Are We Putting Human Rights into Social Work Practice in Kosovo?

Abstract

Abstract In this article, we explore how social workers are putting human rights into practice in Kosovo. We present a snapshot of the current human rights context in Kosovo; we discuss frameworks for rights-based practice within social work; and we explain the evolution of Kosovar social work education and the role of human rights within it. Ultimately, we focus on the results of a new survey that uses Albanian translations of the Human Rights Methods in Social Work scales to explore the use of eight rights-based practice methods by 100 social workers situated in Kosovo’s Centres for Social Work. In our sample, social workers endorsed the four micro (individually focused) practice methods—accountability, strengths perspective, anti-discrimination and participation—at higher rates than the four more macro (community/policy)-focused methods—capacity-building, micro/macro, collaboration and activism. We use these results to call for further training to support rights-based practice, emphasising the interdependence of micro and macro methods in advancing human rights as well as social work ethics. In conclusion, we offer suggestions that will allow social work to act as an agent of transformative change and social justice in Kosovo.