Towards a Safer Social Work for Indigenous Peoples Seeking Sexual and Reproductive Health Services

Abstract

This mémoire is about developing safer social work practices when working with Indigenous peoples in Canada who are seeking sexual and reproductive health services. First, it outlines some important areas for social workers to become familiar with in order to make their practice safer in the realm of sexual and reproductive health. These areas include the realities surrounding the sexual and reproductive health of Indigenous peoples, the ongoing reproductive violence against Indigenous peoples, Indigenous reproductive justice, and the interconnections between social work, settler colonialism, and reproductive violence. Second, this paper explores how social workers can contribute to Indigenous reproductive justice. These include actions such as advocacy and raising awareness, fighting for funding and culturally safe services, learning and remaining critical, educating others and sharing information, and raising awareness about reproductive violence and justice. Altogether, this research provides a number of ways that social workers can help make their practice safer and contribute to ending reproductive violence against Indigenous peoples.

Key words: Indigenous reproductive justice, reproductive justice, reproductive violence, social work, sexual and reproductive health and rights