Social Work Speaks Abstracts

Civil Liberties and Justice

NASW, indeed the social work profession, has a long-standing commitment to individual liberties and social justice. Unfortunately, under the guise of promoting “traditional values,” individual liberties are being undermined by some political and religious leaders. Setbacks can be seen in vital areas, including criminal justice, First Amendment rights of free expression and separation of church and state, due process, and equal protection and privacy rights.

The NASW Code of Ethics states that social workers are obligated to act in the interests of all people, with special regard for disadvantaged or oppressed groups, and to act “to prevent and eliminate discrimination.” Therefore, NASW seeks reforms as well as the reaffirmation of key democratic principles in a number of areas. These include: abolition of the death penalty, protection of the rights of criminal defendants, protection against self-incrimination, civilian review of police activity, restoration of funding for legal aid services, diversity in judicial appointments and unimpeded access for individuals seeking redress, including initiating class-action suits, in the courts. Further, NASW rejects efforts to silence individuals by denying federal or state funds because of lawful protest or dissent, or to limit artistic freedom.

As important as individual rights, and a natural extension of the right to free expression, are workers' rights to organize, NASW believes. Accordingly, the association opposes regulatory, legislative or judicial action to abrogate these rights and opposes other encroachments on workers' rights, including screening that denies workers access to health benefits. NASW also opposes mandatory workplace drug testing and surveillance of workers.

Similarly, NASW supports the constitutional right to privacy for individuals seeking health and human services, while it opposes efforts to curtail civil liberties, especially for those least able to defend themselves against such impingements. Specifically, NASW opposes the current ban on Medicaid funding of abortion and efforts by legislators, the executive branch of government, and the courts to restrict access to family planning information, including information about abortion and contraception. Other intrusive practices NASW opposes, based on these same principles of individuals' right to privacy and non-discrimination, include: violation of confidentiality of welfare rolls and case records, especially as it relates to drug and alcohol abuse or HIV-related illnesses; unannounced home inspections, without warrants, at inappropriate times; efforts to sterilize welfare recipients or deny them benefits based on a so-called “family cap” and evictions of tenants deemed, for unspecified reasons, “undesirable,” without providing these individuals due process.