When Social Workers Deal with Lgbtqi+ People. the Employment of Anti-Oppressive Practices to Combat Discrimination and Inequalities.

This oral presentation provides an analysis of the material collected for the Italian project “Contrasting violence against LGBTQI+ people: Towards innovation of territorial policies”. Alongside a quantitative survey dedicated to social and welfare workers, most of the data collected were qualitative, coming from focus groups with social workers and interviews with LGBTQI+ volunteers. All these data were collected in Sicily, south of Italy, making them particularly interesting from both national and international perspectives.

The starting point of this project was the high level of discrimination, marginalization, and lack of power that LGBTQI+ people experience in their everyday lives, especially when dealing with the state and its apparatus. Indeed, Italy lacks specific policies devoted to non-heterosexual people (from marriage equality and adoption to contrast and criminalize violence and discrimination). This long and steady attitude of Italian politics comes from every political area, explained mainly by the influence of the Catholic Church.

This project focused on social and welfare workers and their attitudes towards LGBTQI+ people and their needs. We wanted to study whether and how practices (due to the lack of policies) were implemented to counter discrimination, violence, and marginality. As we know, social and welfare workers are at the forefront of battling inequalities and exclusions in our society.

In this presentation, we will highlight the results of the project and the outcomes that might become institutional practices (even policies) for social and welfare workers in Italy and beyond. What appears clear is that they need better instruments and tools to contribute to the growth of LGBTIQ+ people. For this reason, we suggest the employment of anti-oppressive practices. Indeed, achieving social justice through social change is the only successful mechanism for LGBTQI+ people to become members for all intents and purposes of our society.