Citation

Pollack S. Br. J. Soc. Work 2004; 34(5): 693-707.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/bjsw/bch085

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

An anti-oppressive practice (AOP) framework emphasizes issues of power and oppression within the provision of social work services themselves as well as within the lives of clients who have been marginalized and oppressed (Preston-Shoot, 1995; Garcia and Melendez, 1997). AOP seeks to deindividualize clients' problems in order to see them within the wider social context of their lives. In addition, this framework attempts to move away from an 'expert' model of service delivery towards one that is more inclusive of clients' experiences and that incorporates a recognition of coping and resistence to oppression. In this paper I discuss how an AOP framework can contribute to our understanding of and interventions with women in prison. In particular, I will focus upon how we can better understand and respond to women's mental health issues and the experience of imprisonment. Peer support services are examined as an example of AOP programming for women in prison.