Anti-Oppression Research

Definitions

Oppression can be defined as dominance over a subordinate group. This dominance can be social, economic, political and/or cultural. When using the term oppression, there is an implication of negative consequences or impacts as a result of this dominance.

Anti-oppression is concerned with recognizing, acknowledging and taking action against oppression. The term anti-oppression originated in the 1970s and is rooted in the field of social work. Anti-oppression is a stance that guides practice, particularly when working with oppressed individuals and communities. Anti-oppression is concerned with all forms of oppression and recognizes the intersectionality and interlocking nature of multiple systems of oppression—such as gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, age, ability, madness and colonization. Intersectionality recognizes that one form of oppression does not exist in isolation. For instance, a Black female living in poverty experiences multiple kinds of oppression that cannot be examined in isolation. Interlocking oppression recognizes the systems of oppression and how various forms of oppressions are locked together, unable to be viewed in isolation.

Social work as a profession is concerned with promoting positive change and social justice—as such anti-oppression social work practice is concerned with social justice. Anti-oppression social work recognizes and sheds light on power and privilege, is social and political, ensures reflection and reflexivity and is resistive at the micro- and macrolevels. From a social work perspective, microlevel resistance would occur at the individual level with participants of research. This might mean trying to effect change within the individual, such as empowering participants through a participatory action method. For instance, an indigenous participatory method, Anishnaabe Symbol-Based Reflection, allows research participants to create symbols. The process of creating a symbol is a spiritual experience that opens the door to expression and healing (see http://www.ryerson.ca/asbr/index.html). Macrolevel resistance occurs at a broader societal level. Through research, this might mean trying to affect change within policy and programmes or contributing towards societal education and community development. Anti-oppression social workers bring in a critical discourse on neo-liberalism because of the detrimental impact of this ideology on the ability to resist or mitigate oppression and promote social justice. Neo-liberalism is a political and economic approach that privileges competitive markets and creates insecurity for working and poor people. Authors such as Lena Dominelli, Ben Carniol, Donna Baines, Bob Mullaly, Jan Fook and Peter Leonard have written about anti-oppression practice in social work, albeit from various perspectives (e.g. new structural, critical, systems).

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