Wincott Elizabeth, Crawshaw Marilyn
Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of York, York, England.
Soc Work Health Care. 2006;43(2-3):53-72. doi: 10.1300/J010v43n02_05.
This paper outlines a 22 year campaign to introduce openness into the arena of donor conception in the UK. It identifies key aspects of the development of an advocacy based approach to such work and argues that social work values and principles can prove key to identifying structural inequalities which are not necessarily based in socio-economic disadvantage. Donor conceived people may find themselves in families which enjoy material privilege but whose exposure to a legislative framework and dominant professional cultures within the treatment centres encourages secrecy around genetic origins. Social workers' experience of adoption and family work leads them to recognise the danger of such secrets within families. Turning such social issues into policy changes requires vision, strategic long term advocacy and partnership with those directly affected.
