Anti-Racist Social Work Across Borders

Social work is increasingly recognised as a profession with a global reach. Social work educators, researchers and practitioners can be found in many countries. A recent evaluation of its breadth and depth has not been undertaken, but the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) estimates that there are 3,000 tertiary-level institutions in 74 countries offering qualifications in the profession; and the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) claims over 1.5 million members in 94 countries. These numbers are growing as various countries are developing their own forms of professional social work. Social work, as helping others, has existed for millennia in every country that human beings inhabit. Professional social work is different from this informal neighbourliness, in that it is formally organised and associated with institutional and organisational structures and legislation. Nonetheless, professional social workers draw on informal helping in providing formal community-based care, often in the form of volunteers. Informal kinds of caring vary according to ethnic grouping, and these may target different groups, especially children, young people and older people.