A black social worker from south Wales has described the racism she has encountered in the workplace as similar to “death by a thousand cuts”, mentioning that it has a significant impact on her mental health, although she does not consider herself a victim. Jade Forbes called for the creation of clearer policies to handle racism and greater training initiatives for social workers to recognise the tell-tale signs of racism that clients may face. Forbes, who has worked in social services in south Wales for 13 years, said she found the attitudes of some people to be “exhausting” and she believes that there should be more reporting and statistics concerning workplace bigotry in the sector to address the issue.
Forbes highlighted the particularly difficult period of her career following the death of George Floyd which resulted in colleagues publicly justifying the actions of the white police officer, which made her feel anxious and worried for the safety of her son as a black man. The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Cymru and Social Care Wales have both called for greater data to combat racism. BASW Cymru’s Abyd Quinn-Aziz voiced concerns about a consistent lack of confidence around the topic in Wales, noting that there is only one known non-white director of social services over the past 20 years in Wales and underlining the need for greater proactivity and consciousness around tackling the matter.
SCW regulation director, David Pritchard, confirmed racism undermines social care principles and claimed SCW’s commitment to reducing racism by improving data, research, and evidence to tackle prejudice in society. Although about 80% of social workers are white, SCW disclosed that the remainder are from various ethnic backgrounds, reiterating the need for a robust data collection framework and analysis of racism in the Welsh workforce. Reports from Social Work England indicated that black male social workers over 40 were excessively susceptible to fitness-to-practise proceedings, illustrating the scale of the problem.
In Wales, BASW Cymru said staff teams reported more instances of racism than clients. Forbes emphasised the importance of training for all social workers, given that if she is encountering racism in her profession, it is highly probable that clients would encounter different forms of racism, sometimes direct or covert. With 5% of the Welsh social care workforce having an Asian background and only 6% comprising of black individuals, more efforts are needed to ensure an equal and inclusive social care profession in Wales
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