Of shopping bags and shame: issues of identity in palliative care social work in South Africa.

Abstract

Central to social work practice are issues of privilege and guidelines for its management. What is less considered, though, is how privilege is experienced, subverted and enacted, even in contexts where, from a policy perspective, dismantling privilege is central. I report here on my personal journey of growing up within the apartheid system and currently holding a senior position in a hospice organisation, a role which would have been unlikely for a person of colour during the apartheid era. I discuss the dynamics of identity, privilege and power within the context of palliative care social work in South Africa. Providing a narrative account of a significant interaction with a patient's family, I share my personal reflections from my perspective as a privileged Coloured social worker navigating the complexities of race and socioeconomic disparities, which remain prevalent in South African postapartheid society. With a Woolworths shopping bag as metaphor, I reflect on my internal struggle with being perceived as an outsider despite my cultural background. The Woolworths shopping bag, a metaphor for privilege and aspiration, evokes the historical inequalities faced by my family and highlights the ongoing challenges faced by social workers in reconciling their professional roles with their racialised identities. Motivated by my reflections, I advocate for a deeper understanding of how privilege and oppression manifest for social workers working with those who have experienced generational disparities in the South African context, facilitating a critical engagement with their life experiences and the implications of privilege when working with diverse communities.