What Rights Does Social Welfare Advocate for ?

: The Case of Social Work

Abstract

Although the practice of social work calls for advocacy of people’s rights, currently, this is not sufficiently adhered to. In this paper, we explore the infringement of rights as a problem of social structure. Employing a theoretically ordered construct of rights advocacy, we examine the literature on nursing care insurance services and the adult guardianship （power of attorney） system to explore the components and causes of infringement of rights. Our findings highlight the scarcity of social resources caused by a lack of financial and human capital among service providers. This scarcity has also been influenced by the policy-driven marketization of nursing care and the urbanization of the population. Additionally, slogans such as “Our Affairs, altogether” （“Wagakoto, marugoto” in Japanese） justify the notion that the lack of social resources should be overcome by self-help alone. Such phenomena are examined with reference to Johan Galtung’s theory of structural violence. We also argue that social welfare should entail advocacy against the infringement of rights created by structural violence.