‘Discuss_What_Different_Kinds_of_Evidence_Reveal_About_Social_Injustice’

‘Discuss what different kinds of evidence reveal about social injustice’ In order to discuss this topic I will use material learned whilst reading chapters 1, 2 and 3 of book 1 – Social Justice: Welfare, Crime and Society. I will use the information gained from these chapters to define social justice and injustice. I will use examples of evidence given in the text of the book to discuss what is revealed about social injustice. To compliment the information learned from the book I will also draw on an example of social injustice from DVD1 in order to fully discuss the different kinds of evidence and what it reveals about social injustice. Social Justice is seen as the fair and proper administration of laws. These laws should conform to the natural law that all persons, regardless of ethnic origin, gender, race or religion, should be treated equally and without prejudice. Social justice is concerned with equal justice, not just in the courts, but in all aspects of society. This concept suggests that people have equal rights and opportunities. By following this definition, a well balanced society should be paramount to the ongoing development of social justice and welfare. It is not always the case, however, that these laws of administration are followed, and therefore social injustice is formed. Social injustice, therefore, can be defined as being the complete opposite of social justice. Social injustice is usually associated with certain barriers that prevent social justice. Some of the barriers can include prejudice, discrimination and racism. In order to overcome social injustice these barriers must be removed from our society so that differences between individuals, and communities, can be embraced, however this has been long sought after and yet the barriers of social injustice remain. There are many different types of evidence to support social injustice, with some of these being based on quantitative data, and others stemming from personal opinions and experiences. Social scientists have tried to measure inequality by focussing the attention on income and wealth, with the Gini Coefficient measuring the spread of income and inequality between different countries at different times. The 2007 Equalities Review reported that income in the United Kingdom had fallen slowly over the early part of the century and therefore had an impact on status and equality. Whilst the Gini Coefficient may be useful in monitoring the divide in society it is only one method of obtaining evidence to support the fact that social injustice can be linked to inequality through income. Income can be a major force in the equal distribution of amenities and opportunities available to people in society. When thinking of health care, for example, wealthier individuals have the advantage to partake in a private health care scheme in order to ‘queue jump’ for a required operation. In contrast, it may be viewed as socially unjust for the poorer members of society who may have to wait longer for the same required operation as they do not have access to the required funds and therefore have to rely on the timescales set by the National Health Service. This is only one example of social injustice in today’s society. Further examples of poverty and inequality can be seen happening all over the world, not just in our own society. In Somalia during the 1990’s, famine swept the nation, killing thousands of people. Aid workers tried to access the people in need in order to put food in their mouths, however, they were stopped by mindless thugs who blocked the food aid. Due to poverty and inequality the people of Somalia were unable to fight back, therefore social injustice won as more and more Somalis died due to the famine and drought. The inequality here was highlighted when The United Nations began a mission to hold back the gunmen and other thugs in order to get food to the Somali people, spending billions of dollars. The UN were able to spend this money in order due to the wealth of the nation, however this can be viewed as socially unjust – why can one nation have so much whilst another starves' It is a difficult question to answer as social injustice is ongoing and is becoming increasingly difficult to combat, as evidenced in the Somalia case. Famine hit the country again in 2011 but people were less inclined or willing to get involved, the general attitude being that it didn’t work last time so why would it be any different now. This attitude contributes to the ongoing fear that social injustice will never be eradicated; therefore we will never live in a just society where we all have equal opportunity. Social injustice is not only apparent in the wealth or poverty of the nation, but in many other ways. Racism, whilst not always evident, can be a severe cause of social unjust. An example of racism, to an extent, was learned whilst reading of Nelson Mandela. In his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, Mandela tells of a story when he, and a black colleague, joined a firm when training to be a lawyer. Mandela describes how a pleasant white secretary took him aside to explain that the firm had no colour bar before proceeding to tell him that 2 new cups had been purchased for him and his friend for when tea time arrived. This could have been viewed as a friendly welcoming gesture, however living under apartheid Mandela knew that this was the secretary’s way of letting the black colleagues know that whilst they were happy to share midmorning tea with them they were not going to share the cups they would drink it from. (Chapter 1, p. 7). Gaur, Mandela’s black colleague wasted no time, however, in proving the point that they would not be sidelined, and therefore drank from one of the older cups. Mandela refrained and chose not to drink at all – social injustice playing a major part in his decision as he did not want to offend the secretary or alienate himself from his new colleague, all due to the colour of their skin. It was also a case of social injustice for Lillie Mae Bradford. In 1951 she was charged with sitting in a ‘whites-only seat on a bus. To this day she is still awaiting a pardon. This form of injustice was not only evident in Alabama, where the incident took place, but could be found world-wide. Personal experience has taught me that racism and social injustice have long been a problem in society. In relation to Lillie Mae’s story, my own sister spent the first 4 years of her life in South Africa, where apartheid was also in play. Black people were only allowed on the buses if they had a white child with them. Upon returning to Scotland my sister was on a public bus when a black lady got on, at which point my sister turned to my mother and said ‘what is she doing on this bus'’ as she did not have any white children with her. This piece of evidence, whilst not proven in any writings, also suggests that not only is social injustice created and maintained by governing bodies, it is instilled from a young age with children unable to differentiate between what is just and unjust. It is not only racism that is evident when discussing social injustice. Whilst watching the DVD, in particular the chapter Safeguarding Children, professionals are seen monitoring the development of children by observing parents to ensure they behave in what is considered to be a ‘normal way’. If parents don’t act in the way that is deemed appropriate this could result in safeguarding measures being imposed, for example the could have intervention orders put upon them, or in more serious cases they may even lose custody of their children. This was the case for Michelle, a drug user who became pregnant. She was constantly monitored after having to admit she was pregnant in order to stop using. Her boyfriend was violent too so this added to the safeguarding measures that had to be put in place by social services. Her baby was removed from her and placed into the care of Camden Social Services. Whilst it is a good form of safeguarding children, the case of Michelle proves that there is a fine line between what can be just or unjust. Michelle, talking about things that had happened to her, things she had done, said ‘.....certain things that were said to a whole room of people that only really needed to be read by the judge maybe and, you know, a social worker, not the whole of West End Lane social services’. This suggests that whilst it may have been appropriate to remove the child, there is a certain social injustice that her life was relayed to more people than was necessary. In a lot of cases there is a blurred relationship between welfare and crime control policies. The state is not only creating social well-being by redressing inequality and other forms of social harm it is also seen to be creating and maintaining social order by exercising control over people. In conclusion, while social justice has been highlighted and fought for primarily by those experiencing discrimination, it is vital for people to understand the injustice and inequalities faced. In order to do so, both quantitative and qualitative evidence is required as this paints the bigger picture of what is happening in our society. In earlier reading we saw how social welfare and crime control policies are entangled; therefore qualitative evidence can be useful in highlighting the effects these tensions can have on social policy. Word Count: 1598 References The Open University (2008) DD208 Welfare, Crime and Society, DVD 1: Introducing Surveillance, Milton Keynes, The Open University. Newman, J., Yeates, N. (2008) ‘Making social justice: ideas, struggles and responses’, in Newman, J., Yeates, N. Social Justice Welfare, Crime and Society, Milton Keynes, The Open University Clarke, J. (2008) ‘Looking for social justice: welfare states and beyond’, in Newman, J., Yeates, N. Social Justice Welfare, Crime and Society, Milton Keynes, The Open University Widowson, B. (2008) ‘Well-being, harm and work’, in Newman, J., Yeates, N. Social Justice Welfare, Crime and Society, Milton Keynes, The Open University http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/16/world/africa/famine-hits-somalia-in-world-less-likely-to-intervene.html'pagewanted=all Self Reflection While studying these chapters I found it difficult to concentrate at times due to personal matters, however I thoroughly enjoyed the aspect of social injustice and ways in which we can evidence them. The Lillie Mae extract interested me, particularly because I could relate this to personal conversations I have had with family about their time in South Africa, when the same thing was happening there. Points to improve for me would be to organise my time more effectively, and with some self discipline I am confident that I can achieve this for the next, and future, TMAs.