Domestic Violence Victim Ethical Dilemma - Essay Example

Domestic Violence Victim Ethical Dilemma Introduction Youth workers play a significant role in the society as they attempt to improve the lives of young people and adults as well (Banks, 2010:3). Youth workers contribute to the betterment of the society by voluntarily availing themselves to work for the youth work programme, which aims at improving and enhancing the personal and social conditions of young people and adults (Dutton, 2001:40). In this situation, a youth worker based with a Housing Association is faced with a dilemma after meeting with a woman who has been involved in a serious domestic dispute. The Housing Association wishes to relocate the abuse victim to a bed and breakfast hotel where she will be able to live without support and will not need to take her children out of their school. Security from the ex-partner will be guaranteed as the police will issue him with an injunction that will keep him away from the victim. On the other hand, Women’s Aid, an organisation dealing with victims of domestic violence, wants the victimised woman to stay in their secure emergency refuge (Womens Aid, 2013). The organisation will support the woman by providing counselling sessions to help her handle the ordeal, and help her gain employment and housing. However, she will have to take her children out of their school and transfer them to a school close to the refuge. The youth worker realises that the two options are great and could work perfectly for the victim. However, some issues such as the changes made to the bedroom tax may bring complications but may also help the youth worker to choose the best option for the victim. The youth may employ the utilitarianism and the Kantian ethics to help him or her make a clear decision in this scenario. Utilitarianism proposes that the virtuous mode of action in any event is the one that produces the greatest benefits for the good of everyone (Labukt, 2009:201). Following this philosophy, the youth worker will have to make a decision that will be good for the good of victim, the children and every other person involved. On the other hand, Kant viewed all individuals as equal entities; hence no favors were to be granted to a particular individual. Kant proposed that people’s actions were to be directed towards accomplishing their duty on earth. He also said that there were no consequences to any activity that people implemented as long as they were conducting their duties. However, he proposed that all individuals had a duty to fulfil their duties, which made the basis for the moral assessment of our actions. Therefore, by following Kantian ethics, the youth worker is supposed to carry out his duty willingly without fearing the consequences (Kerstein, 2008:761). By combining the Kantian ethics and the utilitarianism, the youth worker is supposed to carry out the required duty, which is to make sound advice, while considering the welfare of all individuals. This means that the best option is the one that benefits many people. Using Kant’s ethics, the youth worker should ensure that the decision he or she makes is reflective of the roles and responsibilities that he or she has been assigned (Bradford and Cullen, 2014:4). The decision should also be directed for the overall good, therefore, should help the victim restore her self-confidence and self-esteem to ensure that she takes care of herself and her children (OCR, 2010:5). Although the youth worker has ties to the Housing Association, he or she should make sure that it provides the best option for the victim and her children before making the decision (Labukt, 2009:204). The youth worker should also consider if Women’s Aid Organisation can render better services to the victim, and if so, he or she should make the decision in the organisation’s favour as it is his duty towards the victim. According to Kant’s ethics, the youth worker should carry out his duties without fearing the consequences (Kerstein, 2008:767). Housing Association only provides temporary bed and breakfast, while the Women’s Aid organisation provides counselling sessions for the victim. After the ordeal, victims of domestic violence usually suffer from a low self-esteem, therefore, requiring counselling sessions to build their self-confidence (National Youth Council of Ireland, 2009). This means that the victimised woman will have a higher chance of leading a normal life if she goes to the refuge, which is provided by the Women’s Aid organisation (Lavie-Ajay and Krumer-Nevo, 2013:1703). Counselling sessions will also prepare her for the journey ahead, which will be intense as she will be taking care of her children by her own. This will provide psychological awareness, which will help her tackle many issues in her future. She will also have the opportunity to talk to others going through the same problem, therefore, reducing the likelihood of depression or stress (National Youth Agency, 2013). The youth worker also has the duty to assist others in acquiring knowledge and developing skills that will enable them make an honest living and live independently (Bradford and Cullen, 2014:8). Considering that the victim is going to be separated from the ex-partner, she will have to take care of the children alone. Apparently, the victim will require a reliable source of income that will help her provide all the necessities for her and the children. The Housing Association can provide the bed and breakfast but lacks the ability to look into the financial issues facing the victim. On the other hand, Women’s Aid will be able to help the victim find employment and housing. This shows that Women’s Aid provides comprehensive services for the victim of domestic violence. The organisation will also be able to assist the victim in acquiring a permanent house. The Housing Association will only provide a temporary bed and breakfast. Welfare reforms have indicated a reduced amount of benefit for people who have a spare bedroom. This means that the victim would suffer if she should get a house that does not meets the criteria stipulated in the bedroom tax (National Housing Federation, 2011). The youth worker should also consider security for the victim to ensure that the ex-partner stays away from her (OCR, 2010:7). The Housing Association plans on involving the police by acquiring an injunction. In case of an altercation, the police may arrive late and the victim may be abused again. The youth worker’s duty is to consider the overall good by choosing the option that will guarantee security for the victim and her children’s safety (Ord, 2011:27). Women’s Aid provides a solution to this problem by relocating the victim and her children to an undisclosed location that the attacker may never find about. This will help the victim to make a smooth transition without being subjected to further trauma, which will be good for her and the children (Verschelden, 2010:17). Conclusion It can be hard for the youth worker to work with the two organisations at the same time as it will lead to conflict of interest (DeFreitas, 2008:22). The two organisations have different roles and operate in different ways to meet different goals. As the paper illustrates, Women’s Aid has many benefits and it will easily foster the healing process in the woman (Ord, 2009:12). Therefore, the youth worker should overlook the fact that he or she works for Housing Association and guide the victim towards Women’s Aid, the organisation that will offer the best services (Batsleer, 2012:345). The Housing Association seeks to provide a bed and breakfast room for the victim in order to refrain from relocating the children to a new location and a new school. It is a good gesture as the children will be happy to remain in their usual school. Considering the overall good and the benefits that Women’s Aid is providing to the victim, the youth worker should not make a decision favouring Housing Association. This is because Women’s Aid offers services that will be more beneficial to the victim and her children. The youth worker’s duty is to recommend Women’s Aid instead of Housing Association. References Banks, S. (2010) Ethical issues in youth work, London, Routledge. Batsleer, J. (2012) ‘Dangerous spaces, dangerous memories, dangerous emotions: informal education and heteronormativity – a Manchester UK Youth Work vignette,’ Discourse: studies in the cultural politics of education, vol. 33, no.3, pp. 345-360. Bradford, S. & Cullen, F. (2014) ‘Positive for youth work? Contested terrains of professional youth work in austerity England,’ International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 1-14. Brooks, L. (2012, March 4) Youth worker: job description, Prospects.ac.uk. Retrieved February 19, 2014, from http://www.prospects.ac.uk/youth_worker_job_description.htm Courtney, R. (2011) A profile of the youth work workforce in Northern Ireland, Dublin, Northern Ireland. DeFreitas, G. (2008) Young workers in the global economy: job challenges in North America, Europe and Japan, Cheltenham, UK, Edward Elgar. Dutton, S. E. (2001) ‘Urban Youth Development–Broadway Style: Using Theatre and Group Work as Vehicles for Positive Youth Development,’ Social Work with Groups, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 39-58. Kerstein, S. (2008) ‘Allen W. Wood, Kantian Ethics,’ Ethics, Vol. 118, no. 4, pp. 761-767. Labukt, I. (2009) ‘Rawls on the Practicability of Utilitarianism,’ Politics, Philosophy & Economics, Vol.8, no.2, pp. 201-221 Lavie-Ajayi, M. & Krumer-Nevo, M. (2013) ‘In a different mindset: Critical youth work with marginalized youth,’ Children and Youth Services Review, vol. 35, no. 10, pp. 1698-1704. National Housing Federation. (2011, August 1) Bedroom tax. National Housing Federation, viewed February 19, 2014, from . National Youth Agency. (2013, June 3) Getting Qualified. National Youth Agency, viewed February 19, 2014, from . National Youth Council of Ireland. (2009, May 4) What is youth work?. National Youth Council of Ireland, viewed February 19, 2014, from . OCR. (2010). OCR Levels 2 and 3 in Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools. London: National Occupational Standards for Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools. Ord, J. (2009) ‘Experiential learning in youth work in the UK: a return to Dewey,’ International Journal of Lifelong Education, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 493-511. Ord, J. (2011) Critical issues in youth work management, New York, NY, Routledge. Verschelden, G. (2010) The history of youth work in Europe: relevance for todays youth work policy. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Pub. Womens Aid. (n.d.) What is a refuge and how can I stay in one?. Womens Aid, viewed February 19, 2014, from . Read More