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BJSW Advance Access originally published online on January 17, 2008
British Journal of Social Work 2009 39(5):936-949; doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcm144
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved

editor's choice

Choosing Language: Social Service Framing and Social Justice

Colleen Vojak

Dr. Vojak has a Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies from the University of Illinois where she holds an Adjunct Professor appointment. In this essay she draws from her experiences as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and guardian ad litem for children in the state of Illinois. Her research interests include: children's rights and interests, autonomy facilitating curriculum; religion and education, and the influence of market ideology on student behavior.

Correspondence to Dr Colleen Vojak, Ph.D., 4201 Summer Field Road, Champaign, IL 61822, USA. Email: vojak{at}uiuc.edu


  Abstract

Traditional social service language is embedded in an ideological framework that views individuals as the primary source of their predicaments and the solution to their problems, ignoring racism, poverty and other structural inequities. Stigmatizing language serves to maintain those inequities and reduce the collective sense of responsibility to address them. Social service providers who care about social justice, but do not understand the relationship between language and the larger social vision they want to help create, may unwittingly undermine their own project by reinforcing the language of hegemony.

Keywords: stigma, language, social justice


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