Occupational Justice and Injustice

Occupational Therapists enable people to perform meaningful and purposeful occupations.  A core concept of our profession centers around the belief that occupation is the very essence of being human, and  occupation is known to have an influence on our health and well-being. 

We believe strongly in Occupational Justice, that is,  all individuals having the right to opportunities and resources (personal, environmental & societal) which enable them to engage in a variety of purposeful occupations that are culturally and personally meaningful. Townsend & Wilcock (2004) state that Occupational Justice complements and extends understandings of social justice. Additionally it states that as humans we have four essential rights; to experience meaning and enrichment in one's occupations; to participate in a range of occupations for health and social inclusion; to make choices and share decision-making power in daily life; and to receive equal privileges for diverse participation in occupations.

Sadly, Occupational Injustice is seen across the globe, including the Third World. Occupational Injustice occurs when people are barred, dis-empowered, segregated or restricted from participating in occupations to meet their basic needs, find satisfaction or experience well-being (Kronenberg & Pollard, 2005). 

This is a relevant issue for Occupational therapists, who are concerned with individuals or communities that are vulnerable to injustices that is causing restriction of meaningful occupation in their everyday life. Occupational Injustice may be due to unemployment, disability, incarceration, old age and forced dislocation, such as homelessness and refugeeism (Whiteford, 2004, as cited in Christiansen & Matuska, 2006 p. 56) which are prevalently seen in countries with extreme poverty.

There are five kinds of Occupational Injustice: 

Occupational alienation: “Prolonged experiences of disconnectedness, isolation, emptiness, lack of a sense of identity, a limited or confined expression of spirit, or a sense of meaninglessness” (Townsend & Wilcock, 2004, p. 80).

Occupational apartheid: “The segregation of groups of people through the restriction of denial of access to dignified and meaningful participation in occupations of daily life on the basis of race, color, disability, national origin, age, gender, sexual preference, religion, political beliefs, status in society, or other characteristics” (Kronenberg et al., 2005, p. 67).

Occupational deprivation: “A state of preclusion from engagement in occupations of necessity and/or meaning due to factors that stand outside the immediate control of the individual” (Whiteford, 2000, p. 201). It is due to a widespread social and economic change affecting many people globally (Gail, 2000).

Occupational Imbalance: is when people are un-occupied, under-occupied, and over-occupied (Townsend & Wilcock, 2004).

Occupational marginalization: When the “need for humans to exert micro, everyday choices about occupations” is denied by social “normative standardization of expectations about how, when, and where people ‘should’ participate” (Townsend & Wilcock, 2004, p. 81).

An example of Occupational Injustice is Human Trafficking. 

The future Group (2007) state that the international trafficking of women and  girls (and, to a lesser extent, boys) into sex slavery is the third largest criminal industry in the world, outranked only by arms and drug dealing. The United Nations estimates that trafficking in persons generates $7 to $10 billion annually for traffickers. Although Human trafficking is global in nature, traffickers acquire their victims primarily from developing countries where poverty is rampant, commonly through some means of force or deception.Victims come from virtually all developing countries and are trafficked into or through virtually all developing and developed countries.The number of people trafficked each year is estimated by most experts to be in the millions. 

http://vimeo.com/2767234

Link Above: This is a informative 24 minutes report with reporter Sam Kiley investigating the trafficking of underage girls into prostitution in India. It's slavery in the most disgusting form. They started in North West Bengal and ended up in the red light districts of Calcutta and Bombay.

An excellent Youtube Video on a woman's account of disability and discrimination:     http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xwS6clR9fm0

References:

Christansen, C., & Matuska, K. (2006). Life style balance: A review of concepts and research. Journal of Occupational Science, 13(1), 49-61. 

Gail, W. (2000). Occupational deprivation: Global challenge in the new millennium. The British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 63(5), 200-205.

Kronenberg, F.,  & Pollard, N. (2005). Occupational therapy without borders: Learning from the spirits of survivors . London: Elsevier Church.

The future group (2007). Human Trafficking. Retrieved August, 17, 2011, from http://tfgwebmaster.site.aplus.net/wwwthefuturegrouporg/id20.html

Townsend, E., & Wilcock, A. (2004). Occupational justice and client-centred practice: A dialogue in progress. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 71(2), 75-85.

Whiteford, G. (2004). When people can't participate: Occupational Deprivation. In C. Christansen & E. Townsend (Eds.), Introduction to occupation: The art and science of living (pp. 221-242). NJ; Prentice Hall.

Pictures sourced from, http://society-and-humanrights.blogspot.com/2011/05/blogs-objective.html

Livingstone.