Indigenous social work and transitional justice in Taiwan

Abstract

This chapter reviews the development of social work in Taiwan and reveals several problems with the current Taiwanese professional social work system. The Indigenous people of Taiwan have experienced several periods of historical injustice. As a result, social work in Taiwan has developed without input reflecting the colonial history and culture of Taiwanese Indigenous peoples. Present Tsai apologized to the Taiwanese Indigenous peoples on August 1, 2016, and has engaged with transitional justice for the Indigenous peoples. Taiwan employs an ethnic mainstreaming approach as a tool for dealing with the problems and issues of historical injustice experienced by Indigenous peoples. Therefore, the ideas of Indigenous social work involve social justice, ethnic equality, and historical justice. The development of indigenized social work would assure the introduction of relevant policies, services, and practitioners, based upon transitional justice for the Indigenous peoples of Taiwan.