CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter comprises the review of related literature and studies, containing

ideas/results and generalizations/conclusions, which helps in gathering sets of

information which are relevant to the present study being conducted. This aims to

provide comprehensive overview of previous researches which will serve as a

guide to the current researchers in developing this study about SOGIE and the

Social Work Practice.

Background and Definition

Francisco, et.al., 2017: as cited in Tan 2015. As one of the countries the Philippines ranked

number 10 who accepted homosexuality. However, many members of LGBTQ community are

denied access to services because they are sexual minorities. The problems continue as the

LGBTQ community experience barriers to human services and basic needs and rights such as

adoption, health care, employment discrimination, and mental health counseling (Cole & Harris,

2017). Social workers has a chance to speak into this kind of discussion. Social workers have a

unique opportunity and obligation to serve humanity by meeting basic human needs,

combating oppression and marginalization, and advocating for social justice. The National

Association of Social Workers (NASW) provides explicit mandates that outline appropriate,

helpful and empowering principles and practices for social workers’ service provisions. “Social

workers promote social justice and social change with and on behalf of clients. . . . Social

workers are sensitive to cultural and ethnic diversity and strive to end discrimination,
oppression, poverty and other forms of social injustice” (National Association of Social Workers,

2017, p.1). “Social workers are obligated to not cause harm and to ameliorate harm caused by

others (Dessel et al., 2017, p. 13) also, the social workers has a power to influence regarding the

LGBTQ community provision and services that needs to meet.

Many recent studies have focused on assessing how social work professionals deal with clients

in relation to their social status, age, race/ethnicity, and sex alone. According to the

International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), social work is a practice-based profession

and an academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social cohesion, and

the empowerment and liberation of people. The profession is committed to promoting social

justice for marginalized groups, including sexual minorities, and to providing culturally

competent services (National Association of Social Work [NASW], 2014).

Social workers began to acknowledge diversity in experiences, sexual orientation, gender

identity or expression, socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, age and religious affiliation or

spirituality (National Association of Social Workers, 2015; Van Den Bergh & Crisp, 2004).

Moreover, Sexual Orientation refers to the sex of those to whom one is sexually and

romantically attracted. Categories of sexual orientation typically have included attraction to

members of one's own sex (gay men or lesbians), attraction to members of the other sex

(heterosexuals), and attraction to members of both sexes (bisexuals). While these categories

continue to be widely used, research has suggested that sexual orientation does not always

appear in such definable categories and instead occurs on a continuum (e.g., Kinsey, Pomeroy,

Martin, & Gebhard, 1953; Klein, 1993; Klein, Sepekoff, & Wolff, 1985; Shiveley & DeCecco,

1977). In addition, some research indicates that sexual orientation is fluid for some people; this
may be especially true for women (e.g., Diamond, 2007; Golden, 1987; Peplau & Garnets,

2000).

Gender identity is explained as "one's sense of oneself as male, female, or transgender"

(American Psychological Association, 2006). When one's gender identity and biological sex are

not congruent, the individual may identify as transsexual or as another transgender category

(cf. Gainor, 2000).

Gender expression is defined as the "…way in which a person acts to communicate gender

within a given culture; for example, in terms of clothing, communication patterns, and interests.

A person's gender expression may or may not be consistent with socially prescribed gender

roles, and may or may not reflect his or her gender identity" (American Psychological

Association, 2008, p. 28).

According to the Council on Social Work Education’s (2015) educational policy and accreditation
standards, The purpose of the social work profession is to promote human and community well-being.
Guided by a person-in-environment framework, a global perspective, respect for human diversity, and
knowledge based on scientific inquiry, the purpose of social work is actualized through its quest for
social and economic justice, the prevention of conditions that limit human rights, the elimination of
loverty, and the enhancement of the quality of life for all persons, locally and globally. (p. 5)

according to the National Association of Social Workers’ (2017) code of ethics. Theriault (2017) provides
examples of such inclusive practices to include: avoid heterosexual assumptions, develop
nondiscrimination policies and procedures, equip staff to handle LGBTQ issues, and stop instances of
LGBTQ harassment. Furthermore, religious social workers are encouraged to integrate their faith into
their social work practice, while being respectful of their client’s perspectives, needs and desires.

Advocates of the LGBTQ community claim every person has the right to have access to safe and
beneficial human services that meet their unique needs (Theriault, 2017).
According to the Council on Social Work Education’s (2015) educational policy and accreditation
standards, The purpose of the social work profession is to promote human and community well-being.
Guided by a person-in-environment framework, a global perspective, respect for human diversity, and
knowledge based on scientific inquiry, the purpose of social work is actualized through its quest for
social and economic justice, the prevention of conditions that limit human rights, the elimination of
poverty, and the enhancement of the quality of life for all persons, locally and globally. (p. 5)

“Individuals who self-identify as LGBT can face a number of challenges for which they might seek
professional help from a social worker or professional” (Cole & Harris, 2017, p. 32)

Often, members of the LGBTQ community request social workers or practitioners who are familiar with
the population, terminology, and the challenges faced by these marginalized communities (Cole &
Harris, 2017).

Related Studies

Social Work education and all the individuals involved, be they students, faculty,

or staff must find the issue of SOGIE important in their field. The importance of

comprehensive social work education will be further augmented through broader

implications of producing future social workers with knowledge and understanding of

how to sensitively and equitably meet the needs of these populations. (Mulé, McKenzie,

Khan, 2017).

A heightened awareness of Social Workers and other key stakeholders about

SOGIE could sharpen their sensitivity in terms of the delivery of appropriate social

services as well as lobbying for social policies and programs (Pastrano, 2017).

However, based on research conducted in 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio, when asking,

collecting, or recording information pertaining to a child's sexual orientation or gender

identity/expression, child welfare agency workers express reluctance. Nationally, the

needs to be addressed. Meeting the needs of children with diverse SOGIE faces a

complication due to the lack of clear agency policies (Prince, 2018).

Also, the needs of the LGBT population in out-of-home care has been a topic

written in many articles as a form of recommendation for policies and competencies but

research also demonstrates that many social workers and child welfare workers lack the

necessary competencies and knowledge to provide LGBT youth with the services to

attend to their unique needs. Of all the instruments that have been developed to

measure attitudes toward the LGBT population; there is still a lack in the research

measuring social workers' attitudes of LGBT youth in the Case Work system which is a

relevant lack as research has also demonstrated that attitudes directly impact service

delivery (Bell & Salcedo, Jr. 2014).

Sexual minorities in South Africa were also revealed to lack access to

organizations that could be of assistance to them in fighting for their rights.

Social workers mentioned that their organizations' practice scope made it

difficult for the said group of people to approach them due to their exclusivity.

This led them to feel that their organizations were not open to sexual

minorities.

It can also be argued that social workers are less involved in practice with

sexual minorities and hence their ability to identify issues facing sexual minorities is

more general, rather than being a result of their own experiences working with

sexual minorities. The extended scope of challenges that confront sexual minorities at
intrapersonal and interpersonal levels such as challenges that they experience within

themselves, could not be identified by their social workers. (Nyembezi, 2020).

Graham, S. (2009) conducted a study about counseling competency within

lesbian, gay, and bisexuals from the perspectives of 193 counseling graduates. A

focus of the study is to identify the concerns about counseling LGB Clients, among

the total of 236 consolidated concerns, four main concerns have emerged; according

to the respondents, their exposure to counseling LGB clients are lacking that resulted

in incompetence, feelings of inexperience, and the level of treatment to their

heterosexual clients are not merely same with LGB individuals; participants also

mentioned that there is a regional barrier when LGB clients refuse to be counsel if the

counselor is not from their same area or state; 40 respondents as reported that there

was a lack of training for graduate programs about LGB individuals counseling; and

some has mentioned that their programs have nothing to address the challenges

facing by LGB clients.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation also made a study about the policy

implementation within the child welfare field in the United States. According to its

results, sixty-eight (68) documents suggested best and promising practices to better

serve LGBTQ youth. The majority of them primarily focused on the training needs of

child welfare agency staff, parents, and caregivers, as well as recruitment of LGBTQ

adults to serve as role models, agency professionals, and foster and adoptive parents.

Similar recommendations were also tended by some articles. Cultural competence,

confidentiality protocols, and awareness about the needs of LGBTQ youth are parts of

the staff's training needs. Dispelling myths and educating caregivers on accepting
and supporting LGBTQ youth were the training recommended to parents.

Thirty-three (33) documents focused on legal and policy protections. Laws

designed to ensure equal protection, constitutionality in policies, and court cases

that challenged discrimination and abuse in out-of-home settings were designed.

Thirteen (13) states and the District of Columbia were also found to have foster

care non-discrimination laws or policies inclusive of sexual orientation and gender

identity by an article (Human Rights Campaign, 2015). Seven others have foster

care nondiscrimination laws or policies inclusive of sexual orientation only. (The

Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2016)

In the Philippine setting, the Department of Social Welfare and

Development (DSWD) is the government institution that is responsible for the

protection of social welfare rights and the promotion of social development.

Integration and mainstreaming of the SOGIE framework throughout the country

are intended to be spearheaded by this institution. However, there is still no

concrete program taken by the DSWD to mainstream the SOGIE framework

even after downloading and integrating it last 2014 (Pastrano, 2017).

Related Literature

As stated in a recently published article, clarifying the purposes for the data

collection, promoting consistent and professional practices, obtaining accurate data,

ensuring the safety and privacy of youth, and clarifying the agency's expectations of its

employees and contractors deem the essence of adoption of written policies prior to

collecting and recording SOGIE data (Canfield, et. al., 2020).

transformative especially when paired with training and policy development. It gives

agencies more than aggregate numbers that reveal trends and disparities. Those who

work with communities in public systems to use curiosity as a tool are given

opportunities to build relationships with clients, improve equitable outcomes by

making informed decisions, and promote the overall well-being of individuals inside

the care of public systems and even outside when they return to their homes and

communities, through SOGIE data collection. It also reinforces that the support for

individuals' imperceptible identities is just as critical to their health as acknowledging

their visible identities. SOGIE data collection focuses on those who stand to benefit from

the practice the most but uplifts SOGIE as a shared human experience – everyone has a

sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Engaging in the practice of

collecting these variables, including race/ethnicity and other layers of an individual,

encourages public systems to begin to view, respond to, and treat individuals in a

"whole" person framework (Wilber & Canfield, 2019).

A comprehensive approach based on consistently reinforced core values is

necessary for creating an inclusive organization. The value of inclusiveness must be

authentically understood and conveyed by individuals involved in agency

leadership as stated by the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) (Wilber, Ryan

& Marksamer, 2006).

CWLA also suggested that child welfare and juvenile justice agencies may

create an inclusive organizational culture through adopting and enforcing a non-

discrimination policy and grievance procedure, as well as providing training for

the non-discrimination policy. Adopting a written non-discrimination policy

promotes equitable care.

They added that the staff members' responsibility to respond appropriately to

anti-LGBT harassment is also given support by the existence of such a policy. It

should prohibit all forms of harassment and discrimination, including jokes, slurs,

and name-calling; apply to all agency personnel from managers to caseworkers,

providers who contract to serve youth in the agency's custody, and all direct care

staff, including foster parents, relative caregivers, and facility staff; protect agency

personnel and contractors, as well as youth and families served by the agency; and

include a formal grievance procedure that allows for confidential complaints and

neutral third-party investigations.

Lastly, CWLA implied that child welfare and juvenile justice agencies must

provide initial and continuous professional training to all agency personnel

(including administrators, managers, supervisors, and line staff), as well as group

care staff, licensing personnel, relative and foster family caregivers, and health

and mental health providers with whom the agency contracts, for the effective

application of the Non-discrimination Policy. The agency's commitment is being

reflected through the amount and quality of training which is a crucial part of

developing or creating cultural change.

Social workers have a responsibility in disclosing the process. Confidentiality,

as one of their basic principles, must be maintained. Without the permission of the

client, the information must stay confidential, i.e., the client's sexual orientation.
Document disclosure or the process of releasing information depends on the

agreement between the worker and the client, and the agency's guidelines as well

(Abott, Shoe, Hiniker, Holger-Ambrose, & Staudenmaier, n.d.)

Based on the report entitled Legal Gender Recognition in the Philippines: A

Legal and Policy Review, the Philippines, currently, has no comprehensive attention

paid to any regulation, law, or policy towards the protection from discrimination and

legal gender recognition for transgender people. Generally, the government currently

has no existing mechanism for documenting or collecting data relative to the lesbian,

gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTI) population, and to date, there are no

concerted and visible initiatives to establish such a mechanism. (UNDP, Commission

on Human Rights of the Philippines, 2018).

Synthesis

Due to the aforementioned works of literature and studies, the researchers

came to realize that while there has been much foreign research on the field of Social

Work with relation to SOGIE, only a few studies were made grounded to the

Philippine context.

Among the studies and literature cited in this paper, the topic of SOGIE and

the Social Work Profession (Philippines) remains unclear and has limited resources

in terms of competency, intervention processes, and SOGIE-related agency policy. As

the social work guiding principles indicated individualization of clients and

accepting people as they are (Mendoza, 2008), it must be supported by concrete

policies and programs that could manifest the effectiveness of the worker's
intervention procedure.

Furthermore, the professionals and agencies are accountable to review

their guidelines and practices to strenuously promote SOGIE Principles

(Yogyakarta Principles, 2007). The researchers decided to discuss this topic to

know the current condition of Bulacan social work professionals and their

serving agencies in terms of their competency, intervention processes, and

agency policies in connection with their clients SOGIE to further contribute to

the development of gender studies and policy administration across the

profession.

Conceptual Framework
 Figure 1. Conceptual Framework of the Study

Having presented the figure above, the researchers wanted to assess how

the social workers in the Province of Bulacan apprehend and intervene; and what

policies do Social Welfare Agencies implement to treat/handle their clients’

SOGIE.

The proponents used the "Input-Process-Output" framework to indicate all

the factors and processes needed to gauge the above-mentioned qualities.

professionals’ level of understanding/knowledge towards SOGIE, personal

way of intervention/practices applied towards his/her client's SOGIE, SOGIE-

related seminars attended, SOGIE-related seminars administered by their

agencies and policies implemented by Social Welfare Agencies with regards to

handling client's SOGIE.

The Process Phase involves the analysis of all the data gathered through

questionnaire and statistical treatments, specifically the SOGIE Assessment

tool, which measures one’s personal knowledge, attitude and practices about

SOGIE.

The Output Phase shows Bulacan social workers' and social welfare agencies’ competency on
SOGIE which may also serve as a future recommendation/suggestion for policy development
to further strengthen SOGIE-based approach in the field of social work.
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