Sex and the social worker

Sex is at the very centre of human behaviour and motivation. Social Workers are frequently called upon to intervene in this most sensitive area of people's lives. They may find themselves involved with any aspect of their clients' sexuality - physical, emotional or moral. They may need to work across the boundaries of both heterosexual and homosexual relationships; with a range of handicapped people; and with the most intimate problems of both men and women.

This book, compassionate and well-informed, makes suggestions about responding more confidently to the sexuality of young people, challenges social workers to consider the effects of residential care on the sex lives of residents, invites them to think positively about the sexual needs of handicapped people; asks for more enlightened responses to sexual abuse, especially in regard to the hasty and destructive labelling of 'victims' and 'offenders'; and makes a plea for more professional and humane ways of inquiring into allegations of abuse in residential establishments. Sex and the Social Workers is a book for those committed to change; students, practitioners - field and residential - and administrators. It raises fundamental questions about sex and social work, offering guidelines for professional practice in the context of contemporary values, and of the expectations and rights of the individual.