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Cited by 1Social Work Education and PracticeMigration and Exile StudiesMigration, Racism, and Human Rights

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Everyday acts of resistance: How social workers counter harmful and restrictive asylum policies

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Field, Rebecca S, Birger, Lior·2026·The British Journal of Social Work
DOI 10.1093/bjsw/bcaf290
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Abstract

In social work practice with forced migrants, such as with other people experiencing extreme marginalization, practitioners are constantly confronted with the question of how to act in light of restrictive and unethical policies. While professional resistance can offer an avenue for practice, it has not been sufficiently integrated and explored within the field of social work and forced migration. Moreover, the existing literature tends to favour macro/political resistance over micro/everyday resistance. This paper aims to fill this gap by providing practice examples of everyday resistance in social work with refugees. Building on the secondary analysis of data collected in two qualitative studies, which included in-depth interviews with social workers in Australia, Israel, and Germany, three main resistance strategies are presented: non-reporting, rule-bending/rule-breaking, and relationship-based resistance. Altogether, these examples of everyday acts to counter harmful policies, which take place outside the public sphere, contribute to the debate on the vital role of the small-scale and mundane aspects of resistance. We conclude by discussing the ethical and practical aspects of everyday resistance and its contribution to social work practice and education.

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Metadata

Authors
Field, R. S., & Birger, L.
Affiliations
  • Curtin University (AU)
  • Tel Aviv University (IL)
Corresponding author
Field, Rebecca S
ORCID
Venue
The British Journal of Social Work
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2026-01-11
Volume
56
Issue
3
Pages
1329-1346
ISSN
  • 0045-3102 (ISSN-L)
  • 1468-263X
DOI
10.1093/bjsw/bcaf290
OpenAlex
W7123343594
Cited by
1
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 1
FWCI
1.66
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
The British Journal of Social Work (publishedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Public Administration › Social Work Education and Practice
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Migration and Exile Studies
  • Social Sciences › Law › Migration, Racism, and Human Rights
Keywords
everyday resistance, social work practice, asylum policy, forced migration, refugees, restrictive measures, rule bending, professional ethics, social work education, micro-resistance

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Everyday acts of resistance: How social workers counter harmful and restrictive asylum policies. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1093/bjsw/bcaf290
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Field, R. S., & Birger, L. (2026). Everyday acts of resistance: How social workers counter harmful and restrictive asylum policies. The British Journal of Social Work. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcaf290