Research Paper—Applying a Human Rights-Based Approach to Social Problems and Ethical Issues

Title Your name Subject and Section Professor’s Name Date 1 How are human rights and human rights-based approaches relevant to social work? Explain their significance. Human rights and human rights-based approaches and perspectives are considered mainstream concepts and frameworks in social work since they stress the principle of the worth and dignity of a person and absolute equality and respect for each individual, which are the essence of social work. Such approaches ensure that social work practices are exercised in the framework of upholding general principles that accord rights to parties with specific reference to the weak groups of the population, including children, minorities, and those who cannot afford to fend for themselves. In this approach of practice, social workers are also in a better position to demand fundamental changes in society, serve the clients by imparting to them the knowledge that will enable them to change their conditions and fight the root causes of social injustice, thereby promoting the creation of a just society (Androff, 2015). Moreover, a human rights-based approach makes social workers consider their clients as agents of change rather than ordinary recipients. It advocates for participation, openness, and accountability in social work. It provokes social workers to work with clients in a way that ensures that clients are honored and endowed with rights as human beings; this makes the relationship between the social worker and the client more empowering (Androff & Matis, 2022). 2 Which social work topic are you researching for this paper, and why did you select this topic or practice? I am interested in how human rights-based approaches are employed in child welfare. I selected this topic because child welfare is an issue that, in one way or another, affects social work practice, and applying human rights can enhance the notion of the deliverance of organizational practice. Golden (2024), an investigative journalist, has recently debunked myths on child trafficking, pointing out, among other things, that most cases are perpetrated by people known to the victims and not strangers and that it does not solely involve sexual exploitation but also labor exploitation. Attention is paid to delayed general neuropsychological repercussions with the focus on such long-term sequelae of adult survivors as psychologically and sexually induced diseases, developmental disorders, impairing mastering of object relations and building of adult personality, and other ones. For instance, learning from the article by Cayanan (2024) in Philippine Star Global, the author postulated that child trafficking is still a problem in the Philippines, and the victim group is composed of most vulnerable children from poor and minority backgrounds. The government has, in the recent past, endeavored to enhance laws regarding child abuse and to put in practice measures such as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), but the main issues arise in the local capacity to implement the measures and to meet the multiple factors that contribute to child vulnerability to exploitations. Future efforts also need both governmental and non-governmental organizations and child-rights organizations to join hands and help build protective settings and improve child protection, conduct awareness and research, and support children in need and their families. In another report, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) identified 494 instances of human trafficking and slavery in the period 2023-24, 12% up on the same time of the previous year, stated on the UN World Day against Trafficking in Person. The emphasis of this year's theme is on an escalation of the fight against child trafficking, given that, worldwide, one out of every three victims is a child. Since implementing a victim-centered approach, the AFP has developed new referral mechanisms and support services for victims; this shows that having community members informed and alert to the indicators of trafficking is crucial for ending it. Socioeconomic factors are pretty apparent in human trafficking, including poverty, illiteracy, and lack of job opportunities, which make the people vulnerable to exploitation. In these parts of the world, parents can sell their children, and such notions as financial security become the source of child and adult ...