RESARCHING SOCIAL POLICES FROM BELOW: ETHNOGRAPHY OF SOCIAL WORK
Keywords:
gender polices, social work, anthropology of state, ethnographyAbstract
In this paper we deal with the understanding of gender based violence among the workers at the Center for Social Work in a Serbian town. Drawing from the fieldwork research conducted by Marina Simić among social workers in a Serbian town we discuss the ways in which they navigate state and council regulations in order to do their jobs. We argue that Michael Lipsky’s famous argument that “street-level public service” everywhere embodies a paradoxical reality of treating all citizens equally regarding their claims on government, while at the same time being responsive to the individual cases when appropriate, has a special postsocialist twist in contemporary Serbia. Social workers have been pressured by formalized procedures of their work, while, on the other hand, have to rely on personal resources and connections in order to deliver their service. Current reforms produce a persistent feeling of abandonment for most social workers who live under the persistent impression of professional shortfall without a clear solution in a nearby future.
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