not new or far off from countless other fights to establish a nation state. The Europeans that immigrated to America took over the land from the Native Americans just as the Chinese have a historic plight with Tibet. Similarly, the conflict in each of these regions stems from a fundamental belief system of right and wrong, a feeling of possession over the land, and a difference of religion. Since it is not possible, nor worthwhile, to try to convince one side to the others reasoning, the best course of action is to value humanity. By placing value on the worth of the person rather than the beliefs or ideals, commonality between the conflicting sides of the argument can be reached. By seeing the humanity in one another, there is hope for peace.

This practice of exemplifying the humanity in one and other is the protocol set forth by the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics. Social workers, as professionals, are mandated to fight for social justice (NASW, 2008). The profession has a responsibility to advocate for a two state solution. The concept of a two state solution is widely recognized as the most likely chance for achieving peace. In addition, a two state solution was the original desire back in 1948 at the closure of the British Mandate. The United Nations should have recognized Palestine and Israel as two separate entities sixty years ago (United Nations, 2008). While that did not happen, it is possible to compensate for lost time by granting Palestinians their nationally now. If the plight of those who are oppressed is ignored than it is the same as siding with the oppressor. Many believe that peace for Israel and Palestine is not possible, as a social worker it is possible to discard this notion and believe that there is action that can be taken, and indeed, there is hope.

Reference

Badil Staff  (Winter 2000) Committee on the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Israel the Legitimized Occupation. Retrieved from: http://www.badil.org/en/al-majdal/item/1106-committee-on-the-covenant-on-economic-social-and-cultural-rights?tmpl=component&print=1

Bard, Mitchell G. (2006). Myths and Facts: a guide to the Arab-Israeli conflict. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise: Chevy Chase, MD.

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC). 2010. Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 8 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. CRC, 2010: Israel. U.N. Doc. CRC/C/OPAC/ISR/CO/1. (Fifty-third sess., Jan 11–29)

Elia, Christian. (2005). A Love Story: Laila is Jordanian; she married a Psalestinian. Their two children have no citizenship. Retrieved from: http://en.peacereporter.net/articolo/1600/A+Love+Story

Laqueur, Walter. (2008). The Israel-Arab Reader: a documentary history of the Middle East conflict. Penguin Books: London, England

National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of Ethics. Retrieved from: http://www.naswdc.org/pubs/code/code.asp

Ross, Stewart. (2007). Teach Yourself: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The McGraw-Hill Companies: London England

United Nations. (2008). The Question of Palestine and the United Nations. United Nations: New York

United Nations. (1989). Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved from: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm

United Nations. (1966). International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Retrieved from: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cescr.htm

United Nations. (1948). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved from: http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/#atop

Privilege, Rights, and Sequestration

   Two years ago I was introduced to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Being new to the field I was overwhelmed by the amount of information found. There were websites for social groups and advocates from every level - from grassroots to government. I was so empowered to use my voice to speak out for children in need - knowingly a white, middle-class, American woman. 

   Typically, social workers in the international community from developed countries work for rights violated in lesser developed countries. However, when it comes to the rights of children, America (arguably the most developed country) is the furthest behind. In recent months, we have seen Congress chase its own tail more and more publicly than anytime in the past decade. Government is so divided that even when given an ultimatum such as the recent sequestration escapade with the Super Committee it still can not come to a reasonable agreement. If Congress is unable to negotiate the vital components that keep our economy afloat, then how are the same people expected to keep the sanctity of the rights of our children alive – they can’t. This is why advocates, such as Hilary Clinton and Sen. Boxer stand as solitary beacons against the abysmal background of our government. America is the only country other than Somalia not to ratify the CRC – and even Somalia has made motion to move towards ratification. Thus, America, the leading developed nation, has left the rights of children behind in the wake of other “more important” crises. Understandably, this is a point that many will argue: America actually has many social services in place for children that other countries lack; America has implemented many of the articles without ratification when other ratified countries have not done so; America has scores of organizations focused on children's rights to negate the need to join the international community. All are valid arguments, however, I argue, that by not agreeing to ratification, we are not acting in accordance with the status quo we have actually set for our selves by consistently being the role model for the international community. For the moment, accept that America has limited drive to ratify the CRC and let us look away from the US to the international community.

   We turn to the United Nations as an entity for the international community to come together to discuss matters important from the multinational to personal levels. Some matters are discussed formally in venues such as the General Assembly while others are debated over in informal and community settings. The conversation over the CRC bridges all venues. It is a discussion on the floor of the General Assembly, implemented through the work of organizations such as UNICEF, discussed through committees, and implemented by the work of NGOs. 

   One committee within the UN system that works to ensure children's rights by taking practical steps to implement the CRC is the  Working Group on Girls. The WGG is a group of dedicated women who work diligently to ensure the rights of girls are implemented in all communities worldwide. The WGG has been successful at facilitating numerous conferences, parallel events at the UN, created multiple factsheets, and submitting recommendations. Not only is the WGG a cohort of women advocating for children's rights, but they also provide the resources to empower girls to speak up for their rights through a program called the Girl Advocate. To return to the previous argument, the irony is that nearly all of the women who attend the monthly meetings are American (or at least are in America) yet their voice is clear and articulate to the UN community many times over the resonance of the voice within American policy chambers.

   If the CRC is imperative to achieving the rights of girls across all boarders, and American women help to secure that right in the international community, how then do we bring it home and re-invigorate the American agenda towards ratification?

How to Value a Girl? Provide Her Education

Courtesy of UNESCO

     Worldwide, there is a collective movement to promote activism and advocacy for girl’s rights to education. Internationally, this tends to be an argument focused by developed countries on developing countries. However, there are girls living in poverty and denied access to education in every country worldwide. Additionally, the Convention on the Rights of the Child which promises girls the right to access quality education is notably not ratified by the United States of America; arguably the most vocal of the first world countries. Around the globe, girls are not able to overcome the barriers of poverty to consistently complete primary and secondary education. The economic constraints of poverty on families create situations that remove girls from education prior to completing secondary education. If the family is provided economic support to alleviate aspects of poverty that are directly correlated to the girls’ enrollment in school, there will be an increased period of attendance. The net gains include, but are not limited to, higher attendance rates, older age for marriage and maternity, decreased infant mortality, decreased HIV/AIDS, increased literacy and livelihood, and decreased generational poverty. The desired outcome is universal integration of a universal stipend program, which has been successfully implemented in several countries.
    Girls are the best indicator of poverty as they are the most marginalized population, as such it is through the plight of girls that the global community has realized that poverty prohibits educational attainment. Access to education enables growth physically, mentally, and socially in ways that cannot be met through other avenues. The United Nations and participating State parties have nearly reached consensus to protect and work towards universal education as explicitly stated under the Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 28 paragraph 1 section (a): “Make primary education compulsory and available free to all. (OHCHR, 1989)”. While education is a right, it is not addressed under one universal mandate. The girl child needs the support of each government to commit to change policies to improve the educational system by addressing poverty.
     A wide variety of global statistics display the plight and insurmountable barriers impeding girls from achieving their right to an education. It is estimated that 54% of the 72 million children out of school are girls (EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2010). While some communities need support for both sexes to attend school, gender parity would cut the number of girls out of school by over 6 million. In countless countries, girls that have not shown potential to their guardians by the time they complete primary education are pulled from school to work or marry. In sub-Saharan Africa, almost 12 million girls may never enroll in school. In Yemen, nearly 80% of girls out of school are unlikely ever to enroll, compared with 36% of boys. Turkey faces cultural barriers in addition to poverty that prevents 43% of Kurdish-speaking girls from receiving more than two years of education. Similarly, 97% of Hausa-speaking Nigerian girls from impoverished homes have less than two years’ education. As of 2006. Pakistani girls accounted for 60% of out-of school children (Global Campaign for Education, 2010).
     It is not frivolous to invest in girls when it is proven that educated women are more influential to their communities. Illiteracy is directly correlated to unemployment, in addressing issues of unemployment worldwide, two thirds of the 759 million adults that are illiterate are women. Women aged 25-34 in Bangladesh have illiteracy rates 32% higher than men in the same age group. In Afghanistan, 87% of women were illiterate in 2000. In Chad, Ethiopia and Mali, women are 1.5 times more likely than men to be illiterate. In Iran, unemployment rates among women aged 20 to 24 are twice the level of men the same age group (Global Campaign for Education, 2010). Millions of women that are not living to their fullest potential and cannot contribute their optimum amount to their community. Learning needs to start with children to improve the lives of adults, and it is our responsibility to provide the tools for success.
      Several countries have implemented local and federal policies that have improved girl’s access to education. Established federally in 2003, Brazil established Bolsa Familia, also referred to as Bolsa Escola or the family grant. This federal welfare program provides financial aid to families living in poverty with children of age to attend primary or secondary education on the condition children have consistent attendance in school and are up to date on vaccines. Families earning less than 140 reais per capita ($73) a month receive a monthly payment of 22 reais ($12) per child. Families whose per-capita income is less than 70 reais per month, the program gives an additional flat sum of 68 reais per month. Poverty has decreased 27.7% since the program’s inception with more than 12 million families benefiting (Duffy, 2010).
     Similarly, Mexico established Oportunidades. The program provides a cash transfer directly to families living in poverty with children. The funds are to be used to supplement the cost of food, vaccines, and dietary needs. By 2006, the program was responsible for aiding one-quarter of Mexico’s population. The stipulations to receiving the stipend include perfect attendance in primary and secondary schooling and recognizing that the funds go directly to the matriarch of the family (World bank, n.d.).
     Bangladesh established the Food for Education Program in 1993 which targeted the enrollment rate and consistent attendance of children. The program provided landless and very poor children with a monthly allocation of wheat or rice for their family for regular attendance. In addition, the Primary Education Stipend Program introduced bank-mediated disbursement procedures fit to cover over 5.5 million students (Tietjen, 2003). As of 2002, “Households of qualifying pupils will receive 100 taka (about $1.76) per month for one pupil, not to exceed 1200 taka annually, and 125 taka per month for more than one pupil, not to exceed 1500 taka annually. (World Bank, 2003)”
      It is a priority of the United Nation’s mission to promote academic programs addressing girl’s rights to access primary and secondary education for it is directly correlated to all eight Millennium Development Goals. Within the MDGs is goal number two, achievement of universal primary education. Mr. Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF, stated that “Universal primary education cannot be achieved without extending schooling to those currently excluded, the poorest and the most marginalized children (UNICEF, 2010).” By implementing a universal policy, countries are acknowledging that groups who are marginalized and excluded must be a priority concern when considering the impact of social policy on those living in poverty. Expenditure by the state party to appropriately implement the policy is reliant on true and thorough assessment and allocation of an appropriate budget based on analysis of poverty specific to the country. The debate about the effectiveness of the stipend programs is ominous. Some argue that giving tangible items such as food, clothing, textbooks, and vaccines would be better then money because the money is ill spent. Others argue that tangible items would be held hostage from the children and sold off anyway. However, the argument still stands that by implementing this program access to education is broadened which will create a greater pool of competent and effective leaders in society. There is a positive correlation between supporting school attendance and successful employment. Education should be geared to the development of potential and to equipping the individual with skills needed for employment. Decent work and supportive income are the best means for enabling families to move out of poverty. It is imperative that the micro impact be analyzed even as the program itself is a marco response to girl’s plight. Girls are young women who will grow up to be mothers of children, and leaders of the community, corporations, and countries. There is no profession left unturned by women, especially social work. It is our right as adults, caretakers, educators, government officials, presidents, and friends to help girls develop to their full potential. Girls who are not counted do not count. It is our duty to account for every girl.

  References
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) (1989) Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved from: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm

Duffy, G. (25 May 2010) Family friendly: Brazil's scheme to tackle poverty. BBC News. Education for All Global Monitoring Report. (2010) reaching the marginalized. Retrieved from: http://www.unesco.org/en/efareport/reports/2010-marginalization/

Global Campaign for Education. (2010). Today is international women’s day: Facts & Figures. Retrieved from: http://www.campaignforeducation.org/en/today-is-international-womens-day

Khandker, S., M. Pitt and N. Fuwa, The World Bank (March 2003). Subsidy to Promote Girls’ Secondary Education: The Female Stipend Program in Bangladesh. Retrieved from: http://www.h.chiba-u.ac.jp/mkt/revised%20fssap%20paper9b.pdf

Tietjen, K. 2003. “The Bangladesh Primary Education Stipend Project: A Descriptive Analysis. Retrieved from: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EDUCATION/Resources/278200-1099079877269/547664-1099080014368/BangladeshStipend.pdf

 United Nations (n.d.) We can end poverty 2015 Millennium Development Goals; A gateway to the UN system’s work on the MDGs. Retrieved from: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/bkgd.shtml

UNICEF (7 September 2010) Focus on world’s disadvantaged children can save millions of lives. Retrieved from: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=35832&Cr=UNICEF&Cr1=

World Bank. (November 2002) Bangladesh, improving governance for reducing poverty. Retrieved from: http://library.bracu.ac.bd/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=5381&shelfbrowse_itemnumber=5242 

World Bank (n.d.) Shanghai Poverty Conference: Case Study Summary. Mexico’s Oportunidades Program. Retrieved from: http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/reducingpoverty/case/119/summary/MexicoOportunidades%20Summary.pdf

 ** re-cited/formatted from academic posting at IASSW

Paradigm-From A Needs Based Perspective To A Rights Based Perspective

  With roots mired in the early 19th century imprint of the Monroe Doctrine, manifest destiny, and staunch protestant individualism, the social work profession's social justice framework began through working with individuals cast aside and living in the margins of society.  Both the National Association of Social Workers and the Council on Social Work Education require social workers to have an understanding and a committment to social justice in our work.  What remains unclear however is a solid working definition of social justice.  The profession's ethical codes suggest an egalitarian model in which "...the needs of all must be considered (Reichert, 2001)."  Distribution of various resources should be allocated so that the basic needs of all individuals are met equitably.  Indeed, the term is enmeshed within the profession and images of equality and fraternity surface with its mention.  However,  with its needs based paradigm and its lack of clear definitions the term is less useful to the populations that the profession seeks to enfranchise.
  American social work is unique in the world in that its focus is on social justice instead of the universal ideas of human rights.  To date, the two major social work bodies in the US lack a clear understanding of the role of human rights within the social work paradigm while the rest of the world uses human rights as the pillar for all work with vulnerable and oppressed populations.
  Human rights, meaning those rights that are endowed to individuals, groups and societies because they are essential to our humanity, have been encoded in international law through the United Nations and other intergovernmental organizations.  The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, though non-binding, offers more clear definitions that the profession in the US can use to further improve the lives of all peoples.  By moving from a social justice framework to a human rights framework, social workers can advocate for the civil, social, political, economic and cultural rights of their constituents from a more substantive framework that not only illicits powerful images, but makes a profound and tangible impact on the world.  Using a human rights framework, social workers would be able to argue that not only do Americans need and deserve universal health care, but they have a fundimental right to universal health care as outlined in international law.
  Human rights insists that the profession call for an end to the busting of collective barganing groups, the creation of equitable policies in TANF, an end to the attacks on women's reproductive rights, and acts of sexism, racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and other forms of hate to be viewed not just as violations of law but violations of those rights guaranteed to us by birth as human beings.
  The United States has only ratified those internatinonal treaties which focus on polictical and civil rights while ignoring economic, social and cultural rights.  The social work profession has been a great lobbying force on various issues that face disenfranchised groups. In order for the profession to advocate for the passage of these other human rights conventions, we must understand and have a committment to human rights in the same way we have done with social justice.
  In truth, it is unlikely that social justice will disappear from the social work conversation at any point in the forseeable future.  With the inclusion of human rights however, social workers will be able to more effectively and positively stand with targeted groups both here and throughout the world.

For further information on incorporating human rights into the social work profession click here