The role of neoliberalism in silencing social work in a genocide: Silence and resistance

International social work is guided by values of social justice and human rights and bound by our national and international codes of ethics while we, individually and collectively, espouse our commitment to these values as well as to decolonisation, the neoliberal agenda has been eroding our radical and political traditions. We are seeing this play out in social work’s institutional silence and complicity in the Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people. This paper explores the authors’ own experiences, social positioning and efforts to decolonise our practice while reflecting on our roles in the pro-Palestinian movement in Australia. We ultimately address: What is the role of educators and social workers in a time of genocide? We explore the silence within our peak bodies and governments and offer reflections on our involvement in collective movements that have sprung out of this silence. We observe how peaceful protest and non-hierarchical professional collectives are showing us a path towards decolonisation led by Palestinian and First Nations peers. We see these acts of resistance as hope for social work’s commitment to social justice which challenges the neoliberal agenda of current social work practice and education.