Social Work Anti-racism Oversight Group: statement of intent

Foreword by Iona Colvin, Chief Social Work Adviser, Scottish Government, and Alison Bavidge, National Director, Scottish Association of Social Work

This statement of intent is the result of months of collaboration and much debate. It signals a commitment from all partners to work together across organisational boundaries. We believe this statement of intent will help frame the work of the organisations represented in the Social Work Anti-racism Oversight Group to develop and implement the first national Anti-racism Action Plan for Social Work.

We appreciate the energy and commitment from the partners who have developed this statement. They challenged, explored, contributed and helped us all to actively listen to and empathise with the very difficult experiences that people shared throughout this work.

The Scottish Government, SASW and partner organisations in the sector have expressed commitment to removing racism and discrimination from social work in Scotland. We owe this to people who need support and people involved in giving that support. Together, we can make sure the vision we have set out in this statement ensures an anti-racist and inclusive culture is present and embedded in the social work sector.

So now we need action. We need to do this together. We need to combine our resources, our skills and our experiences and translate them into meaningful action. A key part of our strategy is working with employers to embed anti-racism and intersectional approaches in organisational policy and practice.

Working together, we want to bring about the necessary changes in organisational processes and culture, as well as in personal behaviours and actions. If we truly want to live in a safe and inclusive society with a social work profession we are proud of, then we must follow through at individual, team and organisational levels.

These changes cannot come fast enough. Racism has a life-threatening effect on minority ethnic communities across Scotland and that has been the case for generations. The only way we can make a difference now is to work together to dismantle racism. Racism has no place in Scottish society, nor does it have a place in social work.