Policy and Practice in Health and Social Care – serie

To achieve a fair and just society with positive outcomes for all, there is an imperative to examine both the structural causes of poverty and inequality and the role that public services play in mitigating and reducing their impacts. A ‘deficit approach’ to the provision of public services has evolved in which services are designed to fill gaps and fix problems. This leads to individuals and communities becoming disempowered and dependent. An alternative lies in asset-based approaches. These change the relationship between the citizen and the state; between those supported by services and those doing the supporting. Asset-based approaches have implications for the structures and culture of public services.The debate is not confined to one specific policy area. The authors consider asset-based approaches as they are developing in Scotland from three broad perspectives: those of public health, community development and social services. They make the case that the fundamental principles underpinning asset-based approaches are common to all three areas and that they all share ambitions concerned with improving health and wellbeing, reducing the inequality gap and improving life circumstances for all.In providing a critical overview of the evidence for asset-based approaches, including the background and rationale for the approach; the current policy, political and economic context; and the implications and opportunities for the workforce, this book will be of interest and use to all those seeking change and improvement in the provision of public services whether from policy, practice or academic perspectives.

Domestic abuse is a persistent global health and social problem with far reaching consequences at both an individual and a societal level. Internationally, significant progress has been made in addressing domestic abuse and responses to the problem have evolved rapidly in recent years. However, considerable challenges still exist across a range of jurisdictions in terms of how to define, conceptualise, prevent and respond to domestic abuse.The Scottish Parliament has developed a distinctive approach to defining and addressing domestic abuse, informed by a history of feminist activism, and has adopted a gendered definition of domestic abuse not shared in other parts of the UK. This approach explicitly positions domestic abuse as both a cause and consequence of gender inequality. In Scotland, domestic abuse is therefore addressed within an equalities framework. Whilst this approach is underpinned by international treaties shared by other countries, Scotland’s approach is considered to be particularly progressive.By illustrating contemporary research and practice in Scotland, and situating this evidence within an international context, this volume provides a valuable source of national and international knowledge for those working and studying across a broad range of sectors, including health, education, housing, social work, criminal justice, law and politics. A feminist theoretical perspective, which recognises domestic abuse as a function of gendered inequalities, is adopted as a framework for understanding the research evidence and practices discussed throughout the book.

Sam Smith explores the development of a human rights based approach to social care, thus she contributes to the development of a culture of awareness of human rights that challenges the perception of human rights law and practice being solely the preserve of lawyers. By approaching human rights in an accessible and informative manner, Sam Smith demystifies human rights in their social care context.Starting with a brief historical summary of the development of human rights from the UN Charter 1945 through to the development of the European Convention on Human Rights, Sam Smith explores the differing approaches to the development of Civil and Political Rights and Economic Social and Cultural Rights. Particular attention is given to the development of specific convention rights such as those embodied in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the implications that these convention rights have for social care policy and practice.The book is structured to explore particular areas of social care (client groups) and makes use of thought-provoking practical examples and case studies to illustrate how human rights theory can enhance social care in practice. While the focus of the book is on the development of Human Rights and Social Care in Scotland, a review of international policy developments is undertaken in each area, to provide scope for comparative analysis and the cross-jurisdiction applications of its key themes.

In a globalised world, the wealthy elite and the rough sleeper negotiate the same streets, jostling for space in the doorways of shops selling luxury goods, thus the winners and losers of global capitalism meet in the same urban spaces. While the visibility of rough sleepers has become a shorthand to frame poverty and inequality, homelessness is not confined to the doorways of cities. It is experienced in a multitude of different ways: as single homeless people living in hostels, shelters and temporary supported accommodation, as those ‘sofa-surfing’ and living in overcrowded accommodation and as those who are termed ‘statutory homeless’, waiting for a house from a social housing provider.Homelessness is recognised as a multi-dimensional phenomenon. The issue of homelessness and social exclusion has received increasing attention in the wider arena of health and social care policy and practice, the issue of homelessness and health has been the focus of recent Public Health attention in Scotland. Positioned within a health inequalities framework, homelessness is understood to be ‘both a consequence and a cause of poverty, social and health inequality’. Homeless people experience poorer physical and mental health than the general population and present a higher prevalence of physical, mental and substance misuse issues.The main aim of this book is to support readers wishing to understand issues of homelessness, social exclusion and health at a local level but to do so by framing these issues in a global context. It expands notions of health by drawing on disciplines outside the fields of housing and health to better comprehend the ways that stigma, identity and urban geographies shape, frame and present homelessness, especially for those who are rough sleeping.