The social work profession views the family not merely as a passive recipient of aid but as an active and empowered social agent. Social workers take part in diverse areas such as protective-preventive services, child protection against neglect and abuse, combating domestic violence, and ensuring the shared responsibility of care for the elderly and disabled.
In Turkey, institutions such as Violence Prevention and Monitoring Centers (ŞÖNİM), Social Service Centers, Family Counseling Centers, municipal services, and the Ministry of Family and Social Services serve as key venues for the implementation of family-oriented social work.
Social workers conduct multidimensional assessments of families' social, economic, psychological, and cultural conditions. Their interventions go beyond individual issues to address intra-family dynamics, role imbalances, gender-based inequalities, and the burden of care labor.
Throughout this special year, social workers and social work departments have a pivotal mission:
Raising public awareness,
Addressing domestic violence,
Strengthening family solidarity,
And updating social work education with a focus on family-centered approaches.
University social work departments continue to contribute to society through fieldwork and academic research. The new generation of social workers sees the family not only as a unit of intervention but also as a key to social transformation and resilience.
