Our research – which reviewed 25 years of studies examining women’s experiences of gender-based violence in sport – found perpetrators are rarely held to account. More commonly, they are free to continue abusing victims with impunity.
DSWD intensifies drug abuse prevention efforts
Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) social welfare officer Kevin Antonio Bumagat (right) gestures as he explains the operational guidelines and standards in the implementation of the Special Drug Education Center.
Could helicopter parenting and a decline in ‘free play’ be causing the youth mental health crisis?
When Boston College professor Peter Gray remarried and became a stepfather to two small children in the early aughts, he made a discovery that surprised him. Most children were no longer allowed to play outdoors on their own. The Boston College evolutionary biologist soon noticed other changes that highlighted just how much childhood had transformed since his first son, Scott, graduated from high school in the late 1980s.
Guaranteed Income Can Be a Lifeline for Domestic Abuse Survivors
To reduce racial and gender inequalities in wealth, policymakers need to improve the financial capabilities of victim-survivors of violence through unconditional cash transfer programs — a.k.a. guaranteed income. Going beyond literacy to change, beyond individual solutions to systemic ones, will lead to true well-being for victim-survivors.
Lawsuit: Alabama Is Denying Prisoners Parole to Lease Their Labor to Meatpackers, McDonalds
Members of the Tennessee Student Solidarity Network gather outside Alabama’s St. Clair Correctional Facility on March 2 for a solidarity protest with the Free Alabama Movement.
Tamarah Moss Works with Colleagues and Students Across the Caribbean and Beyond
Assistant Professor of Social Work and Social Research Tamarah Moss (second from left) with University of Belize Social Work faculty.
Updated Austerity Action Group “Campaign Action Pack” to be launched at the SWU Conference
The Social Workers Union (SWU) and British Association of Social Workers (BASW) are proud to support the updating of this activism toolkit and hope you will join us for its launch on April 27 in Manchester.
Pregnancy accelerates biological aging in a healthy, young adult population
The research shows that women who reported having been pregnant looked biologically older than women who had never been pregnant, and women who had been pregnant more often looked biologically older than those who reported fewer pregnancies.
When It’s Time for an Aging Driver to Hit the Brakes
Decisions about when an older person (or someone whose physical or mental circumstances make operating a vehicle dangerous) should stop driving are often agonizing. They can rock the driver’s sense of independence and identity, and add to the responsibilities that many family caregivers shoulder.
Why Oklahoma’s homeless population is sacrificing health care for daily survival
“For the most part, when somebody takes suddenly ill in the day shelter or the winter shelter, or is seriously injured, (their option is) EMSA and the closest emergency room,” said Dan Straughan in an email to Oklahoma Watch. Newly retired, Straughan is the founder and previous executive director of The Homeless Alliance.
AAUP President: Columbia President Shafik Trampled on Students’ Rights
Wednesday, before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, President Shafik threw academic freedom and Columbia University faculty under the bus instead of providing what higher education and democracy require: a robust defense of academic freedom and its essential protection of extramural speech
Social workers maker their case: Pitt DSS needs 85 new positions
Kecia Adams Council, blue blouse, and Coleen Anderson, to Council’s right, were among a contingency of Pitt County social workers who lobbied the Pitt County Board of Commissioners to hire employ more workers in the new fiscal year.
Physical activity reduces stress-related brain activity to lower cardiovascular disease risk
Over a ten-year period, biobank participants who met recommended levels of physical activity had a 23% lower risk of cardiovascular disease, and the protective effects were even more pronounced in individuals with depression.
‘Cancelled’ Welsh hymns about mental illness and addiction to be sung again
The Welsh folk singer Lleuwen Steffan was working in a museum archive when she came across recordings of Welsh-language hymns she had never heard before…. Many of the hymns date back to the 18th century and passed down through the generations. Steffan said: “They’re conversational and the lyrics feel so current. There were committees who would choose what hymns would go into the hymn books. These were the unchosen ones, the cancelled ones, if you like.
A promising framework for managing students’ mental health
The consequences of inadequate mental health support are dire for students and institutions, including higher rates of academic struggle and attrition. Singapore is a good example of a country where mental health is receiving national attention, particularly in the higher education sector.
Reactionary International
The twin insurrections at the US Capitol in 2021 and Brasilia’s Three Powers Plaza in 2023 left no doubt about the international coordination of reactionary forces. Yet far too little is known about the entities of this network, their sources of financing, and their institutional allies operating inside our political systems. That is why we launched a research consortium on the Reactionary International: to trace the connections between the politicians, platforms, think-tanks, funders, foundations, publications, judges, and journalists that comprise this global network — and to support democratic systems to become more resilient to their insidious tactics.
The True Story Behind ‘Under the Bridge’: What Happened to Reena Virk?
Because of the heavy subject matter in the show, there were social workers and trauma counselors there on set for support, if needed.
University of Maryland Pioneers MSW and Medical Cannabis Science Program to Address Growing Need for Medical Cannabis Therapy
With the increasing recognition of the therapeutic benefits of cannabis in treating various medical conditions, the University of Maryland School of Social Work (UMSSW), in collaboration with the School of Pharmacy, announces this dual graduate program, the only one in the country, MSW and Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics Post Baccalaureate Certificate.
The Town at the Center of a Supreme Court Battle Over Homelessness
Grants Pass, Oregon, a town of about 40,000, has several hundred homeless people.
Anti-woke Republicans attacked Columbia University. It capitulated.
Today, as student protests against Israel’s actions have grown in size and fervor, hawkish defenders of Israel have intensified efforts to quash them, often asserting, speciously, that protest rhetoric – even the mere sight of a keffiyeh – makes Jewish students unsafe. They then go further to claim that, therefore, Jews are being targeted and threatened. Apart from ignoring that many of the protesters are themselves Jewish these conclusions require two sleights of logic. Above: Columbia University President Minouche Shafik
MPs call for carer’s allowance review as numbers overpaid soars
Figures show 34,500 people incurred overpayments last year after falling foul of rules, landing many with huge debts
Catarman social welfare office gathers stories from solo parents
The Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) in Catarman is collecting stories on the experiences of solo parents in order to drum up awareness of the law that protects and enlists the benefits of single parents.
SF gets millions from state to divert fresh food from landfills
CalRecycle granted $2.1 million to the San Francisco Department of the Environment, which will use the money to expand its network of workers that recover high-quality food that would otherwise go to waste and distribute it to nonprofits and food pantries. City officials said they recovered 5 million pounds of food last year, averting it from landfills and reducing harmful greenhouse-gas emissions.
On-Air Film Review: Matthew Modine Pedals the ‘Hard Miles’
Greg (Matthew Modine) is a beleaguered social worker at a Colorado juvenile correctional center with a passion for bicycle adventure rides and a revelatory idea for rehabilitation… rounding up an unlikely crew of incarcerated students to complete a transformative 762-mile cycling challenge.
A common pathway in the brain that enables addictive drugs to hijack natural reward processing
Mount Sinai researchers, in collaboration with scientists at The Rockefeller University, have uncovered a mechanism in the brain that allows cocaine and morphine to take over natural reward processing systems.
Inequality Should Not Be the Only Rallying Cry for the Left
All of this makes the case that inequality is indeed “the great moral issue of our time,” and so, naturally, the preoccupation of the Left. But there’s more. Movements for racial and gender justice and equality have made it clear that formal equality — that is, equality before the law, the equality of rights that is supposed to attach to every individual — remains, as it always has in American history, unfinished business, notwithstanding constitutional amendments, various legislative acts, and court decisions.
UCCI Celebrates Successful Inaugural Social Work Symposium
UCCI is committed to nurturing the next generation of social work professionals through its comprehensive social work programme. The bespoke programme at UCCI is designed to equip students with the necessary knowledge, skills, and ethical grounding required to make a significant difference in the lives of individuals and communities within the Cayman Islands.
Left silences right, right silences left. But censorship stops us pushing for change
The former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis (above), now secretary-general of the leftwing DiEM25 movement, was served with a betätigungsverbot, a ban on any political activity in Germany, including participation by video from another country.
Fulbright scholar: Kamea Macusi
When Kamea Macusi decided to pursue her MSW at UH Mānoa, she could never have imagined that just a few years later she would be working as a Fulbright scholar in the Jeollanam-do region of South Korea.
How Anti-Trans Efforts Misuse and Distort Science
In 2023 alone, more than 500 anti-trans bills were proposed or adopted in nearly every state in the United States, targeting everything from drag performances to gender-affirming medical care to school inclusion policies for trans people. Support for these measures has been enabled and propelled by scientific misinformation, which has proven to be a distressingly effective tool in outraging a public that might otherwise be broadly empathetic, or at least uncertain about where to stand.
Open letter from advocates for unhoused people calls on Downtown shelter to stop kicking people out for ‘minor infractions’
From left, Lia S. and Sam Schmidt of Our Streets Collective, founded by the Pittsburgh chapter of Food Not Bombs, and Howard Ramsey, walk away from Second Avenue Commons after delivering a letter to its staff and Pittsburgh Mercy leadership
‘We’ve reached a breaking point’: Saskatoon libraries reducing hours amid workplace violence
Library interim CEO Beth Cote said violence isn’t the only concern. Over the last few years, a variety of social, mental health and addictions issues have been worsening inside libraries. Without any options for refuge, many people are spending more time at the library.
Older adults in Ohio are among the most vulnerable to extreme weather
Nearly 1 in 5 older adults in central Ohio report not being prepared for emergencies, such as extreme weather events, or not knowing if they are ready. That is concerning because research shows older adults are at greater risk of harm during disasters such as extreme weather events, said Dr. Smitha Rao, lead author of the study and Assistant Professor of Social Work at The Ohio State University.
Ascension St. John clinicians speak out during 24 hour strike
All clinicians brought up the struggle of trying to treat patients without the proper staffing, resources and time. Dr. Romajit Yatoome continued, “The big reason that we are on strike is because we are all feeling the pinch of the staffing shortages. It’s not just the physicians, but the nurses, techs, and social workers as well. We are all so overworked and patients are waiting 10 to 15 hours just to see a physician. This is not acceptable for anyone.
The Dunning-Kruger Effect Shows that People Don’t Know What They Don’t Know
The Dunning-Kruger effect describes a disturbing cognitive bias that afflicts us all. People with limited expertise in an area tend to overestimate how much they know—and we all have gaps in our expertise.
Blake Burleson: Pro-choice argument biblically grounded
As a pro-choice member of the clergy, I’m sometimes pressed about moral justification for abortion. While most Christians (according to a Pew Research Center survey, May 6, 2022) view abortion as morally permissible depending on the situation, white evangelical pastors and Catholic priests have so dominated the airwaves on this issue for years that it appears (incorrectly) that the pro-life position is the only Christian point of view.
Healer Heal Thyself: Why Healthcare Professionals Are Becoming Stressed, Depressed, and Suicidal, Part 1
I have been a health care professional for more than fifty years. During that time I have risen in my profession and helped thousands of men and women to live fully, love deeply, and make a positive difference in the world. I have also been stressed, depressed, and suicidal during much of my professional life. I’m not alone.
A Survey of Caregivers and Foster Youth Reveals Frustration With Children’s Attorneys
A new report contends that two-thirds of kids in California foster care’s system have never met with their legal counsel outside of court, but critics call the data and conclusions flawed.
Facing That Which Haunts You: Ethel Rohan on Writing About Grief
“For most of my life, I’ve suffered in shame and silence while the men who hurt me got away scot-free.”
The War on Protest
Political repression is on the rise as the state finds new ways to criminalize dissent and collective action.
Universities Are Profiting From Blocking Drug-Price Reform
Teaming up with Big Pharma and Wall Street, universities are profiting by fighting government efforts to curtail soaring drug prices. A case in point: UCLA has reaped more than a billion dollars from its development of Xtandi, a lifesaving cancer drug.
Health behaviors accumulate and remain relatively stable throughout middle adulthood
In a study conducted at the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences and Gerontology Research Center, it was observed that health behaviors are interrelated in such a way that individuals who are the least physically active also consume the most alcohol, and a significant portion of them also smoke. Healthier behaviors were similarly interrelated.
BASW General Election Blog: Undertake a review of those benefits that fuel the housing crisis
There are many reasons why we have a housing crisis. A lack of affordable housing and inadequate supplies of supported and specialist living are reasons that we have already explored in previous blogs. In additional to supply and type of housing available, governments have failed to ensure that people who receive benefits are able to afford necessities such as somewhere safe and secure to live.
2030 Census
AI chatbots refuse to produce ‘controversial’ output − why that’s a free speech problem
The discussions over AI’s political leanings and efforts to fight bias are important. Still, the conversation on AI ignores another crucial issue: What is the AI industry’s approach to free speech, and does it embrace international free speech standards?
‘You need to tell them where to go’: Homeless worry about domino effect from La Crosse encampment clearings
Sue Graf distributes essential toiletries, food and clothes off Veteran’s Memorial Trail in La Crosse on Friday, April 12. Her and her partner Bryan Holiday move around La Crosse several days a week distributing supplies.
ANZASW raises concerns about proposed job cuts at Oranga Tamariki
Oranga Tamariki has today confirmed that operating expense reductions required by the Coalition Government will result in close to 450 job losses, just under 10% of the Oranga Tamariki workforce. Some 37% of staff will be affected through role changes or disestablishments, according to the proposal, creating what has been described as a horrific sense of uncertainty for staff.
Biodiversity is key to the mental health benefits of nature
New research from King’s College London has found that spaces with a diverse range of natural features are associated with stronger improvements in our mental wellbeing compared to spaces with less natural diversity.
How the national living wage helps the UK’s poorest households: new research
The UK’s national living wage has just been raised by 10% to £11.44 per hour. It is now payable for all workers aged 21 and over, where previously it was for those aged 23 and over.
Idaho suspends social worker scholarship program, citing budget concerns
As Alyssa Reynolds (above) walks down the halls of an Idaho Department of Health and Welfare office, she sees familiar faces: Students who’d received a scholarship meant to boost Idaho’s foster care workers. That led her to pitch a story for Boise State University on the success of the Title IV-E Child Welfares Scholar program.