Welsh Government Lived Experience of Racism Repository

Racism: Social worker calls experiences exhausting

Published on 7 December, 2023.

A social worker said racism she encounters was like "death by a thousand cuts".

Jade Forbes, who is black, said the workplace bigotry she experienced had affected her mental health.

While not considering herself a victim, she admitted she found some people's attitudes "exhausting".

The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Cymru wanted more data to tackle racism. Social Care Wales said it wanted an anti-racist sector.

Ms Forbes, who has worked in social services for 13 years around south Wales, said: "It makes me really quite angry about things and [I have] a sense of injustice.

"It can be quite an isolating place as a black social worker, trying to express my frustration around racism when often colleagues have not got that same lived experience."