Refugee activism and social work

Refugee issues are amongst the most intractable facing the world today. No region is immune to people movements, asylum seeking and government and community resistance. Using a case study from Australia, this chapter outlines the harsh policies towards asylum seekers, particularly mandatory detention. It then discusses social work activism that was invoked in an endeavour to expose and influence the policies in the belief that social work academics in Australia have both an obligation and the freedom to speak out. Finally, the chapter suggests ways in which social work educators can encourage students to be critical social policy analysts in their practice. The form of social work activism discussed is the People's Inquiry into Detention which was auspiced by the Australian Council of Heads of Schools of Social Work (ACHSSW).