Welcome
‘Social justice is for everyone’ (previously 2020socialjustice) invites you to join a conversation about racism, gender and sexuality, (dis)ability and refugee policy, abuse of workers and bullying, children and older people, death and euthanasia, health and mental health, economic in(justice), access to education, power relations, and other issues of social justice and human rights.
‘Social justice is for everyone’ considers every issue of social justice as part of THE issue of social equity. Everyone has as contribution to make. Every contribution counts. Social equity is a collective work in progress.
You can navigate ‘Social justice is for everyone’ from Categories in the sidebar or start browsing below.
Some essays contain material that may be confronting or disturbing. If you feel distressed by what you read, your usual supports and ways of responding are important. Contact numbers for helplines (such as Lifeline: 13 11 14 in Australia) may also be useful.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are advised that this site may include images and other references to people who have passed away. It may also contain links to sites that may use images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people now deceased.
I acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin nation as the traditional owners of the land on which I live and write. I pay my respects to elders, past, present and emerging. I acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded.
Joan Beckwith, PhD.
Most recent ...
Social Justice Is for Everyone … An Invitation in Essays to Join a Conversation (Book)
April 30th, 2021
‘Social Justice Is for Everyone … An Invitation in Essays to Join a Conversation’ (Beckwith 2021) raises key issues in this book of 41 essays – on racism, gender and sexuality, disability and refugee policy, abuse of workers, care of children and older people, death and euthanasia, health and mental health, economic inequality, and access to education.
Keep reading to see the first chapter in full, and find out how to get your free copy … Joan Beckwith.
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Does “everybody” have the right to a peaceful death?
April 24th, 2020
The right to a peaceful death may seem a strange topic when we’re all so intent on staying alive during the COVID-19 pandemic. But, many people I know who are highly conscientious about social distancing also support the idea of rational suicide. They are not, in fact, suicidal in the normally understood sense, but do want the right to a good death at a time of their choosing.
I was recently part of a panel discussion on mental health and rational suicide. This webpost includes the substance of my talk.
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Wanted – a good death!
February 13th, 2020
Lisette Nigot had “a good life”. She wanted a good death. Two weeks before her eightieth birthday, she took an overdose of barbiturates.
“I am of sound mind,” her suicide note read, “not ill or in pain or depressed”.
Lisette’s story, exemplifying rational suicide, is told in the documentary film “Mademoiselle and the Doctor” (featuring Philip Nitschke as “the Doctor”).
Lisette died by choice. Should we all have that choice?
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Cold indifference – new normal for community services?
December 6th, 2019
“I’ve seen a lot in my thirty plus years as a social worker, and have some scars to show for it,” writes Dr Lorraine Harrison in this guest post for 2020socialjustice.
Lorraine refers to the “cold indifference” of funding-driven organisations in community services in which “the number of clients who pass through the service seems more important than whether they are helped” and workers are treated as “dispensable human resources”.
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New Hope for Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse?
August 30th, 2019
“I have a voice, and I intend to use it,” writes Keith Thomas Davis, Survivor of childhood sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.
“My initial experience with my claim drove me to the edge. They will not do that to me again. I have recently found out I have a new avenue of appeal and I will not be silent. That would be a disservice to myself, to other Survivors, and to those who could no longer bear the pain, and are no longer with us…My heart and resolve beats strongly for them.”
(Many thanks, Keith, for this guest post for 2020socialjustice. May your voice resound in all the corners it needs to reach…Joan Beckwith.)
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Why wouldn’t we have Jacinda-envy?
May 9th, 2019
Of course we have Jacinda-envy. Why wouldn’t we? When you look at the prime ministerial revolving door in Australia over recent years. Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison, with Peter Dutton lurking in the wings, provide miserable substitutes for Jacinda Ardern, prime minister of New Zealand.
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It’s a Long Walk from 1788 to January 26
March 28th, 2019
It’s a Long Walk from 1788 (when British sovereignty was declared) to January 26 each year in Australia. Much of the country celebrates Australia Day, but others mourn the mistreatment of First Nations people. The journey of truth-telling may be painful, but necessary, if we are to shed the cocoon of white dominance and work towards a healing future.
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In praise of early childhood educators
January 17th, 2019
Early childhood educators do amazing work for meagre money and sparse recognition.
I greatly appreciate the contrast between my granddaughters’ early learning and my own (lack of) education in ‘White Australia’, where women were interned at home and children had no voice.
I want educators to know their work with children is awesome, and something to be proud of for the rest of their lives.
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Hovering over the opt-out button on “My Health Record”
October 11th, 2018
It’s a lifesaver, so the politicians say, spruiking My Health Record (MHR), the centralised electronic health database. I have my doubts, and this webpost burrows below the political spin. My number one critic says it should come with a TLDR alert (at 4896 words), but I’m hoping you stay with me, consider your options, and add your comments.
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“The sandwich did it” – reflections on moral maturity
July 26th, 2018
When politicians exhibit the same level of moral maturity as a pre-kinder child, alarm bells ring about our sociopolitical health.
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