Social workers find themselves grappling with the challenges of striking a balance between the professional ethics and personal values. Social workers come from different cultural backgrounds. As a result, they tend to have different perception on certain social phenomena. Despite the beliefs, norms, and values they hold, social workers are expected to remain nonjudgmental when interacting with their clients. As a social worker, the goal is to ensure that every client, regardless of his/her culture, is treated with respect.
The LGBTQ community is discriminated against in most conservative societies (Airaksinen, 2003). The dominant culture perpetuates the values of the heterosexual majority, while undermining and trying to suppress those of the LGBTQ community. Even in the health institutions, some homosexuals have reported incidences of prejudice and discrimination (Airaksinen, 2003). All these happen because of the personal values, which tend to clash with the professional ethics.
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As a professional, there is a need to address the issues of discrimination to those seeking services. It is against the law, especially in the United States, to discriminate against anyone based on their sexual preferences (Airaksinen, 2003). Therefore, whether someone is gay, lesbian, or transgendered, the goal is to ensure that he/she is not exposed to any form of discrimination based upon their sexual orientation.
The perception on sexual orientation has a direct relationship on how one interacts with the LGBTQ community. If the social worker has negative perception, there is a tendency to discriminate against the LGBTQ community (Airaksinen, 2003). There is also the possibility of mistreating those who hold differing views on LGBTQ community.
The bottom-line is that social workers should ensure that their personal values on sexual orientation do not affect their interaction with their patients. The main goal should be to ensure that all the clients get equal treatment without being judged negatively because of their sexual orientation. At the place of work, the professional ethics should supersede the personal beliefs, norms, and values.
Reference
Airaksinen, T. (2003).The Philosophy of Professional Ethics. Institutional issues involving Ethics and Justice, Vol 1.
