Law-in-Action and Denied Justice in Gender-Based Violence for a Participatory Professional Culture in the Social Work

Abstract

The instrumental and transversal use of the legal system, of law, to achieve purposes contrary to those for which the system was created or to provide justice, can produce real forms of denied justice in terms of gender-based violence. In this sense, it is necessary to analyze the current interaction between social and professional roles connected to regulatory and/or legal action, law and social norms, the social and legal context where the interaction takes place, in order to highlight its impact on the phenomenon of gender-based violence in relation to the Social Work sector. These are aspects that fully place the Social Service Institution and its professionals within the legal sphere, considered here not only as a social control agency, considered collectively and individually, aimed at intervening efficiently and effectively in relation to the management of specific cases of gender-based violence and crimes directly and/or indirectly related to it, but also and above all as a primary and secondary socialization agency that operates not only towards the perpetrators and victims of crimes, but also and above all towards the members of the Social Service Institution. These elements underscore the need to identify the most suitable tools not only to build and strengthen a shared and participatory professional culture between institutions and social workers, but also and above all to prevent the instrumental and transversal use of the law to achieve specific interests and goals, unrelated to the Social Services sector.