Multicultural social work practice and South Asian migrants in Hong Kong

Abstract

This paper explores how multicultural social work responds to the needs and structural issues faced by South Asian migrants in Hong Kong. Three working approaches, namely, the problem-solving approach, the strengths-based approach, and the rights-based approach are identified from our empirical data. The analyses demonstrate the generally insufficient awareness of the practice in critically addressing existing policies and power relations based on race. Moreover, there is a lack of critical reflection on the notion of culture and social workers’ ethnocentric biases. This paper argues that this insufficient awareness could lead to reinforcement of the existing social exclusion of ethnic minorities in Hong Kong. Using Hong Kong as an example, this paper reflects on the implications of applying Western-based literature and practice model in a non-Western society.

本文探討多元文化社會工作如何回應香港南亞移民的需要以及其面對的結構性問題。基於經驗資料，本文把現有的工作取向歸納為三類：問題解決取向，優勢為本取向與權利為本取向。本文的分析顯示，社會工作實踐總體而言對批判性地回應現有政策以及種族權力關係缺乏足夠意識; 此外，也缺乏對文化概念和族裔中心主義偏見的批判性反思。本文認為，意識不足有可能會加強香港主流社會對少數族裔人士的排斥。本文也以香港為例，反思了西方學術研究與實踐模式在非西方社會中的應用意義。