Dina Sidhva

Globalization and cross-border reproductive services: Ethical implications of surrogacy in India for social work

Surrogacy in the context of cross-border care has hitherto received little attention from the international social work community. In India, the provision of surrogacy services for foreign couples may be seen as part of the country’s wider health tourism industry. This article overviews current evidence on surrogacy in India, and discusses the extent to which proposed legislation, the Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Bill and Rules 2009, satisfactorily addresses social workers’ concerns to ensure adequate protection of the interests of young Indian women engaged in surrogacy, as outlined in the International Federation of Social Workers’ policy on cross-border reproductive care.

Guest Editorial – Social Work in India

Social work in India has a chequered history, originating from a pre-modern charitable response of individuals or groups of people to address the problems of society, and evolving to the more modern professionalisation of social work underlined by formal training in theory and practice. The origins of social work in India are rooted in the humanitarian and altruistic ideals, which took the shape of voluntary work or religious pursuits to help the poor and needy. While these trends continue to influence social work practice in India, the emergence of professional social work has struck a chord for a more radical and action-oriented social work practice. Social work as a profession was introduced to India by American educators who in 1936 established the first school of social work in Mumbai, which is known today as the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. TISS was a pioneering effort to professionalise social work with the objective of bringing about social welfare through academic excellence. The establishment of TISS was followed by that of a number of other schools of social work, many of which have been modelled on Western approaches to practice and catering to the domestic market. The radical shift came at the turn of the century, driven by the global demand for social workers, leading to a mushrooming of schools of social work across the country, producing qualified social workers en masse. As a practice, professional social work in India is embedded in the values of equality, worth, and dignity of all people; is motivated by the aspirations for human rights and social justice; and strives to alleviate poverty and empower marginalised and oppressed people in order to realise their true potential. As such, social workers can be described as change agents in a society that is marked by caste and class divisions and structural inequalities. Although the more established schools of social work are modelled on the Western philosophical ideas and the National Association of Social Worker’s Code of Practice, there has been a fundamental shift towards indigenising social work – appreciating the cultural differences and societal values that the Indian psyche is accustomed to. Nonetheless, it is evident that globalisation and its overwhelming impact on India’s masses have led to a more radical and activist type of social work interventions with mass movements, such as efforts to work against the displacement of the rural poor resulting from multi-national hydro-electric projects or movements fostering the equality of Dalits (the untouchables). PRACTICE: SOCIAL WORK IN ACTION VOLUME 24 NUMBER 2 (APRIL 2012)

Social Work in a Global Context: Issues and Challenges

Introduction George Palattiyil, Dina Sidhva and Mono Chakrabarti Part 1: Defining and Redefining Social Work in a Global Context Part 1 Introduction George Palattiyil, Dina Sidhva and Mono Chakrabarti 1. Social Work in Australia: Similarities as Difference Barbara Fawcett 2. Social Work in Aotearoa New Zealand: Social Policy, Risk and Professionalization Liz Beddoe and Phil Harington 3. Evidence Based Social Work Practice: Challenges and Opportunities in the Global Context Mark J. Macgowan Part 2: Political, Social and Theoretical Context of Social Work Part 2 Introduction George Palattiyil, Dina Sidhva and Mono Chakrabarti 4. Canadian Social Work Practice and First Nations People Michael Hart and Denis Bracken 5. Child and Family Social Work in Canada: Issues and Challenges Within a Neo-liberal Political Context Edward Kruk 6. Politics as Social Work: The Micromanagement of Behaviour in the New Millenium Ken McLaughlin Part 3: Vulnerability in a Global Context Part 3 Introduction George Palattiyil, Dina Sidhva and Mono Chakrabarti 7. What Kinds of Violence and Abuse Affect Vulnerable People? Reflections on the Evolving Context of Adult Protection and Safeguarding in the UK: Legislation, Regulation and Professional Practice Hilary Brown and Susan Hunter 8. Social Work Practice in a Post-9/11 Context: Integrative Practice with Immigrants and Refugees in the United States Amelia Seraphia Derr and Biren Ratnesh Nagda 9. The Making of Childhood in a Post-modern Age: Challenges and Possibilities for Social Work in the United States Mekada J Graham-Gallegan 10. Social Work and HIV/AIDS in Botswana: Issues, Challenges and the Way Forward 11. HIV/AIDS in India: Challenges for Professional Social Work Vimla V. Nadkarni and Anita Rego Part 4: Toward the Next Generation: Developments in Social Work Part 4 Introduction George Palattiyil, Dina Sidhva and Mono Chakrabarti 12. Involving Service Users and Carers in Social Work Education: A Consideration of the UK and Global Perspectives Gillian MacIntyre and Pearse McCusker 13. Social Work in Russia: Between the Global and the Local Elena Iarskaia-Smirnova and Pavel Romanov 14. Indigenous Social Work in China Wai-Fong Ting and Eric Blyth 15. A Social Work Charter for Unexpected Disasters: Lessons from the Bam, Iran Earthquake Edward Kruk and Habib Aghabakhshi 16. The Changing Face of Social Work in Youth Justice in Scotland Bill Whyte 17. Australian Social Work in the 21st Millenium: Workforce Trends, Challenges and Opportunities Bob Lonne 18. Conclusion: Social Work: A Unique Profession in a Diverse Context George Palattiyil, Dina Sidhva and Mono Chakrabarti

Reclaiming international social work in the context of the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development: Some critical reflections:

The protection of human rights and the promotion of social justice is a shared spirit manifested within all social work. Islands of local concern are directly affected by global stresses and inequalities, and the Global Agenda for Social Work and Social Development has created a space for repositioning social work globally in addressing these challenges. This article opens up definitions and examples of international social work, arguing the need for integrating an international outlook within social work education and policy in order that the emerging workforce, wherever they may be, are equipped with the knowledge, skills and values for international action.

Book Review: J. Ryde (2009) Being White in the Helping Professions: Developing Effective Intercultural Awareness. London: Jessica Kingsley. ISBN 9781843109365, 224 pp

In conclusion, it must be acknowledged that this book is more about how to live than how to administer justice. Therefore it may have more limited relevance to a social work audience in terms of implications for social work practice, particularly when operating in contexts of criminal justice, but it may have more significance when focusing on what principles should underlie social policy in dealing with people whose behaviour in one way or another reflect something wrong in the wider society.