Since poverty is conceptualised in the PAP as a violation of rights, the exercising of rights has become an important focus of practice. In the MAPA programme, we developed this practice in two forms: first, we fostered the exercising of rights as a therapeutic process for caseworkers; and, second, we created the new and unique role of a Rights Exercising Social Worker, whose prime tasks are promoting the exercising of rights and engaging in policy practice. I say ‘new’ because this role had not existed in Israel before. After the National Committee to Combat Poverty in Israel recommended the opening of rights centres in 2014, the Ministry of Welfare and Social Services adopted the idea of having Rights Exercising Social Workers, and by 2016, about half of the social services departments in the country employed designated social workers in this role. This chapter briefly describes the background to the development of the active exercising of rights as a concept, and focuses on its guidelines for the practice of both caseworkers and Rights Exercising Social Workers. In addition, it presents the close link between the exercising of rights, policy practice and therapeutic processes.

Introduction

The protection of rights has been an integral part of social work since its inception as a profession at the end of the 19th century. Advocacy activity was carried out by the mothers of the profession, Jane Adams and Mary Richmond (Dalrymple and Boylan, 2013). The advocacy for social justice carried out by members of the Settlement House Movement is well recognised by the social work profession. The Settlement House Movement emerged at the end of the 19th century in the UK and the US, and reached its peak during the 1920s.