From the Margins to the Centre: Political Social Work in Malta and Beyond

Abstract

In an era increasingly shaped by climate crises, political instability, and the resurgence of authoritarianism, social work must reclaim its political and emancipatory foundations. This article examines how social work practitioners can respond to the complexities and uncertainties of contemporary society. While evidence-based practice—anchored in the understanding of risk, development, and vulnerability—remains essential, the current global context demands a reinvigorated commitment to social justice, collective action, and resistance. The article emphasizes the need for a renewed vision of social work that actively confronts systems of oppression and advances human rights. It argues that meaningful and enduring change depends on social workers’ willingness to engage with broader movements for justice and systemic transformation, with a particular focus on the Maltese context as both a site of opportunity and struggle.

Introduction

Malta presents a striking paradox: while it has developed progressive legislation in areas such as social welfare, disability rights, and human rights, persistent injustices continue to surface in everyday practice. Despite legislative advancements, systemic barriers frequently prevent these ideals from being fully realized at the ground level. For example, although Malta’s National Disability Strategy has strengthened the legal framework for disability inclusion, social workers still encounter significant obstacles in delivering adequate services, largely due to resource shortages and insufficient specialized training. Their day-to-day interventions are often shaped and restricted by broader social and political structures that continue to reproduce marginalization, inequality, and exclusion.

The tension between rights-based legislative frameworks and the lived experience of service users is also experienced in the mental health field. Despite formal commitments to human rights and inclusion, frontline social workers in Malta frequently encounter under-resourced services, bureaucratic rigidity, and deeply rooted stigma that undermine their ability to enact meaningful change. Furthermore, in the field of disability services, social workers frequently observe that, despite efforts to promote community-based services, individuals with disabilities are still often placed in institutional settings that emphasize control and containment rather than autonomy and participation. While Malta has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the implementation of its provisions remains inconsistent. As a result, many service users face limited opportunities for independent living, employment, or meaningful social inclusion. Similarly, in child protection, social workers are often tasked with safeguarding children within environments marked by poverty, housing insecurity, and restricted access to education. These structural factors create vulnerabilities that extend far beyond the scope of individual casework. This challenge is exacerbated by understaffed child protection services and the recent introduction of mandatory reporting procedures by schools, which further strain an already overburdened system.

Without (...) deeper engagement, social work would prove ineffective in challenging the broader structures of power and injustice that perpetuate social inequality

Pierson and Caruana-Finkel (2025) highlight a contradiction within Maltese society: despite Malta’s strong reputation for advancing LGBTIQ rights, it continues to enforce one of the most restrictive abortion laws globally and resists efforts to promote reproductive justice. This contradiction reveals a deeper structural issue, where formal rights exist without achieving true emancipation. Pentaris et al. (2023) caution that unless authorities effectively address urgent social needs, social work will be unable to achieve its transformative goals. This requires embedding critical political awareness and structural analysis into everyday practice, enabling social workers to confront systemic inequalities and advocate for meaningful change at both the individual and societal levels. Without this deeper engagement, social work would prove ineffective in challenging the broader structures of power and injustice that perpetuate social inequality.

Within the Maltese context, recent EU developments, particularly shifts in migration policy, have further complicated the field. One concerning trend is the externalization of asylum processing, which could involve transferring asylum seekers to detention centres in non-EU countries. This policy poses serious ethical and human rights issues, as it risks placing vulnerable individuals in environments lacking legal protection and adequate support. Such policies also threaten to undermine the principles of refugee protection outlined in the 1951 Refugee Convention. For social workers, these developments increase the complexity of responding to the needs of displaced individuals and require continued advocacy against systemic injustices.

These dilemmas highlight the need for a fundamental shift in social work practice, encouraging practitioners to balance the immediate care they provide with a deeper understanding of the structural forces that contribute to the challenges their clients face. Pentaris et al. (2023) address this concern by arguing that social work must extend beyond the limitations of clinical intervention to effectively confront the structural roots of social injustice. They believe that as practitioners manage bureaucratic constraints and address urgent client needs, they must also engage with the larger systems that perpetuate inequality and marginalization, challenging these systems to create more just and inclusive outcomes. They recommend that “social work and social development should continuously attempt the incorporation of political actions into their activities; policy practice and political activism should be celebrated in the profession and become a core part of its general strategies for promoting social justice and human rights” (p. 127). They argue for a paradigmatic shift, urging a transition from reactive, individualized practices to a model of social work that actively fosters transformative change. This calls on social workers, both in Malta and globally, to align their professional duty to provide immediate care with their ethical obligation to challenge and transform the systems of oppression that continue to marginalize the most vulnerable.

The Need for Solidarity and Collective Action

Social work in Malta, like elsewhere, is often framed primarily as a service provision model. However, it also has a rich history of activism, with social workers advocating for change within local communities and beyond. A notable example of this activism is the Movement for A Human Education (Muviment Edukazzjoni Umana), a grassroots movement founded by student-teachers in the 1980s. This movement played a significant role in challenging centralized control in education and advocating for more participatory governance in the sector (Sultana, 1992). This initiative exemplified the convergence of social work and activism, promoting reforms designed to enhance the agency of individuals and communities. It was underpinned by Touraine’s (1981) argument that democratic action must endeavour to uncover and reassert the agency of oppressed and marginalized populations, whose efforts are often obscured by entrenched structures of class domination, historical inheritance, and the exercise of state power.

Over the past few decades, social work has increasingly moved towards a managerial model, with practitioners becoming more focused on operational tasks and responding to bureaucratic demands. This shift has often led to the sidelining of advocacy and political action—critical components for addressing systemic inequality. Students on placement have observed this trend firsthand, noting how the emphasis on administrative duties leaves little room for the political engagement necessary to challenge entrenched social injustices. This shift has been further exacerbated by financial constraints in public services, which have resulted in reduced resources for both practitioners and service users. As a result, social workers, along with those in training, now find themselves caught in a tension between their aspiration to act as agents of change and the pressure to conform to standardized procedures and protocols.

In this context, Bečević and Herz (2023) call for an “agonistic” social work that acknowledges conflict, tension, and uncertainty as inherent features of any transformative political project. They argue that rather than retreating from political engagement, social workers should actively embrace their role as advocates for justice, even when constrained by institutional power. Bečević and Herz highlight that “more than forty years of neoliberal onslaught have turned the profession into a depoliticised one. Social work has been successfully removed from its political roots and reduced to objective and neutral administration of human needs, unable to fulfil its professional and ethical commitment to the people it serves. Politics, which shapes every aspect of the profession, is thus still given only fragmented and marginal attention (p. 1164).”

Building on this, they maintain that the core of effective social work lies in exposing systems of oppression and collaborating with marginalized groups to promote a more just and sustainable society. While strategies for achieving this will inevitably vary depending on the specific cultural, political, and economic circumstances in different regions, several key issues consistently arise. One of the central challenges is how social workers can move beyond a primary focus on individualized interventions and engage more directly with systemic structures. A key consideration is how practitioners can balance their professional duty to provide immediate care and support with their ethical responsibility to confront and transform the larger systems of oppression that continue to marginalize the most vulnerable members of society.

Political Social Work in the 21st Century

In Malta, as elsewhere, social workers are tasked with bridging the gap between individualized care and structural advocacy. While providing direct service is vital to meet the immediate needs of service users, social workers must also challenge the broader systems of oppression that perpetuate inequality. Political social work plays a key role in ensuring the profession remains active and responsive, rather than merely service-oriented. In an unjust world, neutrality is not an option. Social workers must act courageously, both individually and in solidarity with others, through advocacy, policy changes, participation in social movements, or support for grassroots organizations.

In Malta, where social work is often seen as a technical, service-based profession, it is important for social workers to re-engage with broader social struggles. For instance, social workers in mental health can advocate for inclusive policies, challenge the stigma surrounding mental illness, and ensure that marginalized groups receive the resources and support they need, making mental health services more accessible and equitable. Similarly, social workers working with refugees and migrants can employ their expertise to challenge exclusionary immigration policies that fail to protect vulnerable individuals. By advocating for greater support and more humane policies, social workers can combat discrimination and marginalization within these populations. As the global context shifts, social workers must embrace their political role, confront systemic injustices, and advocate for meaningful change. Whether in disability services, supervision groups, or NGO coalitions, social workers must challenge the structures that perpetuate harm while nurturing spaces of resistance and hope. From Malta to the world, the social work profession must be bold, participatory, and unapologetically political, fostering a society where justice, equity, and human dignity are paramount.

Social work must increasingly be recognized as a key part of a global network dedicated to resisting oppressive systems. International movements focused on social justice, climate change, and human rights provide crucial spaces for solidarity and collective action, offering opportunities for social workers to collaborate with NGOs across Europe and the Mediterranean. This collaboration allows social workers in Malta to contribute to the implementation of emancipatory practices, even in the most challenging contexts. These collective efforts demonstrate that social work is not merely about addressing the immediate. In a world beset by authoritarianism, inequality, and environmental crises, social workers must remain resolute—united in their mission to build a fairer, more compassionate world. Social work, now more than ever, must be a transformative force.

References

1. Bečević, Z., & Herz, M. (2023). Towards an agonistic social work: A framework for political action and radical practice. European Journal of Social Work, 26(6), 1164–1177. https://doi.org
2. Pentaris, P., Christodoulou, P., Erotocritou, K., Parlalis, S., Hadjiharalambous, D., & Hanna, S. (2022). Integrating the Global Agenda of Social Work and Social Development in the Republic of Cyprus. Practice, 36(2), 127–141. https://doi.org
3. Pierson, C., & Caruana-Finkel, L. (2025). Not Knowing or Not Wanting to Know? Abortion, Ignorance, and Resistance by Health and Social Care Professionals and Activists in Malta. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society. https://doi.org
4. Sultana, R. G. (1992). Teacher Power and the Struggle for Democracy: An educational movement in Malta. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 2(1), 3–22. https://doi.org
5. Touraine, A. (1977). The Self-Production of Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.