Kia tutuki ai ngā whainga me ngā tumanako kia mau tonu i ngā mahi
Through working together our goals and objectives will be achieved
Kia tutuki ai ngā whainga me ngā tumanako kia mau tonu i ngā mahi
Through working together our goals and objectives will be achieved
Join this University of Auckland team as they share their research on how social workers understand recent law changes in abortion, the rights of transgender and non-binary people, and assisted dying and how they might respond and adapt to work with clients affected by these topics.
Recently in Aotearoa New Zealand the issues of abortion, the rights of transgender and non-binary people, and assisted dying have been subject to law change. This University of Auckland research team worked with summer scholarship social work students to find out how social workers understood these law changes and might respond and adapt to work with clients affected by these topics. They used an online qualitative questionnaire. In this presentation, they will present some initial findings and discuss how social workers often experience a clash between personal and professional values regarding these topics and call on core professional values to reconcile them. Most social workers reported minimal opportunities for professional education on all topics that would allow them to develop their learning and understanding.
Social workers represent diverse identities, values, and beliefs, playing a critical role in helping service users obtain information and resources and make important life decisions, including those pertaining to abortion, transgender and non-binary rights, and assisted dying. Abortion, the rights of transgender and non-binary people, and assisted dying are considered by many to be controversial issues. In Aotearoa New Zealand, each of these areas has been subject to recent law change: abortion law has been decriminalised, self-identification for most transgender people is now legal, and assisted dying is permitted under certain circumstances. Given the paucity of studies including social workers’ responses to these issues in this country, particularly transgender rights and assisted dying, a team of researchers from the University of Auckland designed an anonymous qualitative survey to explore how social workers understand these law changes and might respond and adapt to work with clients affected by these topics. The method allowed for exploring social workers' thoughts, beliefs, and meaning-making concerning each topic. Because of the contentious nature of these topics, social workers’ personal, political and religious views clash with the fundamental social work principle of self-determination and social justice. Social workers often experience a clash between personal and professional values regarding these topics and call on core professional values to reconcile them. Most reported minimal opportunities for professional education on all topics that would allow them to develop their learning and understanding.
Presenters bios:
Liz Beddoe
Liz Beddoe is a Professor of Social Work at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. Her professional background was in women’s health. Her interests include feminism, reproductive justice, health inequalities, critical social work, student hardship, and the experiences of migrant social workers. Liz is currently investigating social work practitioners’ and educators’ perspectives on three highly politicised topics where there have been recent legislative changes in Aotearoa New Zealand: abortion, the rights of transgender and nonbinary people, and assisted dying. She is a founding member of the progressive blog Reimagining Social Work and the editor-in-chief of Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work journal.
Dr Laura Ann Chubb
Dr Laura Ann Chubb is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland teaching research for practice, youth work and practice with communities. With over 14 years of community-based research experience her work predominantly examines the access, uptake, and responsiveness of health and community services. Her research platform focuses on the intersection of social and cultural issues in global health, wellbeing, education and community development. Laura specialises in creative approaches to data collection and analysis that emphasise the representativeness of participants.
George Guild
George Guild(she/her) is the Programme Director for the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW and BSW Hons) at the University of Auckland. Her teaching spans key areas such as people in context, practice theories and skills, social policy, and field education. With approximately 20 years of social work experience, George has worked extensively in the field of mental health, youth offending, and substance use with adolescents and families in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), London, and Ōtautahi (Christchurch). She continues to contribute to mental health and wellbeing through facilitating mental health workshops across Aotearoa. Her areas of research interest include gender and sexuality, cross cultural exchange, and social work pedagogy.
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-5988-0236
Dr Eileen Joy
Dr Eileen Joy is a Registered Social Worker, Counsellor, and Professional Teaching Fellow at the University of Auckland. In 2024 she was awarded a Royal Society Te Apārangi Mana Tūāpapa Fellowship to explore what evidence ‘counts’ in policy making in Aotearoa New Zealand. In 2022 she completed her PhD in social work where she considered how knowledges are used in child welfare work and policy. Eileen also lectures in Social Work at the University of Auckland at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Following her PhD she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Waikato where she looked at the experiences of people with variations in sex characteristics (often called intersex conditions). Her research interests include mother blame, child protection, policy analysis, intersectionality, gender and sexuality, feminist and queer theory. Eileen has also spent many years working in women’s health, teaching relationships and sexuality education, and advocating for gender based rights.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3671-3734