Anti-oppressive practice in achieving the right to financial social assistance: Obstacles and possibilities

Abstract

Shifting the focus from an individual to the structural causes of poverty creation and maintenance is present in the recent decades. In this process, a key role is played by social services which are in direct contact with clients and which have the task to improve their position in society. The main claim of this paper is that the current national system of social assistance in Serbia creates and maintains the oppressive practice in work with poor clients. The objectives of this article are: analysis of the mechanism to exercise the right to cash benefits, from the submission to approval of the request; systematization and analysis of the institutional and systemic obstacles to exercising the right to financial social assistance; detection of oppressive practice elements in the welfare centers and in their work with the poor. Findings indicate that there are multiple obstacles on relations system-client and social worker-client that prevent the use of anti-oppressive practice in practice.

Pomeranje fokusa sa individualnih na strukturne uzroke kreiranja i održavanja siromaštva aktuelno je poslednjih decenija. U ovom procesu ključnu ulogu imaju socijalne službe koje u neposrednom kontaktu sa korisnicima socijalne zaštite imaju zadatak da unaprede njihov položaj u društvu. Osnovna tvrdnja ovog rada je da aktuelni nacionalni sistem novčane socijalne pomoći u Srbiji kreira i održava opresivnu praksu u radu sa siromašnim korisnicima. U radu će biti analiziran mehanizam ostvarivanja prava na novčanu socijalnu pomoć od podnošenja do odobravanja zahteva; sistematizovane i analizirane institucionalne i sistemske prepreke za ostvarivanje prava na novčanu socijalnu pomoć; detektovani elementi opresivne prakse u centrima za socijalni rad u radu sa siromašnima. Nalazi upućuju na to da postoje višestruke prepreke na relacijama sistem - korisnik i stručni radnik - korisnik koje onemogućavaju primenu antipotčinjavajuće prakse u praksi.