Citation

Scourfield J. Child Fam. Soc. Work 2001; 6(1): 77-87.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1046/j.1365-2206.2001.00189.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper is based on an ethnographic study of the occupational culture of a social work team in the UK. It is a discussion of some key aspects of social workers’ construction of women as clients. Data were collected from observation of routine case talk, reading of case files and in‐depth interviews with social workers. The conclusion of the research is that three defining discourses can be identified in the culture of the social work office: women as oppressed, women as responsible for protection, and women as making choices.