Ethics in Social WorkAn ethical code for social work professionals

Contents
Introduction

3

Why an Ethical Code?

3

Ethical Issues in Social Work

4

Different aspects of social work

4

Ethical dilemmas and risks

5

Ethical Values and Norms

6

Fundamentals of ethics

6

Ethical values and norms

7

Ethical traits of character11

Ethical Guidelines

13

Case Reports for reflection and discussion

14

This document deals in its entirety with the ethical code for social work
professionals. The essence of the code—its core text—is expressed in the
Ethical Guidelines on p. 13.
This document was prepared by Erik Blennberger, Th.D., researcher on
ethics, Ersta Sköndal University College and Titti Fränkel, Head of Development,
Akademikerförbundet SSR, in collaboration with a reference group of experts
and practitioners. The document “Ethics in Social Work—An ethical code forsocial work professionals” was approved by the SSR Board in 2006.

2

Introduction
This document presents an ethical code—ethical reflections and guidelines—
for social work professionals. The intention is to offer a fundamental direction
concerning the role of ethics in social work.
An ethical code is meant to focus attention and give direction in mattersdemanding the exercise of own judgement. The code is also intended tostimulate an ethical debate between social work professionals and within theorganisations where they practise their profession.

Why an ethical code?
In social work one is forced to make decisions thatinvolve ethical judgements. There will be difficult
choices to make that will have important consequences for individual lives. Aspects of control anddominance are inevitable in the work. The individual
help seeker is in a position of weakness that is sometimes very evident. This makes it important to beaware of value judgements in social work and how
the work affects people’s lives. Social work, in otherwords, demands observance of ethical behaviour.
Competence and professional identity

The value of an ethical code—with ethical reflections
and guidelines for the work—is evident in a growing
number of professional fields. Such a code is intended
to create an insight into ethical norms for the profession and to focus attention on ethical issues. It is
an important professional competency to be able toconduct a line of reasoning and come to ethicallyinformed decisions. An ethical code serves as guidance in taking up a stance.
An ethical code also contributes to the strengthening of professional identity. The code has both asymbolic and a guiding role and is a reminder that theperson practising a profession is also a representativeof that profession. Ethical codes for different professions also have a value for the organisation. They add
clarity to the tasks and should lead to greater ethicalobservance within the organisation.
In an ethical code important themes can bebrought forward that are not found in statutes, rules
and regulations; for example, how to receive and treat
clients, basic approach to humanity, and the personal ethical qualities that are desirable in professional
practice.

It is important for the public to know how social
work professionals view their tasks and what kind of
support they can expect to get, beyond what is written in laws and other official regulations.
Social work professionals

This ethical code is intended for social work professionals. A majority of these are social work graduates,
but there are many persons working within the profession who have other academic qualifications.
Different activities stand under
different responsible authorities

Core activities in social work are carried out within
the municipal social services. But social work is also
extensively carried out within the field of health andsick care, in schools, correctional care, treatment institutions, and by National Social Insurance offices.
The greater part of social work takes place within
the public sector, but a significant amount is also carried out by professionals in voluntary organisations,client organisations and churches, as well as in private enterprises. A large part of this work, however,is financed by the public sector and is under public
supervision.
Clients and other citizens

We use different words to denote the persons who
become the concern of social work professionals.
These terms vary with the context and its character. The persons may be pupils, children, young
people, patients, care receivers, relatives, customers,clients, inhabitants, inmates, and substance abusers.
Throughout this document we use the general termclient.
3

Ethical issues in social work
Different forms of social work entail different kindsof ethical problems. An approximate picture of thediversity of social work can be gained by asking what
aspects the work covers.

Different aspectsof social work
Social work can be categorized and described in different ways. This document has already pointed out
the divisions between responsible authorities andtheir respective activities. Social work can also be
described from the viewpoint of how regulated it isby law, i.e., whether and to what degree there are
elements of the exercise of public authority in thework. Another classification—that mirrors a frequentdiscussion in social work—can be made on the basisof methods and ways of working.
In this document, aspects or dimensions of social
work refer to salient features of the work and their
purposes. Any social work activity—irrespective ofregulations and responsible authority—has different
aspects, of which one is often particularly dominant,but each separate aspect will involve ethical problems,
if of partly different nature.
Empowerment

One aspect of social work with a strong position in
the international discourse is that the work shall becharacterized by and aim towards empowerment, theterm used to lift forward the basic idea that individuals or groups of citizens shall develop their own
resources and in this way be able to influence andimprove their living conditions.
Such themes as consciousness-raising and liberation belong here as well. Social work is then seen as aliberating pedagogy that can strengthen citizens’ ability to act independently.
Advocacy

That social work is a form of advocacy is signalled by
the term client, which is Latin and means charge or
protégé. In contemporary language the expression ismainly used in legal contexts and in social work. In
the same way that a lawyer advises and represents herclient in legal proceedings, the social work profes4

sional represents her client before—and sometimes in
opposition to—various authorities and social groupings in the society.
While the empowerment theme foremost aims atstrengthening the client, the advocate’s role is more
about being a strong and driving ombudsman championing the client’s interests.
The idea of advocacy also refers to social groups or
categories of citizens. The role of advocate may thenmean—e.g. in an evaluation or a research project—that one should choose a perspective representative of
persons and groups in a vulnerable position.
Community work and social integration

Social work representatives can play an importantrole in community planning and the developmentof social support programmes. A part of community
work is also to create meeting places and to work insocial problem areas.
Another important aspect of community social
work is the attempt to promote better social integration. That work may have elements of troubleshooting/conflict solving and lead to better understanding
between individuals or groups. The work may also
aim at creating increased participation in the social
life of the community and a greater sense of loyalty
with the democratic social system.
Guidance and fostering

Fostering is a classic aspect of social work andinvolves—when the society finds the client’s attitudes and way of life problematic—guiding the client towards a more constructive social bearing. But
here balance is vital. If this aspect should be allowed
to dominate, there is the risk of intimidating or bullying individual citizens.
Fostering and ‘disciplining’ can be used to get theclient to accept an inferior position in society; to create muteness and obedience, which is clearly repressive behaviour. But disciplining and repression do notnecessarily go hand in hand.
Fostering and disciplining should rather aim to
help a person to gain control over his/her life and topromote social consideration, so that the client is nolonger a threat to other citizens’ safety and welfare.

Care, support and protection

A very important aspect of social work is to offer careand support to citizens in different life situations.
There is also an essential, shielding aspect to social
work; to protect against violation and assault.
Welfare services and counselling

The aspects of social work that now have been brought
up often aim to change people’s lives and social identities. But social work can have a more purely serviceminded aspect, to assist people with advice and otherservices in various situations. Social work also meansoffering a person what s/he needs and has a right towithout any ambition to change that person’s life,social identity or role in the society.
The diversity of social work

These different aspects or dimensions of social work
indicate the diversity found within the field. We canview such aspects as alternatives to choose from, but
it is more relevant to see them as a repertoire to be
combined in various ways.

What aspects should dominate depend on the fieldof activity in which we practise. This may also mirror
ideological judgements on the role of social work inshaping better welfare and a good society to live in.
The professional identityof the social worker

The different aspects of social work—combined indifferent ways—involve partly different professional roles and partly different professional ideals. An
emphasis on empowerment places one in a differentrole from seeing oneself foremost as advocate, community builder, guide and fosterer, support, caregiver, or citizens’ service function.
In certain professions, established phrases exist
that briefly outline of the essentials of their task.
An example of this is the formulation, “prevention,
healing, alleviation and comfort”, mainly used in the
medical profession. There is no such key expression
in social work, but an example of a condensed professional identity might be the ambition “to help agreater number of people to live a life of dignity”.
5Ethical dilemmas and risks
Situations arise in social work that involve ethicaldilemmas. Often these concern the social worker
professional’s own self-understanding and appear indifferent variations in different fields of activity, someof them related to the matter of which aspect of thework ought to be the primary one.
A list—with no claim to completeness—of such
dilemmas might include the following:• Care, support and assistance versus control anddemands.
• The risk of a—seemingly necessary—caring
attitude leading to the loss of a person’s own
power of initiative and sense of dignity.
• Respect for a person’s right to self-determinationand freedoms versus the risk of one’s efforts leading to the stigmatization of that person and theirwounded self-esteem.
• Difficulties in treating clients with respect and ofcreating a positive relationship in a job that has
unavoidable elements of demand and control.
• Maintaining democratic values such as individual freedoms and equal opportunities for both
sexes versus showing admiration for persons andgroups who do not uphold these values.
• The conflict between, on the one hand, defending/protecting certain clients and, on the other,taking into consideration the interests of those
closely related and others.
• The right of the child to advantageous living
conditions versus the right of the parents toexert their parentage and live their family lives
on their own terms.
• Prioritizing time and resources between different
client categories with different needs.
• Carrying out measures deemed necessary andproper versus demands for economic stringency.
• Maintaining loyalty with the work and theorgani­sation, even when one finds policy andworking conditions to be contrary to well-founded practice and the best interests of the client,and perhaps also to juridical norms for the work.
• Conflicts of loyalty between defending theclient’s­best interests and support and defenceof a colleague.
6

Some of these dilemmas entail conflicts of role or of
loyalty for the social work professional. Others may
concern the difficulty of making priorities within alimited range of resources or of choosing the mostconstructive solution to a problem. Such dilemmas
are often coupled to difficulties in assessing the consequences of different courses of action, e.g. the riskof a person being harmed by a measure intended tohelp.
Ethical dilemmas in social work may be related tooverall ideological issues: To what degree is the public
society responsible for the individual citizen? Howmuch of the responsibility for a person’s situation andfuture is entirely his own? Which ethical values andnorms are essential for judging the balance between
the responsibility of the public society and that of
the individual?
Dilemma and risk

Apart from these dilemmas about making constructive choices and judgements, there is also in the job
the risk of a negative personal development. One such
dilemma is the risk of becoming insensitive, of exhibiting insufficient empathy or plain cynicism, arisingfrom the problem culture encountered in social work,
the stress and strains of the job, or disappointment
over the behaviour of clients.
Another common dilemma is the objectifying of
the client, who becomes merely another in the endlessline of problematic citizens each day encountered,with the risk that each person’s unique conditions androle as subject is reduced to a diagnosis to be cured ora case to be dispatched.
After this roughly outlined reminder of the
ethical problems that may be encountered in social
work, let us now discuss the ethical values and norms
that are essential in social work.

Ethical values and norms
Fundamentals of ethics
In ethics there are many different issues and themes
to explore. We will here make a division into threefundamental ethical questions and areas of discussion: human value, what is right, and what sort ofperson we should to strive to be.
Human value

A fundamental question is how we view human worth
and the value of human life. We are then faced withthe established position constituted by the principleof human dignity, which maintains the equal andeminent worth of every human being. This worth isinherent and not dependent on how useful we are,what status we have or how great our sense of wellbeing. The principle of human dignity can be seen asa declaration of love for human life and entails showing respect towards and taking responsibility for ourown and others’ lives.
What is right?

Another basic question in ethics is what makes anaction, rule or structure right? In that discussion we
can refer to established principles and norms as apoint of departure or goal for our efforts.
Respect for every person’s dignity and integrity isan established norm, as is respect for every person’s
freedom and right to self-determination. Values suchas justice and equality are also central in the assessment of actions and rules, along with the principles
of human rights, humanity and solidarity.
Such values and norms can be seen as valid inthemselves so need no justification. But they can also
be recognized as leading—if we utilize them—to best
outcomes for human lives and societal conditions.
Reference to consequences confronts us with afollow-up question: What do we mean by best outcomes? Or in other words, what is—or can lead to—quality of life and a satisfactory existence?
What is my own responsibility andwhat sort of person ought I to be?

A third basic question in ethics directs attention to
the perpetrator of actions. Here, we are confronted
with issues of moral responsibility and of personal
ethical qualities or virtues.

Responsibility presupposes freedom to act. The
greater the power and the freedom to act, the greater
the responsibility. The concept of responsibility raises
questions of our intentions and of our fundamental
attitude to life and to other people. What sort of person—from an ethical viewpoint—should I strive to
be? And how are we to evaluate other people’s intentions and motives? When is moral criticism justified?
These are classic ethical questions that have gained
renewed attention both in the moral philosophy andthe media debate since the 1990’s.
It is important to keep apart these different ethical themes even if they touch upon each other. In
the following section on ethical values and norms,
both the principle of human dignity and the different
values and norms that answer the question of “whatis right?” will be commented upon. Personal ethicalqualities are later discussed in a special section.

Ethical values
and norms
A professional should be well grounded in the general
ethical values most strongly entrenched in our society.
Ethical values and norms in social work are mainly
the same as for other professions, but the choice of
these values and the emphasis placed on them varies between different professions, organisations andactivities. The following brief overview comments on
those viewed as generally applicable, but with specialreference to the social work professional role.
The principle of human dignity

All the following ethical norms build on the principleof the equal, high worth of all human beings, whichconstitutes the basis for other ethical norms and on
the whole for the exercise of ethical responsibility.
This principle means that all persons should be met
with equal respect and care, and be allowed equal
influence; also that every form of discrimination is
disallowed.
This is a core value for all public administration,
finding expression in, e.g., the Swedish Constitution
along with the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, which opens with the following words:7

… recognition of the inherent dignity andof the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundationof freedom, justice and peace in the world …
(our italics).
Human rights

Human rights are a core principle both on ethicalgrounds and on grounds of juridical relevance. By thisprinciple the individual has the right to certain living
conditions and resources which in turn puts demands
on nation-states, but also on organisations and otherindividuals. In social work the concern is mostly for
those types of resources and measures that correspondto social rights, e.g. an adequate standard of living,
dwelling, work and access to health and sick care.
Apart from the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the 1950 European Convention and the 1966
European Social Charter are important texts that help
define the extent of human rights and show the unityof support for the belief in entitlement.
Human dignity and human rights are two concepts that belong together. We then see others as
equal citizens to whom we owe respect.
Humanity

Humanity is another central ethical principle that
denotes that one ought to be particularly observant
and sympathetic towards persons in a vulnerable anddifficult situation. We then see others as fellow beings
whom we shall meet with empathy, sensitivity andcompassion.
Solidarity

Solidarity is a sister concept to humanity, but solidarity also suggests comradeship, a particular affinity with(certain) others, whose projects and aspirations we
support. The solidarity idea expresses fellowship andan expected mutuality, “being there for each other”.
However, the difference between humanity andsolidarity becomes clearer if we consider these ethical norms in relation to correctional care. We candemand human correctional care, but hardly anyone
would advocate solidarity in that context, since thefellowship and sympathy entailed would there bequite out of place.
Solidarity presupposes that other people can beviewed as friends with whom we have some form ofkinship and feel sympathy for.
The first article of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights contains a compelling exhortation to8“brotherhood” that can be interpreted as a principle
dealing with both humanity and solidarity:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason andconscience and should act towards one another in a
spirit of brotherhood.
Welfare, resources and security

The expression welfare is one of the code words forsocial work, as for the caring sector generally. With
expressions such as ‘welfare’ and ‘the welfare society’
we mean that citizens have access to different kinds ofresources and security guarantees that can contributeto their personal well-being.
Dignity and integrity

Dignity-integrity is an important ethical principle ofhuge relevance in social work. This is a composite
concept and it is not entirely self-evident what it really means to safeguard people’s dignity and integrity.
However, there is cultural agreement on some of
the central aspects of dignity. For example, that we aretreated with respect and shown interest, that there isspace for us to exert influence, i.e. that we can makeour voices heard and that what we say is paid due
regard. Further, we have the right to a private sphere.
We need to be protected from other people’s curiosity and from simplified judgements about ourselves,
and we experience any infringement of these aspectsof our personal dignity as an offence.
Respect for our dignity and integrity also meansthat we can share in the resources and the help offeredby the society when we are affected by difficulties inlife. Certain welfare resources, therefore, form an
integral part of dignified living.
Dignity is also an important value for social workin the sense that the work aims at giving people betterchances of living with dignity. The ambition is thennot only to respect a person’s dignity and integrity but
also to help strengthen that citizen’s sense of dignity.
Freedom and self determination

Freedom and self-determination are a closely related ethical principle. As with the dignity principle,
there are also here the double aspects of respect andstrengthening.
In social work we ought both to respect and to
strive to help individuals to develop the capacity tomake free choices and come to own decisions as far as
this does not involve a threat against others’ freedomand well-being. This is partly about respecting a person’s actual self-determination, and partly attempting
to increase and bolster a person’s chances in life andmargin for action.
Democracy and participation

Principles of democracy connect with the freedom
and self-determination concept. Social work shouldhave a democratic framework on the organisational
level. In the work itself the democratic approachmeans openness, dialogue, and the influence andparticipation of clients and other persons involved.
(Social) justiceJustice is another code word for social work. The
question of justice is imbued with the complication,
however, that there are several concepts of justice thatare defined by different criteria.
Justice can be weighed from the point of view of
equality, to treat similar cases in a similar manner. But
justice may also be based on need, to pay attention to
the unique needs of each individual.
A concept of justice based on different needs forsupport and care must combine an assessment ofwants with what are considered human rights; thosevery rights that usually are related to basic humanneeds. Social justice based on needs and social justicebased on human (social) rights therefore mainly havethe same content.
Other criteria of justice are reward for achievement and justice as compensation. Certain aspectsof compensatory justice are found in some forms ofsocial work.
Equality

The keyword equality emphasizes the importance of
having a significant portion of needs- and similaritybased justice in any social work operation. This concerns not least the matter of equivalence in the reception and treatment of clients, which shows respect for
the equal and high worth of each individual.
The endeavour to give an equal reception does notmean, however, that we ought to ignore the imbalance that exists between social work professionals andtheir clients with regard to the preferential right ofinterpretation and the exercise of authority. There isindeed a marked asymmetry in such a relationship;
one does not meet on equal terms. Equal reception9

is especially therefore a necessity. This means that asocial work professional must receive and treat theclient-citizen as an equivalent human being.
Consequence-ethical judgement—what helps create a good society
and a good life?

We can ask the question “why?” of all these values andnorms. Why should we assert/uphold rights, humanity, solidarity, dignity, freedom, justice and equality?
There are several answers to this question. One ofwhich is that we do not need to justify these principles; they are valid in themselves!
An alternative is to give a consequence-ethicalresponse: These values and norms are valid because
they lead to a good life and a well-functioning society. If we want to achieve total consequences that areas positive as possible then we should stick to thesenorms. If we think in terms of consequences, thenwhat is decisive for right action is the answer to thequestion “what makes a good life?”
It happens that some of these values come in conflict with each other. There are also situations when
it is unclear which norms we ought to follow. Social
work professionals may find themselves faced withdifficult choices where there is no self-evident particular norm to lean against. It is important here, then, tomake an assessment of probable consequences basedon the ambition to create the best possible conditions for those involved, although even that assessment may be hard to make.
Particular attention to persons
in a vulnerable life situation

There is a vital tradition in social work not to counton total consequences alone. We also—all the more
so—need to be attentive to whether there are individuals or groups at risk of ending up in a vulnerable
life situation. This implies a principle of awareness of
possible harm and minimization of damage. Clearly,
making an assessment of total consequences for allconcerned is not enough. We must also be attentive
to whether a particular individual or group is—orrisks being— especially affected.
The Social Services Act’s
opening paragraph

A majority of these values and norms are expressedin the opening paragraph of the Social Services Act(Ch. 1, § 1):

10

The social services shall, taking into consideration
the individual’s own responsibility for his and others’social situation, aim at liberating and developing the
innate resources of individuals and groups. Activities
shall be based on respect for the self-determinationand integrity of the individual. In measures concerning children, particular attention shall be paid to thedemands placed by consideration of the best interestsof the child.
Not least the reference to the “best interests of thechild” can be seen as a consequence-ethical rule with
due attention paid to a vulnerable life situation inorder to prevent or minimize the risk for harm.
An international ethicalcode for social work

An international ethical code for social work drawn
up by the International Federation of Social Work(IFSW), which is made up of various nationalorganisations, and the International Association of
Schools of Social Work (IASSW) can be accessed atwww.ifsw.org – Publications – Ethical Documents.
See also Human Rights Manuals.
The Swedish ethical code adopted by Akademikerförbundet SSR naturally has a great deal in common
with the IFSW code. Of the values and norms briefly
discussed above certain principles in particular are
denoted as central in the IFSW ethical code; Humanrights, Human Dignity and Social Justice.
The relation between different
ethical values and norms

There are, then, quite a number of ethical values,
norms and principles that are relevant to social work
professional ethics including some not discussed inthis document.
These ethical values can be related to each other inseveral ways. Some principles have certain common
aspects and so overlap each other. Some principles
constitute the argument for other principles and havea more fundamental character. The most fundamental
position is the principle of every human being’s equal
worth.
There are naturally other ways of grouping thesevalues and norms but in the following we have elected
to relate them to each other by placing them on different levels of argumentation.

Ethical arguments for social work

Welfare–resources, dignity–integrity, freedoms–selfdetermination, social justice, and equality are very
common answers to the questions of why we should
carry out social work as well as how this work should
be carried out. These values have a strong position in
our understanding of society. They can be combinedin different ways and have then somewhat different
connotations. The combination, for example, of welfare and equality gives other associations than combining dignity with freedoms. But all the five main
values listed above can be combined and can also be
used as motivation for each other. We can, e.g. assertthat the why of welfare (resources) corresponds to alife lived in dignity or because it is fair (based on anyof the various justice criteria).
Asking “why?” with reference to each of these fivevalues leads to the next level; humanity, solidarity,
rights and democracy. But we can also bypass thislevel by simply pointing to the positive consequences
or go directly to the next, final and most fundamental
level, the principle of human dignity.
Continuing our line of reasoning, we may also
ask the question “why?” of the second level; humanity, solidarity, rights and democracy. Naturally, theseprinciples can also be combined in different ways andused to strengthen each other. We can, e.g. justify
the why of social rights on the basis of the humanity
principle. But we can also there point to the goodconsequences or bypass that argument and refer tothe principle of human dignity.
But why should we be so anxious about goodconsequences and a good life for all? Pointing to theprinciple of human dignity is the almost self-explanatory answer to that question. The principle of paying
particular attention to persons in vulnerable life situations (awareness of possible harm and minimizationof damage) can also be connected to the principle ofhuman dignity.
Here, however, we need to be reminded thatbetween consequence-ethical assessment of what isbest for all and assessment of individual consequences
for persons in a vulnerable life situation there may bedifficult decisions to make.
The principle of human dignity is a fundamental precondition for the entire argument. The idea of
each human being’s equal and high worth backs upother values and norms and provides the basis for at
all taking ethics seriously.

Ethical traitsof character
The qualified practice of social work demands allround knowledge and professional competence.
While professional skills may not directly be of an
ethical character, an ethical demand is to maintainand develop those skills.
However, a part of social work professional competence is of a directly ethical character. These are
the personal qualities normally included in classic
descriptions of ethical consciousness and integrity.
Examples of such ethical qualities in social work are:• Integrity• Critical self-insight• Responsibility• Courage/moral courage• A sense of justice• Balanced judgement• Tolerance/ broad-mindedness• Empathy/sensitivity• A basic attitude of respect, friendliness andequality in relation to others
These qualities normally find expression in the actions
taken and in many cases refer to a manner of treatingother citizens, but they also indicate an inner bearing.
Personal qualities withan ethical dimension

There are other important personal qualities and abilities that are not foremost of an ethical character butthat can harbour an ethical dimension and that linkup with ethical traits of character. For example,• Objectivity and clarity• Creativity• Social competence• The will to understanding and the ability to
co-operate• Independence• HumourDeveloping and maintaining
ethical integrity

In all professions with social responsibility, the exercise of the work itself can contribute to ethical devel-11

opment, but this does not take place automatically.
There is the risk of losing one’s ethical integrity andof instead developing a meagre standard procedure indealing with clients or even a stunting cynicism.
The qualities listed constitute a powerful idealthat is relevant to many professional areas and life
situations. We are normally attracted to these qualities and strive to develop them. Since we realize theirrelevance for both our own lives and for practice ofthe profession, we can hopefully also develop in apositive direction.
Ethical qualities can also be developed throughthe positive input of other persons and through astimulating and open-minded work environment.
Supervision and collegial dialogue can also be ofgreat value. It is probable that we can also develop
in a positive direction by reacting and protesting
against attitudes and behaviour/actions that signal a
destructive approach, e.g., indifference, intolerance
and cowardice.

12

The personal mooring of ethics

A genuinely ethical attitude presupposes a fundamental experience of worth and love, a binding understanding of the other person’s importance and of thevalue of life. In that sense, love is a central theme in
ethics. In the introduction to Akademikerförbundet
SSR’s 1997 Ethical Guidelines for Social Work Professionals, now superseded by this present ethical code,
one particular passage has been paid due notice and iscited in the international literature on ethics in social
work. It is the following formulation, which expresses
the importance of having a personal rooting in an
ethical ground:“Moral lacks a deeper personal basis without experience of values and love. Ethics purely
under subjects such as rational egoism, obedience, group pressure or care of one’s own conscience is not sufficient, as they have not been
touched by love and seriously discovered theother individual and the values of one’s own
life.” (Banks, S. (2001, p. 93). Ethics and Values
in Social Work. Palgrave, England.)Ethical guidelines
In the following ethical guidelines—a summationand specification of the arguments presented in thisdocument—directions are given as to how social
work professionals should view their ethical responsibility. The guidelines are also intended to contributeto continued ethical reflection.
The basis of social work and the profession• Social work and the professional role of thesocial worker shall be related to scientific findings and proven experience. Fundamental values
in the work and for the profession are humanrights and humanity. The work shall contributeto creating a good and dignified life for all citizens and to developing the welfare of the society.
Profession and personality

Social work professionals shall• in their work and way of life respect each individual’s equal and high worth• show particular responsibility towards persons
and groups in a vulnerable position• use their professional position with responsibility and be conscious of the limitations of theirown competence• make sure that the demands placed on clients
have a reasonable foundation and are capable ofcontributing to an improvement of their situation• never use the position of dependency of theclient in different situations to own advantage• maintain client confidentiality and make surethat information concerning the client is handled in conformance with the law and generallywith great prudence.
The organisation, colleagues
and the workplace

Social work professionals shall• be aware of and show loyalty to the organisation’s basic task
• show loyalty and respect towards colleagues andother members of staff as well as towards members of the board• challenge and work against offensive or discriminatory attitudes and actions within the organisation or in the behaviour of colleagues or clients,
aware that this may be in conflict with otherloyalty demands• maintain and develop their social work skills andstrive towards ethical consciousness and personal
development.

• contribute towards the upholding of high standards of quality in the work so that the profession
can develop in step with citizens’ needs and withchanging conditions in the society

The client/citizen• help to make the workplace a constructive andresponsive social environment.

Social work professionals shall• show an equalitarian attitude to other citizens
and treat clients with respect, empathic attention and amiability• respect the client’s personal integrity and safeguard the individual’s right to self-determination
in so far as the same right for others’ is not
infringed upon and there is no risk of damage
to the client. Measures shall as far as possible bebased on participation and mutual understanding• inform the client as to rights and duties, i.e.
clarify the conditions and resources that exist
within the current activity and other authorities
involved

SocietySocial work professionals shall• be open to co-operation with other organisations and other professions, under the condition
that this is of value to clients and other citizens• strive to build up confidence in social work andin their own professional competence, as well
as being open to demands for accountability
and critical appraisal of the way the work is
performed• as a professional and as a citizen stand for a
democratic social ideal comprising humanrights, humanity and solidarity.

13

Case reports forreflection and discussion
The following cases give examples of the ethical dilemmas that social work professionals may encounter.
One can naturally arrive at a standpoint concerningthese cases through engaging in an open discussion,
but it may also be useful to formalize the discussion
using structured questions based on the texts in thecode. In the first instance, the following questions
may be asked of each case.
• What ethical principles and norms are relevantto this situation?
• How should one act in consideration of theprobable consequences for all involved?
• How should one act in consideration of theprobable consequences for those in a particularly
vulnerable position?
• What personal ethical qualities are important forright action in this situation?
• Which ethical guidelines are relevant to the
problem?
A racist ‘back problem’

A man of about 25 comes to the social services withan unusual problem. He has since his teens been amember of racist groups and has had “whites only”
tattooed on his back. He has now given up these convictions and even moved on to new friends. The tattoo
on his back feels increasingly alien to him and he now
wants it removed but the public medical services saythat it is not the business of the public sector to bear
the cost. He will have to go to a private surgery andhimself pay the cost of SEK 30.000. This money hedoes not have and neither does he know anyone fromwhom he can borrow it. A debt registered with theenforcement service prevents him from getting otherloans. His hope is that the social services will pay thecost so that he can be quit his racist blemish.
Is this a problem that should concern the social
services? What, in that case, should one do?
Exclusion from a treatment programmeon account of broken rules?

At the Soberia treatment centre, persons live and arecared for who have problems with substance abuse.

14

The rules clearly state that no drugs are tolerated on
the premises. Should any one of the house inhabitants break this rule then the rule demands immediate discharge from the treatment programme. Each
new member on arrival is informed of this rule andrequested to sign a promise to keep it.
One morning when the personnel arrive at thetreatment centre they find the place in chaos. There
has been partying during the weekend involving theuse of cocaine. Urine tests show that at least threeof the inmates—Pia, Hugo and Claes—have clearly
been offenders. It is suspected that others have also
participated, but of this there is no proof.
According to the rules these three offenders should
now be discharged, but there is disagreement among
the personnel. Some say discharge is the only reasonable action since they have clearly broken the treatment centre’s most important rule. Any exception tothis would simply undermine the rules and lessen
confidence in the treatment and the personnel.
Others argue that an exception should be made inthis case since a discharge would have serious consequences and perhaps even lead to some person’s early
demise. Pia has been in and out of treatment institutions since the age of eight. She has now for the firsttime been able to receive the help offered and has
begun to achieve some kind of order in her life. She
has been at Soberia for a long time and it is an important source of security for her. The personnel fear thatdischarging her will send her back to prostitution andthe use of drugs. If Claes is discharged several of thepersonnel are concerned that he may fall into a deep
depression and become suicidal.
How should one act in this situation?
Medicine in yoghurt?

A man in an old people’s home suffering from dementia will not take his medicine and spits out the tablets
when placed in his mouth. Without his medicine hebecomes very depressed and has aggressive outbursts.
After consultation with the head of unit the personnel decide to crush the pills and put them in yoghurt
to make it easier for him to ingest. The first timethey do this, they show him what they are doing.

He neither comments nor protests so they continue
to administer his medicine in this way without eachtime demonstrating the procedure.
Are the head of unit and the personnel acting in aproper manner? If the man had refused the yoghurtmedicine when it was demonstrated the first time,should the personnel anyway secretly administer the
medicine in this way?
A certificate attesting to virginity?

A high school counsellor receives a visit from a pupil
requesting a certificate attesting that she is a virgin.
She wishes the counsellor and the school nurse towrite such a certificate or to refer her to a gynaecologist who can issue one. She is not a virgin, but needsa certificate to convince her own and her boyfriend’s
family. She insists that it is crucial for her whole future
and that without it she will be in very deep trouble.
What should the counsellor do?
Offensive language on the Internet

Michael, a 28-year old man with Asperger’s syndrome,
lives in an own apartment close to sheltered communal housing, where he visits daily and where he eats
most of his meals. The personnel know that he often
engages in chats on the Lunarstorm youth site.
One day, one of the personnel browsing the site
to check up on what her own children may be up
to, notices that Michael is active, which is possible
because he has told them his user name. She sees that
he is chatting with young girls and using very sexually
explicit language. Before the personnel can take any
action, Michael comes to the home complaining thatsome of the girls have called him “a dirty old man”
and written that they were going to report him.
The personnel urge Michael to stop chatting on
Lunarstorm, which advice he appears to accept. After
this he speaks of quite other types of dialogue thathe engages in on the Net and seems convincing. But
after some weeks another member of the personnelbrowses Lunarstorm and discovers that Michael has
not changed his behaviour and is still using the same
extremely offensive language.
In that situation, what should the personnel/persons in authority do?
Allow an inveterate vegan to eat meat?

A man who was deeply involved in the vegan movement for many years falls ill with Alzheimer’s disease
and is placed in a home, where in accordance with his

previous habits he is served vegetarian meals. One day
he happens to eat by mistake a portion of meatballs,
potatoes, brown sauce and lingonberries intended foranother patient. He enjoys this very much and at thenext meal notices for the first time that he is being
served different food to all the others. The personnel
persuade him to eat his vegetarian meal, but the next
day he refuses point blank to eat “any special muckthat’s only for me”.
The personnel discuss the situation with his wife
who in no uncertain terms expressly forbids them togive him anything but vegetarian food. She insiststhat it is against his (and her) convictions to eat meator “warmed-over dead body parts”, as she puts it. The
personnel try to comply but encounter vociferous
protest at each meal from the man, who sometimes
with triumph and great delight manages to appropriate food left over by someone else at the table.
How are the head of the unit and the personnel
to handle this? Should they allow him to eat meat?
What shall they tell his wife?

15

Akademikerförbundet SSR
Box 12800, SE-112 96 Stockholm, Sweden
phone +46-8-617 44 00, fax +46-8-617 44 01
ssrdirekt@akademssr.se
www.akademssr.se

AKADEMIKERFÖRBUNDET SSR / juni 2008 / PHOTOS: martin nauclér

The Swedish Association of Graduates in Social Science,
Personnel and Public Administration, Economics and Social Work