On the Role Conflict of Social Workers in Lithuania Dealing with the Issue of Legal Capacity of Persons with Disabilities

Abstract

The research in this article investigates the experience of role conflict that social workers face when dealing with the issue of legal capacity of persons with disabilities. Persons with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities are denied their legal capacity in many countries. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the United Nations obliges states to recognize or restore full legal capacity to all persons regardless of their ability. The study was set in Lithuania, one of the many countries where social workers are required by the Convention to advocate for people’s right to legal capacity and support its exercise. Yet laws and ongoing procedures typically assume social workers to be aides in the denial of legal capacity. A qualitative study of practicing social workers in Lithuania confirmed the existence and sources of role conflict. Despite their professional identity, social workers maintained some of their cultural biases that were incompatible with recognition of clients’ legal capacity. The findings imply that documented role conflict can spur efforts at changing public perceptions and including awareness of rights of persons with disabilities and cultural barriers in professional education.