Abolition in Social Work and Human Services - by Ian Kelvin Hyslop & Bob Pease (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Globally, social workers are committed to human rights and challenging unjust social structures. However, their close ties to the state often reinforce such systems of oppression.

The first to apply abolitionist theory from international perspectives to social work, this book examines this contradiction, exploring whether social work can embrace radical change while operating within state structures. Bringing together scholars from the United States, Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, Finland, Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, it explores alternatives for addressing issues such as child protection, mental health, violence against women, drug use, violent extremism, homelessness and Indigenous sovereignty.

Essential reading for academics, researchers, students, human service practitioners and social activists, this book interrogates the implications of social work's complicity with systems that perpetuate oppression and social injustice.

Review Quotes

"In the context of rising global authoritarianism, social work is at a crossroads - will we resist and shake off the carceral logics and practices that have made our profession a technology of harm and control, or will we dream collectively and enact practices of care, mutuality and solidarity? In Abolition in Social Work and Human Services: Visions, Possibilities and Challenges, contributors wrestle with these questions on an international level. This is a crucial intervention in a discipline that can often be centred on the national or local context and one that speaks to the deep connections and relationships we'll need to create to bring about a future social work rooted in the politics of decolonisation and global liberation." Craig Fortier, Renison University College: University of Waterloo

"Abolition in Social Work and Human Services interrogates the failure of the social work profession to live up to its own ethics of fighting injustice when it colludes with the state in the oppression and marginalisation of vulnerable and minority populations. From diverse positions and international contexts, the assembled chapters provide responses to this fundamental challenge in ways that are nuanced, practical and revolutionary. By upturning the role of the state, this book expands the horizon of possibility for a praxis of social justice. It is a text I want my students to read." Anaru Eketone, University of Otago

"A brilliant collection of work by seminal thinkers in the conversation about abolition in social work. Thought-provoking, intellectually stimulating, rich and grounded in communities' fights to dismantle systems of harm worldwide. A must-read for all social workers and anyone interested in social justice." Jacynta Krakouer, University of South Australia and The University of Melbourne

"This powerful collection brings abolitionist thinking to the forefront of social work. It confronts the profession's complicity in colonial and state violence, opening space for urgent debate on justice, liberation and the radical transformation of social work itself." Vasilios Ioakimidis, University of West Attica and the International Federation of Social Work

"This groundbreaking text is essential reading for anyone who is concerned about the future trajectory of social work or has questioned whether the profession can authentically make claims to challenging injustice and promoting human liberation. Showcasing the work of a range of critical scholars, this edited collection importantly offers concrete alternatives that address the current gap between the espoused social justice values of social work and the realities of much contemporary practice. Positing a radical rethink of the profession, the book provides a much-needed resource for educators, students and practitioners in the pursuit of a more emancipatory approach to social work." Christine Morley, Queensland University of Technology

"Society is increasingly immersed in a toxic brew of Orwellian and Kafkaesque forms of injustice. Into this mix, carceral surveillance melds with irrational, byzantine bureaucracy: a dystopian concatenation that attenuates agency, obviates human rights and objectifies personhood. Into this arena, the theme of abolition in social work takes on a particular purchase as cogently demonstrated in the latest progressive offering from Ian Hyslop and Bob Pease. This edited text makes an original and timely contribution to the reworking of abolitionist practices in social work by championing new visions, possibilities and challenges. I highly commend this publication and its seminal advancement of radical thinking and practice aimed at transforming carceral systems in society." Stan Houston, Queen's University Belfast (Emeritus)

About the Author

Ian Hyslop is Honorary Lecturer with the School of Social Practice, Faculty of Arts and Education, University of Auckland.

Bob Pease is Adjunct Professor at the School of Social Sciences, University of Tasmania and Honorary Professor at Deakin University.