The Three Spheres of Rights-Based Practice in Social Work: Respecting, Claiming, and Changing

Social work is recognized as a human rights profession. However, integrating human rights principles into everyday practice has remained a challenge. Building on previous work, this paper introduces an innovative “three spheres” framework, which recognizes three distinctive, yet interconnected spheres of rights-based practice in social work: (1) respecting rights, where social workers meet their own human rights obligations; (2) claiming rights, where social workers assist clients in accessing their rights; and (3) changing rights, where social workers influence policy changes that better protect and facilitate clients’ rights. We argue that while all of these spheres necessitate a human rights framework that regards clients as rights holders, each sphere frames and applies social workers’ rights-based practice in unique ways. The article clarifies the distinct purposes, normative sources, and social work roles in each sphere while exploring their interconnectedness.