Accepting the unacceptable: the concept of acceptance in work with the perpetrators of hate crime |
| |
Authors: | Trevor Lindsay Stefan Danner |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. University of Ulster , Magee Campus, Northland Road, Londonderry, BT48 7JL, Northern Ireland;2. Department of Social Work, Hochschule für Technik , Wirtschaft und Kultur Leipzig , Postfach 30 11 66, 04251, Leipzig, Germany |
| |
Abstract: | We consider the challenge presented to social workers in working with people who are the perpetrators of hate crime. We argue that in order to be able to bring about positive change in this group, as in any other, the work can only take place in the context of a constructive relationship between worker and client, a relationship which is underpinned by the acceptance of the client by the worker. We trace the development of the concept of acceptance from its early formulation in the work of Rogers, through other writers, to its contemporary manifestation, as is to be found in some examples of work with the perpetrators of hate crime and most explicitly in the work of Krafeld. We conclude that in this area of work the concept needs to be understood in terms of an active and dynamic rather than passive approach. |
| |
Keywords: | hate crime perpetrator acceptance unconditional positive regard |
|
|