Keywords
post-colonialism
social work knowledge
critical social work
power relations
(self)reflection
Abstract
The article examines the contribution of traditional social work to the maintenance of violent power relations. Through a critical analysis of the history of social work, it will be demonstrated to what extent the prevailing knowledge in traditional social work is epistemically violent. Based on the results of group discussions with persons working within social work, it is carved out how epistemic violence manifests itself in the practice of social work and how it can be reduced. Furthermore, the influence of the definitions of epistemic violence and social work expressed by participants of the group discussions on how they perceive their own power to act and to counter epistemic violence in their daily practice will be shown. Finally, the necessity of permanent (self)reflection among social workers is pointed out.
Keywords: epistemic violence, post-colonialism, social work knowledge, critical social work, power relations, (self)reflection