Engaging with resistance to facilitate social work education for eco-social justice

Abstract

Education and raising the awareness of the community about issues of eco-social justice can be challenging and meet with resistance at individual, community and societal levels. For meaningful change to occur in society the knowledge, skills and understandings of individuals and communities has to be increased to allow for the community as a whole to implement changes. Globally, people are affected by climate change, economic exploitation and environmental degradation, yet, economic interests, community attitudes and localised concerns often cause individuals, communities and societies to oppose strategies that move towards eco-social justice.

This paper explores the idea that the resistance of participants in educational programs can be used as a tool for deep engagement with the audience in working towards human rights based, ecologically just and sustainable futures. Examples will be drawn from the author's work in addressing violence against women and used to explore how resistance can be used to promote change in attitudes, values and beliefs. Parallels will be drawn between this work and opportunities to work with the community toward eco-social justice.