5. Culturally appropriate support

Social workers need to recognise and tailor their support services in line with the cultural values and norms of communities rather than simply imposing standardised practices which have worked elsewhere. Any disaster response plans need to account for the specific cultures of those who could be impacted, as well as the specific context of the disaster, and social workers should draw on their expertise in anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory practice in determining how to respond.  

The international nature of a lot of the support that follows a disaster means that Euro-American social work practices frequently get imposed on those impacted. In some cases this has led to local survivors shunning or missing out on support and opting for their own rituals and community approaches instead. As a result, international responses can at times be counterproductive, slowing recovery and development that more community focused and co-produced initiatives would have improved (Pyles, 2017). There are also concerns related to the motives and profit making motivations of some organisations that respond to disasters, issues that will be discussed in more detail in Module 2.

These issues are not just related to international responses, but can also be evidenced in national responses to disasters. For example following Hurricane Katrina in the USA in 2005, the cultural differences between those impacted and many of the response services and volunteers caused substantial difficulties, despite the respondents largely coming from the same country as those impacted. This included support workers prioritising housing and health needs, while many of the locals wanted the recovery of their community spaces and networks (Bell, 2008).

Local communities should therefore be actively engaged in designing and organising their own recovery. Consideration also needs to be made for the recognition and inclusion of spirituality and religion in recovery processes. Faith and religious communities have been found to be consistently involved in disaster recovery, and faith is often a meaningful way to fulfil the culturally specific psychosocial needs of trauma survivors.

Complete short task 7 in workbook (15 minutes)

Case Study: Grenfell

On June 14th 2017 the 24 story Grenfell Tower caught fire, causing 72 deaths, 70+ people physically injured, and an unmeasurable amount of mental health trauma to those in the tower, their friends and families, and those in the surrounding area.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission produced a report in 2019 highlighting many concerns with the inappropriate disaster response and recovery raised by the communities impacted. These included:

  • Pressure to accept inappropriate accommodation.

Well they've said now ..., that there's not many properties left. And the best properties have gone - that's what they've told me. Um ..., this, you know - now. This is going to be permanent. And this is where you're going to stay for the rest of your life. It's not that easy just to say - oh yes, I'll take that.

  • Failure to account for family networks in rehousing.

So what good is it the mum’s in a hotel in South Kensington and they’re in a hotel in Hammersmith, it’s just not going to work is it? And there were so many issues like that.

  • Failure to account for cultural/religious needs.

We were all fasting and we were mostly Muslims and they tell us we have to vacate the premises in about an hour which is was 7 and they ask us to - to vacate at 8-o-clock and I was personally shocked and no-one wanted to say anything

  • Discrimination

Sometimes they’d just assume that you couldn’t speak English because of the way you were dressed.

  • Standardised practices.

There has been no consideration of equalities whatsoever. Everyone is being pushed into a one size fits all cookie cutter response.

  • Failure to account for disability.

A lady who’s paraplegic, in a wheelchair, and she’s got no facilities in her emergency housing, she’s in a room with her young children, she’s got to come here to come here to cook, she’s got to go to the local baths to shower and it is absolutely, it is more than disgraceful.

  • Failure to account for language barriers.

As bad as it was, it wasn’t as bad as many of the people who don’t have the language skills, don’t know their rights, don’t know how to enforce those rights.

The full report can be read here. Is there anything from your own experience or working that you see reflected in any of these quotes?

Next section

  1. What is a disaster?
  2. The role of social workers in a disaster
  3. Skills for disaster working
  4. The communities we support
  5. Culturally appropriate support (current page)
  6. Follow up task