Developmental Social Work: a Promising Practice to Address Child Marriage in Zimbabwe

The paper advances the role of social work in addressing child marriage in Zimbabwe. It notes that despite child marriage being one of the major social problems in Zimbabwe, and a child rights concern, there is limited social work professional action and interventions to address this challenge, part...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of human rights and social work 2018-03, Vol.3 (1), p.3-10
Main Authors: Muchacha, Munyaradzi, Matsika, Abel Blessings
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Child marriage
Children
Government agencies
Human Rights
Intervention
Marriage
Occupational roles
Poverty
Psychotherapy and Counseling
Social justice
Social participation
Social Policy
Social problems
Social Sciences
Social welfare
Social Work
Social workers
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Summary:The paper advances the role of social work in addressing child marriage in Zimbabwe. It notes that despite child marriage being one of the major social problems in Zimbabwe, and a child rights concern, there is limited social work professional action and interventions to address this challenge, particularly in the government Department of Social Welfare, where there are no interventions that seek to directly prevent or address child marriage. The paper calls for a paradigm shift from remedial social work interventions that dominate social work practice in this department and generally in Zimbabwe. These traditional approaches lack the capacity to address the structural causes of social problems such as child marriage. To that end, the paper proffers developmental social work practice due to its strength to address structural issues, pursue social justice, promote active participation and strengthen prevailing coping mechanisms and poverty alleviation.
ISSN:2365-1792
2365-1792
DOI:10.1007/s41134-017-0042-3