Social Work Advocacy: Towards a Trauma-Informed Model

Advocating for rights is widely regarded as an integral part of social work education and a key component of social work interventions with people in poverty and other marginalized populations. Current research also indicates that poverty and marginalization are strongly associated with trauma. However, models of social work advocacy fail to acknowledge and account for the effects of past and present trauma on marginalized populations. Similarly, principles stemming from a trauma-informed perspective (TIP) typically do not address advocacy of rights. This separation maintains the traditional social work divide between internal struggles and external obstacles, as well as the distinct approaches used to facilitate change in each realm. Based on a presentation of the main models of social work advocacy in light of their consideration of trauma, this article proposes an integrative model: the trauma-informed active take-up advocacy model (TI-ATA). We conclude by discussing case study illustrations and the applications and limitations of the integrative TI-ATA model to the social work field.