IASSW has published on their website a series of Country Reports, each charting a national response to the COVID-19 pandemic with a particular focus on the role of social work and social welfare in this respect.
In the introduction, the editors write: This collection of Reports is the product of an international network of social work academics with a specific interest in how social work practice, policy and education can learn from, and adapt to, our shared experiences of this global health emergency. The network was convened by Professor Timo Harrikari (University of Lapland) to examine ‘pandemic’ and ‘post-pandemic’ social work. After a number of online discussions, an initial action taken by network members was to gather information among themselves to develop an overarching view of how the pandemic has impacted social work and those populations that the profession serves in each specific country. The following sixteen Country Reports cover different nation-states and are written by network members to chart this phenomenon and its impact on social work and service users. The countries represented span a number of countries, and include key insights from Albania, Australia, Bangladesh, Estonia, Finland, India, Iran, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden and the United Kingdom. We are conscious of various gaps in coverage and hope that others will submit further country reports to add to this collection, as this one is but a modest start.
The reports follow a similar structure and focus on the key facts and figures from each jurisdiction, the impact of the pandemic on social work practice, vulnerable and marginalized populations, and local and national governmental responses to the pandemic. What we see is a common trend of periods of ‘lockdown’, closure of schools, businesses, universities and other places of work, recreation, and social gatherings. Emphasis has been placed on personal responsibility, hygiene, and physical distancing. However, many countries have experienced a dearth of personal protective equipment, and, in some cases, even for frontline and emergency response professionals.
Many countries covered within this compilation of reports present examples of government and state economic stimulus packages or measures aimed at securing the continued existence of businesses, employees, and key state services. This is, however, starkly contrasted with overwhelming reports of those on the margins, those with pre-existing vulnerabilities and of older populations being left most at risk. For example, we learn that in Bangladesh, minority groups such as indigenous populations, the transgender community, sex workers, people with disability, returnee migrant workers, tea garden workers, and Rohingya refugees did not receive any special support from the government. While in countries such as India issues of food security have been dramatically impacted due to poor lines of transportation, increased unemployment, and lower wages.
The impact of the pandemic upon children, young people and families is also a common theme among our country reports. Issues such as school closure, prohibition of socialising in many countries, and reports of a rise in family violence have led to increased risks for children and other vulnerable groups, including black and minority ethnic groups in Western countries like the USA, the UK. These risks may go undetected and unabated due to restrictions on contact with social services, a lack of home visiting and an absence of extra layers of support offered by sporting, recreational and community clubs which have closed. The closures of schools have also meant the absence of school meals for children, often a lifeline for the most vulnerable ones in many communities. Family visits for children in state or residential care have all but stopped in many countries, with some jurisdictions closing such facilities and returning children to their families of origin. Many countries have also experienced an escalation in domestic and gender-based violence with police services within countries such as Ireland making efforts to reconnect with previous victims to ensure their welfare. A recent study highlighted in the Finnish report shows that 75% of social workers believe that their clients/service users now have fewer opportunities to receive help for their needs than before the crisis.
The most damaging effects of the pandemic resulting from various state responses to it have impacted most on children and vulnerable families. At the other end of the life course, older people in all communities have been particularly hard hit by the virus itself. Many countries report a majority of COVID-19 confirmed cases and deaths within their older populations. That said, many jurisdictions do not have access to clear data on this area of impact, and many governments are not providing a clear breakdown of the settings in which deaths and clusters have occurred. It is clear however, from media coverage referenced in many of the reports that care homes for older people and residential settings have been the most severely affected. The Slovenian report refers to the most deaths having occurred in their older people’s care settings, with Spain reporting a stark 86% of deaths being among those over the age of 70. Japan, currently experiencing a ‘super-aged’ society also highlights specific concerns and experiences in this respect.
The global death toll has now exceeded half a million people, highlighting the significant issue of bereavement within families. Many countries introduced measures to prohibit mass gatherings and socialisation in groups. This has had the effect of prohibiting many family, extended family, and community members from attending funeral ceremonies of friends and loved ones or, in some circumstances, being with loved ones when they were dying. In Sri Lanka, the Health Ministry decreed that cremations were compulsory for coronavirus victims, thereby ignoring traditional practices among the country’s Muslim and Christian populations who worry that this rule goes against their traditional practices. The long-term impacts of such phenomena have yet to become clear.
The global social work profession has adapted and ‘bent with the flood’ of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Country Reports that follow present examples of innovative engagement with digital technology, a return to practical help and support in the form of food parcels and vouchers for vulnerable families and children, more expeditious exchanges of information and a reduction in bureaucracy between state departments and service provision; in essence a reliance on one another, and the willingness of others to assist. Our Italian colleagues mention that the thoughts of restrictions, fear of death, and uncertainty about tomorrow conjure memories of wartime for many older generations. Such memories, however, will also stir notions of collective action, joint responses and strong community spirit. A global pandemic acts like a control in a scientific experiment, it is an enemy that exerts an impact on everyone and serves to expose the stark inequalities and vulnerabilities within our countries and communities. In doing so however, it also exposes our equal worth, our interdependence. What becomes more apparent as we move through the pandemic, towards a ‘new normal’ in terms of governance, socialisation, economy and community, is that we must position ‘care’ as political and ethical posturing in our efforts to reopen and rebuild (Meagher and Parton 2004). Social work is uniquely placed and ready to help with this task.
In flood time you can see how some trees bend, and because they bend, even their twigs are safe, while stubborn trees are torn up, roots and all.
Sophocles, Antigone