Racism in Scottish Social Work: a 2021 snapshot

The Scottish Association of Social Work (SASW) has launched a report exploring racism in Scottish Social Work

Racism in Scottish Social Work: a 2021 snapshot is the result of ongoing work undertaken by SASW including a survey, which ran towards the end of 2020, and an anti-racism roundtable in March 2021, all in collaboration with members with lived experience.

The report provides evidence that:

  • Racism exists within social work in Scotland
  • Racism is experienced in both employment and education settings, from colleagues, managers and people who use services
  • The impact of racism on social workers from BAME backgrounds is significant
  • When racism is reported it is rarely dealt with in a satisfactory way
  • Racism experienced within social work is harmful, both to individuals and to the profession

On the launch, Alison Bavidge, National Director, said: “We asked social workers about their experiences of racism.  What they told us shows we have a long way to go to ensure our workplaces and educational settings are free from discrimination based on race.  This report will lay the foundations for SASW’s own anti-racism strategy and action plan for the next three years as part of a wider equalities, diversity and inclusion programme throughout BASW UK. SASW will be working to consider its own position in terms of representation on our National Standing Committee, staff group, whether our systems act against diversity and so on.  We will also engage with universities and social work leaders in Scotland to work positively, collaboratively and to learn from each other to eradicate this exhausting and harmful abuse".