By Hopeful Citizen
Activism has become redefined in today’s society. With the internet and social media, this enables people to have a more prominent voice and educate themselves on different issues. There has also been an increasing awareness of social injustices and how they intersect. However, there is still an immeasurable divide in the power imbalance of politicians and the public. It feels at times that politicians entertain the demands of the public, yet there are still situations which demonstrate their ultimate power over decision making. Particularly decisions regarding people or groups which are not represented in government, or are a minority.
Despite the progression of society, it often feels as though society takes one step forwards and two steps back. It can feel disheartening and disempowering when the perspectives of marginalised groups are not represented. Having the likes of President Trump being, is a wakeup call to people to the fragility of the political system. In the instance of abortion laws, in the United States currently, politicians are putting more restrictions against women or stripping away their rights or access entirely. This is alarming as it heightens the uncertainty around other laws, which could also be in jeopardy. This is reproductive rights intersects with the rights of women, people of colour and people from lower socioeconomic groups, as they are statistically more affected by these limitations and access to resources.
I think this is a contributing factor to the unrest in New Zealand and the push to remove abortion from the Crimes Act, in order to protect all women’s rights in the future. As well as to be more vocal about other issues, in order to ensure that these are being heard and hopefully addressed. People of differing age groups and identities appear to be coming together, as there is growing awareness of the intersectionality involved. This activism is also changing in the sense that it is becoming more ingrained in our conversations (Marvelly, 2018) . An example of this is New Zealand’s appallingly high suicide rates. Suicide often carries taboo, stigma and shame associated with it. In the New Zealand media, there is a law around how suicide is reported and it needs to be careful to increase the understanding of it, not the risk of suicide (Mental Health Foundation, 2019). Suicide is a phenomenon which has limited understanding. In recent years, it has become a more talked about issue and there have been many media campaigns urging people to reach out in times of need. As well as celebrities and other affluent people speaking out about person experiences, which has contributed to breaking down stigma around mental health issues.
This is a social movement which is being reflected in government policies. With the Wellbeing Budget which government released just last week, there was a clear focus on mental health, in order to improve accessibility and funding. This has also been seen in politicians valuing the insight from those with lived experience. Last year the Law Commission in New Zealand gathered public submissions on their views on the abortion debate. They received 3,419 submissions (Law Commission, 2018). In the United States, just days ago, there was a Subcommittee on the Threats to Reproductive Rights in America. This consisted of a panel of women, giving testimonies from a range of lived experience, doctors, a professor, a lawyer and a minister, giving their views on the abortion debate. This was an interesting situation in which the public had an opportunity and platform to share their views in court. This was a diverse range of people, including different ethnic and socioeconomic groups and they were all women, given that this is a women’s issue.
Intersectionality is both theory and practice, it is as much about talking as it is about lobbying, therefore activism take many forms (Joy, 2019). It didn’t feel right to talk about a sole social issue and how social workers relate, when we are present in all areas of inequality intersectionality. Therefore, we are in a position to not only empower others, but to use our insight, passion and awareness to advocate for change. The simple protest of challenging stigmatising language used by others, or discriminatory beliefs is another small step towards gaining equality and justice for all humankind. This can be difficult, particularly whilst working within systemic pressures (Bartley, 2019). But we can’t give up without a fight.
References:
Bartley, L. (2019, January 21). Where has my radicalism gone? [Blog post]. Retrieved from: http://www.reimaginingsocialwork.nz/2019/01/where-has-my-radicalism-gone-revisited/
Joy, E. (2019). “You cannot take it with you”: Reflections on intersectionality and social work. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work 31(1), 42-48. Retrieved from: https://anzswjournal.nz/anzsw/article/view/560
Law Commission. (2018). Alternative approaches to abortion law. Retrieved from: https://www.lawcom.govt.nz/abortion
Marvelly, L. (2018, March 10). Activism is in the air – and it’s great. New Zealand Herald. Retrieved from: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12008831
Mental Health Foundation. (2019). Reporting & portrayal of suicide. https://www.mentalhealth.org.nz/get-help/media/reporting-and-portrayal-of-suicide/
Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties (Panel). (2019). Threats to Reproductive Rights in America[YouTube]. United States of America: House Judiciary Committee Hearings. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVvv3JRCVQAl6ovogDum4hA
Photo: http://politicalpunchline.com/womens-march-signs/cant-believe-still-protesting-this-shit/
2019 Social work blog 413 /713 