Social Work and Disadvantage

This book is aimed at social care workers and is a guide to understanding the issue of stigma.

It examines the stigmatisation not only of those excluded from society through the public and media's perception of disability, mental illness and other social disadvantages, but also how family members and friends become stigmatised through association.

The chapters unpick some of the myths and stereotypes surrounding disadvantaged groups, and look at how workers' prejudices can affect their clients.

It addresses how everyone has their own preconceptions and looks at tackling inequalities from the perspective of the worker.

To give an example, I remember meeting a newly qualified social worker who exclaimed: "I'm working with a 15-year-old girl - and she's a prostitute." Similarly, I have heard people described as "attention seeking", "dodgy" and "damaged" by social care staff. This book challenges these assumptions and discusses how stigmatising groups may make them even more vulnerable.

Particularly interesting was the chapter focusing on how stigma affects children in care. It was pleasing to discover that it covered a breadth of groups who are discriminated against, including drug users, and people living with HIV and Aids.

The book would be best used in social care education, as it offers a chance to think about why individuals work in social care and how negative attitudes may impact on the very people we are meant to be serving.