Social work as an institutionalized profession aims to promote and defend human rights and social justice regardless of gender, sexual orientation and other grounds. Rooted in Christianity, it is partly performed by religious organizations and religious people. Consequently, conservative values may orient the profession, thus conflicting with the rights of lesbians and gays. The aim of the article is to present the risks of social worker’s oppressive action toward same--sex parents, and to suggest possibilities how to avoid such ethical misconduct. First, we present a dilemma of social work arising from the tension between ethical principles of equality and non -discrimination on the one hand and conservative norms on the other hand. Then, we introduce individual oppressive tendencies which are manifested in the discourse “on homosexuality” in Czech social work and how these may transform into social worker’s oppressive action. Finally, we propose practical suggestions that can support anti -oppressive social work in the Czech Republic.
Social workers too often accept without question conventional beliefs on gender roles and the nature of families. Feminist analyses of social work have argued for greater attention to the conditions which women experience. Feminist social work is described as a movement to raise consciousness and give women control of their lives or as an analysis of oppression and modes empowerment for women. This article focuses on feminist contributions to knowledge and skill building in social work. There are many ways to separate theories. I prefer common division of liberal, radical, socialist and postmodern feminism. Each perspective is presented with a brief overview of the theory, examples of applications of the theory to social work practice and then a critique of theory's and practice's limitations and an assessment of its contributions.