ADVOCACY, RIGHTS AND REPRESENTATION FOR ASYLUM-SEEKERS AND REFUGEES
Introduction
This report will discuss the concept of right, advocacy and representation as they relate to young adult offenders. I will identify an advocacy role that supports the asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants in their immediate communities while demonstrating their rights and critically evaluating their contribution in promoting effective social work practice. I will collate information on issues, challenges and conflicts from my placement experience in lieu with applying the concept of advocacy and representation with these service-user groups.
My placement is with an organization that provides asylum-seekers and refugees that are driven to find a safer place and protection. According to a poll carried out by that coincided with the Refugee Week in 2002, treatment of refugees and asylum-seekers are four times more likely to show a positive attitude than negative one. However, people often misunderstood these groups specially about their entitlement to state benefits particularly when the media portrays negative images of refugees and asylum-seekers.
As an instrument to provide assistance, advocacy for young offenders grants them a practical guidance for their being, individual support counseling particularly in judicial processes and safeguarding the implementation of the youth justice system. The effectivity of advocacy reflects an efficient representation of youth offenders through increasing their engagement level in education, training and employment in a way than enables them to envisioned themselves as a functional member of the society.
The concept of advocacy, rights and representation
Understanding the concept of advocacy conforms to realistic, convincing and confident advises. As puts it, advocacy is “a valuable skill, a transferable skill and a lifelong skill” (1999). Learning a competent job as advocating is as tough as the need to persuade people. Placing advocacy in a meaningful framework means to effectively understand the clients’ objectives, to analyse the extent to which the law can help to achieve such and to prepare and present a case through the most favorable technique.
The concept of advocacy deals with a two-fold conduct: the case advocacy and the cause advocacy. Case advocacy focuses on individual cases which involves a partisan intervention on behalf of the client or identified client group. Cause advocacy collective/communal issues by means of social change efforts and improving social policies ( 1996, ). The essence of advocacy is winning cases. Toward this end, advocates take a closer look on the depth of cases and its strength and taking part in the administration of justice as well. The qualities of advocacy conforms to a continuous technique acquisition, practice and honing. Its application makes it different from any other specialties as advocacy was observed in public upon the scrutiny and judgment of people. Advocacy also deals with different cases; thus, each case has to be custom-built ( 2007, ).
Effective advocacy requires an effectual advocate. The attributes of an effective advocate includes voice – quality over volume; words – good command of words and eloquence; order – apparent logical presentations; courage – a civilised warfare that avoids tenacity and belligerence; presence – the sense of being there mentally and physically; observation – intent use of sight; wit – quick-witted and serious; emotions – a good knowledge on human affairs and of human nature; law and evidence – knowledgeable on the statute law and its application and familiarity on rules of evidences ().
Advocacy, in addition, takes into account the awareness on rules of procedure, court propriety, ethics, language and logic aside from laws and evidences. The rules of procedure refer to the formalities while inside the courtroom. Propriety is the do’s and don’ts in court undertakings. Examples of these are standing when spoken to by the judge, keeping silent when a witness is taking an oath or affirmation and being respectful in words and demeanor at all times. Advocates steer clear of making serious mistakes and expect arguments during court procedures ().
The concept of right is figuratively expressed upon the concept of ‘person’ – physical or juristic – who has obligations and rights as part of their totality ( 2002, ). Whether technical or personal advocacy, the process provides a right of choice, access, justice, social development, support, empowerment and prevention to which the advocate represents ( and 2001, ). The strongest right to advocacy and right to representation are held by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) especially for children and young adults (1991, ). It states that children must have to right to be represented, right of an effective advocacy services and right to have their interests protected and fight against for. The right to representation provides more social empowerment and right to advocacy ensures benefits and legal rights are provided accordingly ( 1992, ).
Legal representations are central to advocacy. The concept of representation deals with three dimensions: nature of expertise, representative-client relationship and accountability and control. There are general and specific expertises. General process expertise refers to the knowledge on how-to’s as examining and cross-examining witnesses, preparing written arguments and developing and presenting a case. Specific process expertise involves know-how on particular differences from the general model. The clear connection between the representatives and clients manifests in a thorough understanding of the representational role. Formal legal representations purport on accountable proceeding through a forum-centred control ( 1998, ).
Advocacy Role
The primary goals of advocacy are achieving social justice and people empowerment. In achieving these goals, a proactive, responsive and participatory advocacy is necessary. The role of the advocate is to speak on behalf of the clients and to empower clients to speak on their behalf whenever their rights have been denied. The advocacy role is a critical strategy, according to , more specially for those who are grounded in ecological approach to practice since it expands opportunities by protecting the interests of the clients. also viewed advocacy as a classic role which aimed at changing the social environment of clients (1996, ).
Effective advocacy role is evident from data collection to building coalitions. In particular, the advocacy process begins with locating the problem, identifying objectives of intervention, the target system of advocacy intervention, determining levels of authority or sanction for the targeted system, identification of resources available, determining degrees of reception or resistance with regards to the proposed advocacy effort, analysis of the level at which intervention will occur, identification of object of intervention and explanation of probable outcomes of advocacy efforts (. ). The advocacy role is carried-out at three levels that include advocacy for oneself, advocacy for clients and advocacy for the community as a whole ( and 1992, ).
Advocacy is a concept embraced by social work. Advocating for clients’ rights is vital for social work profession. Government-sponsored case management systems enabled the legitimization and standardization of advocacy functions as a component of a professional social work services (as cited in and ). As an intervention strategy at first, advocacy now directly point to improving social functioning as the major goal. The advocacy role, from a social context, includes the redistribution of power and resources to an individual or group with demonstrated needs, guarding the clients’ rights and preserving their values, conserving their best interests and overcoming the sense of powerlessness ().
The Refugee and Asylum-Seeker Advocacy (RASA) Project, for example, is very particular with their advocacy role. The group ensures that specifically aimed at providing services to refugees and asylum-seekers. RASA lend a hand for these groups through understanding the legal implications, settling into the community and appreciating the social benefits of resettling in the Wakefield Area. Specifically, the group provides them with advocacy and information on family issues and problems, healthcare, housing, employment and racial harassment.
Placement Experience – Asylum-seekers and Refugees Services
To act as an advocate for asylum-seekers and refugees means to ensure that they are receiving necessary welfare benefits advice and informations. Since UK had a long tradition of welcoming refugees and asylum-seekers, the advocacy role for them is immense. The key responsibility is to integrate and relate refugees and asylum-seekers within the entire construct of the host countries. As advocates, the work is to make them participate in social, cultural, civic, economic and political life.
The advocates must also empower them to contribute to the community in exchange of an effort to protect their rights and being. In particular, the advocates, aid- and service-providers, government and the population alike create and prepare communities that shall welcome asylum-seekers and refugees. Likewise, these groups must be provided with an improved condition for engagement and empowerment.
As advocates, the main purpose is to provide them with access to services such as employment, legal support, education and others. While using several community development techniques customised for asylum-seekers and refugees, advocates are challenged to perform their social services work. They must perform to use to and make service-users adopt the frameworks of individual and communal empowerment. They are assigned to place equal importance in capacity-building for themselves as well as the asylum-seekers and refugees. They are also asked to explore receiving communities and understand the basics of settlement process. So that advocates can aid them at resolving conflicts with nationals and laws and the media.
Challenges and Conflicts
The primary challenge for advocates for asylum-seekers and refugees refer to undocumentation. There are many undocumented arrivals of migrants all over the world. They are forced to work outside their home countries. The conflict arises when, as a result to enter in another society and culture, asylum-seekers and refugees inflict self-harm, denial of medical treatment, destitution, hazardous working conditions and racist attacks. Some are even prevented by laws to work and stay legally. Another challenge for these service-users is deportation and unlawful deaths that jeopardizes their rights specially of children and young adults.
Since this is already the case, the challenge for advocates conform to legal protections, providing humanitarian aids, handling combatants, managing mass flights and non-refoulement. Local and international policies, along with advocates and services-providers, concern the issues that haunt refugees and the like. They are challenged mainly by their responsibility to protect. The dilemma for humanitarian aid-givers is to provide protection under conditions of conflict ( 2002). The main challenge for advocates is asylum-seekers and refugees’ resistance. Some of these groups are not ready to accept and integrate to new communities. They thought of themselves as futile, malfunctioning new members of the society. When they wanted to have access on education, employment and resources, they are often faced with discriminatory practices. In effect, asylum-seekers and refugees arrived at looting, drug-pushing and using and nervous breakdown.
As they are always judged by the media and the people at host country destinations, their every act is taken against them even if it was the other people’s fault. Representing them before the court places a challenge on educating them at what must be done. The challenge and conflict herein is finding a low-cost, quality legal assistance so as not to further deprive their rights. Another challenge is to sustain their entitlement rights of state benefits while avoiding violence exacted by refugees and asylum-seekers once their pride is overstepped by other individual or even law that could later result in court proceedings and misrepresentations.
Conclusion
The concept of advocacy, rights and representation are separate yet intertwining constructs. Advocacy directly purports a representation. Both advocacy and representation are rights to offenders. Applying these three concepts require an understanding of the basics of advocacy and representations as well as acquiring knowledge on what must be fight against for. The evaluation of an effective advocacy role is explicit on the outcomes of interventions as success or failure. The role encompasses from individual to communal to societal or internal to external processes. As such, the broader perspectives of advocacy must mean significant changes in social functioning of the individual offender and the community in general. Acting as asylum-seekers and refugees advocates means a holistic and proactive engagement from the inception of the offense into sentencing processes. Advocacy necessitates the expertise, skills and attributes that could likely win cases in favor of what is right and just. Notably, advocacy efforts underpin a critical role made by the social workers as intermediating mechanisms that enables a proper implementation of rights and justice systems. The challenges experienced by the asylum-seekers and refugees are engaging in the larger community, overcoming powerlessness and functioning as a real member of the society. The challenges for advocates and services-providers are resistance, legal representations, education and communal-acceptance support.
Bibliography
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