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Social Work vocabulary · Practice Approaches

Advocacy

Meaning in social work, with examples

/ˈædvəkəsi/nounCore term

In social work, advocacy means: Speaking up for people, or helping them speak up for themselves, so that their views are heard and their rights are respected.

In Turkish: savunuculuk, hak savunuculuğu

How it is used

Used both for individual cases, such as supporting a client at a meeting or appeal, and for wider campaigning to change policy. An advocate may be a social worker, a volunteer or an independent professional; self-advocacy means people speaking for themselves.

Example sentences

  1. The charity provides independent advocacy for people living with dementia.

  2. Advocacy at the benefits appeal made a real difference to the outcome.

Common collocations

  • independent advocacy
  • self-advocacy
  • advocacy service
  • policy advocacy
  • advocacy on behalf of
  • empowermentThe process of helping people gain more control over their own lives, decisions and resources, and the confidence to act for themselves.
  • social justiceThe idea that everyone should have fair access to rights, resources and opportunities, and that unfair structures in society should be changed.
  • self-determinationA person's right to make their own choices and decisions about their life, even when others might disagree with them.
  • NGOShort for non-governmental organisation: an independent, non-profit organisation that works on social, humanitarian or environmental issues.

More terms: Practice Approaches

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