Summary Report Racism in Social Work: From Words to Action
Published on 1 May, 2022.
BASW Cymru is part of BASW UK and is the professional membership organisation for social work. We are the independent voice of social work that champions social work and helps members to achieve the highest professional standards. This summary report brings together our ‘Racism in Social Work’ survey findings, conducted across Wales last year. The survey was developed by the BASW Cymru AntiRacist Social Work Practice Group and was accessible to students, practitioners, managers, and educators. Its aim was to explore the prevalence of racism across the social work profession. We explored the data which provided crucial insights and now present it so we can use the contents to have further constructive discussion about effective change within the social work sector across Wales. Our findings concludes that: l Racism does exist within social work in Wales; it is occurring within employment and educational settings and is experienced by practitioners, managers and those who use services. l White privilege and other notions of whiteness are not being discussed in Welsh institutions and cultures. l Anti-racist values are not always promoted in Wales. l There is evidence of significant emotional, psychological, and physical impact of racism on ethnic minority social workers across Wales. l Racism is not dealt with in a transparent or robust manner when reported to leadership. l There is a lack of acknowledgment, education, and awareness of racism within the social work. l More work must be done to create and sustain equitable, diverse, and inclusive work and educational spaces.