31 Social Legislation and Role of Social Worker in Legal...

348 Social Work Intervention with Individuals and Groups

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Social Legislation and Role ofSocial Worker in Legal

Assistancee* Ranjana Sehgal

Introduction

The Indian Constitution promises equal protection oflaws to all citizens . By implication, then we shouldnot only have just laws, but also see that they arejustly administered and implemented. Often the lawsof the land are out of bounds for the poor and theweaker sections. However, in the interest of justiceand welfare, it becomes imperative that specialmeasures are taken to protect these vulnerable andmarginalized sections and one such measure is theenactment of special laws which specifically aim atsocial welfare which we collectively refer to as sociallegislation.

As a consequence of various technological, economic,social and political factors personal and socialdisorganisation take place in different forms in oursociety. To combat the consequences of thedisorganisations, these individuals, groups andinstitutions need special approaches, programmes andtreatment and legislation is one of such approach. Wehave specific legislations for care, protection andtreatment of neglected, deviant and victim children,control and eradication of begging, welfare services for

* Dr. Ranjana Sehgal, Indore School of Social Work, Indore

Social Legislation and Role of Social Worker in Legal Assistancee 349

prostitutes, adult offenders, marginalized and deprivedsections and so on. Social problems like immoraltrafficking, juvenile delinquency are products of oursystem and social workers are the people who addressthese problems in depth. Social workers have knowledgeand skills for access to resources with which they cantill the balance in favour of those whose interestsare otherwise overlooked.

Law can be used as an effective instrument by the socialworkers. In this process, social workers can play animportant role in the delivery of justice especially tothe weaker sections. Social work can network with lawand help in the implementation of social justice forjuveniles, prisoners rehabilitation, prostitutes, SC/ST, poor and needy who are in need of legal assistance.Infact, social worker can carve out a meaningful andconstructive role for themselves in the area of sociallegislation.

Concept of Social Legislation

Legislation is an instrument to control, guide andrestrain the behaviour of individuals and groups livingin society. Individuals and groups left in absolutefreedom may clash with each other in the pursuit oftheir self interest at the cost of others. They causegrave harm to society leading to chaos. Legislation isone of the many institutions which controls and directsindividual action into desirable channels. Others beingsocial customs, traditions, religious prescription etc.Law is a vast subject having many branches. In a broadsense, all laws are social in character, in a narrowsense only those laws that are enacted for the purposeof social welfare are categorized as social legislation.There are several types of legislations such as taxation,corporate, civil, criminal, commercial etc. Social


legislation is that branch of law which is an aggregateof the laws relating to the various socio- economiccondition of the people. It is a social institution thatembodies the social norms created on the initiative ofa competent legislative agency. These laws are enactedkeeping in view the needs of the time, thecircumstances of the nation and its socio-politicalideals.

Let us take a look at some of the definitions of sociallegislation.

Dr. R.N. Saxena defines social legislation as any actpassed by the legislature or a decree issued by thegovernment for the removal of certain social evils orfor the improvement of social conditions or with theaim of bringing about social reform.

A comprehensive definition of the term social legislationis found in the Dictionary of Sociology by Fairchild.According to this definition social legislation means lawsdesigned to improve and protect the economic and socialposition of those groups in society which because ofage, sex, race, physical or mental defect or lack ofeconomic power cannot achieve health and decent livingstandards for themselves. Social legislations, accordingto Prof. Gangrade, involves an active process of remedyby preventing or changing the wrong course of societyor by selecting among the courses that are proved to beright. To sum up these definitions social legislationcan be defined as special laws which are passed withthe special purposes of improving the socio-economicposition of the specific groups such as women, children,elderly, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, physicallyand mentally challenged, unorganised workers,agricultural and landless labourers and other suchvulner able groups.


Social Legislation: Needs andObjectivesThe need and importance of social legislation in aWelfare State cannot be undermined. Our Constitutionreflects the aspirations of masses to become a welfarestate where everyone enjoys the right to live a dignifiedlife and right to the pursuit of happiness arefundamental. In broader sense, everyone in the countrymen is entitled to have basic human rights such asright to life, employment, work health, education, etc.Now these rights can only be secured through Stateaction. Social legislation gives us a proper formalizedlegal framework for achieving these goals. It is a knownfact that as social order undergoes changes, newproblems and demands arise which cannot be allowedto go out of hand. Problems such as juveniledelinquency, new forms of crime, socio-economicinjustices, socio-economic inequalities, problems ofsocial security have to be tackled through welfarelegislations. It is important to have social legislation tomeet the existing social needs and problems. It alsoanticipates the direction of social change. Thus, Sociallegislation is needed

i) to ensure social justice,

ii) to bring about social reform,

iii) to promote social welfare,

iv) to bring about desired social change.

v) to protect and promote of rights of socio-economically disadvantaged groups of the society.

Objectives of Social Legislation

Social legislation derives its inspiration from ourconstitution and has the following specific objectives:


i) removal of discrimination on the grounds of sex,religion, caste, class etc. and promotion of equalityto all.

ii) safeguard the rights of the weaker section such aswomen, children, elderly, widows, destitute andthe backward classes.

iii) eradication of traditional malpractices and socialevils such as untouchability, dowry, child marriage,female infanticide etc.

iv) provision of social security.

Social legislation is required for (i) protection andpromotion of rights, (ii) prevention of individual andsocial disorganisation, (iii) proactive action, (iv)pioneering social reforms in social institutions and, (v)progressive social values for desired social order. Inbrief, the main aim of social legislation is to changeand reorganise society by improving its social andeconomic condition. Each individual of the society hasto be given equal rights and equal opportunities. Sociallegislation aims to address social problems throughlegislative means, and initiates process of social reformand social change based on sound social rules. Sincethe process of social change in fast social legislationalso provides desired direction to changes.

Social Legislation as an Instrument ofSocial Change

Is social legislation a tool of social change? There aretwo schools of thought. Social scientists of one schoolbelieve that law in itself cannot lead to change, it canonly follow change. Thus it cannot be an instrumentof the basic transformation of values and attitudes. Onthe other hand, there are experts who are of the view


that social legislation is an important enablingmechanism of bringing social change. It would not beincorrect to say that law alone, can not be trulyeffective unless, it is supplemented and supported bypublic opinion and administrative reforms. Despite itslimitations social legislation can be a powerful andeffective tool in the hands of the professional socialworkers to fulfil their commitment to the weaker andthe marginalised sections of the society. Let us take alook at and understand its potential for change.

The British rule in India for the first time establishedthe supreme authority of law in social matters, ensuringuniformity in law and social order which India did nothave till then. In the last century, we have had a seriesof legislations intended for bringing about significantchanges in the status of women, children, scheduledcastes and other such vulnerable groups on the onehand, whereas there were legislations for bringingreform in social institutions like family, marriage etc.on the other. Since Independence a number of sociallegislations have been passed. We know many of theevil practices such as sati pratha, child marriage etc.may have still persisted, had they not been curtailedby timely suitable legislations. Social legislation, besetas it may be with drawbacks, has nevertheless helpedus to shelve many of our outmoded traditional customsand practices. For instance law has been instrumentalin bringing about a change in the status of women.Equality of sexes has been ensured by our constitutionand law has endowed many rights on women at parwith men. Today we have legislation which prohibitsany discrimination on the ground of sex. A woman canacquire, hold and transfer absolute property in additionto Stridhana under the Hindu Succession Act 1956.TheAct further gives the women the right of successionequal to that of male heirs. Where a Hindu male dies


without making a will of his property, his widow, mother,daughters and sons are all classified together as classI heirs and they take one share each.

The Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 requires the dowryamount to be transferred to the bride within threemonths from the time of the solemnization of themarriage. This property is her absolute property andgoes to her heirs if she dies before receiving it. Thereforms in the marriage laws of Hindus have removedmany disabilities traditionally imposed on women. Ithas abolished bigamy and divorce can now be legallyclaimed by a wife. Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929has restrained child marriage. In matters ofemployment, a woman is entitled for equal pay as hermale counterparts. A daughter can be given and takenin adoption under the Hindu Adoption and MaintenanceAct 1956.

Law also has been instrumental in bringing aboutstructural transformation by abolishing the castesystem. Both under the constitutional and statutorylaw birth into any caste is no longer a barrier tooccupational choice. Abolition of untouchability by theProtection of Civil Rights has paved the way for socialmobility. Many more such instances can be cited wherethe changes and reforms are brought through sociallegislations. Thus, we can say that social legislationhas helped in promoting opportunities for the exerciseof freedom, dignity and justice to the less fortunate.Our traditions impede change but law can beinstrumental in changing traditions and old customarypractices.

Social Legislation and Social Work

As we have discussed the purpose of social legislationsearlier, now we will discuss the relationship between


social work and social legislation. Social Work isprofessional help extended to individual, group andcommunities. Since social work aims at resolvingproblems and issues related to structural inequalities,mass poverty, socio-economic injustices and deprivation,the major task of today and in coming days would be topromote social change by empowering people. TheInternational Federation of Social Workers and theInternational Association of Schools of Social Workdefined social work The social work profession promotessocial change, problem solving in human relationshipsand the empowerment and liberation of people toenhance well-being. Utilising theories of humanbehaviour and social system, social work intervenes atthe points where people interact with theirenvironments. Principles of human rights and socialjustice are fundamental to social work.

Social Workers attempt to relieve and prevent hardshipand suffering. They have a responsibility to helpindividuals, families, groups and communities throughthe provision and operation of appropriate services andby contributing to social planning. They work with, onbehalf or in the interests of people to enable them todeal with personal and social difficulties and obtainessential resources and services. Their work mayinclude, but is not limited to, personal practice, groupwork, community work, social development, socialaction, policy development, research, social workeducation and supervisory and managerial functions inthese fields. Social legislation can be used byprofessional social workers as a tool for social advocacy,empowerment to ensure basic human rights, dignity,and conducive environment. In other words, the overall thrust of social work will be on developmental,remedial and rehabilitative dimension with non elitistapproach. Thus social legislation works as tool for


social reform, social welfare, development and change.The relationship can be explained in diagrammaticmanner as given below:

Social Changes

Relationship between social legislation and othersocial processes

The social worker should be sufficiently equipped withthe knowledge of the available sources of relief medical, economic, psychological, legal --- for those whoare in trouble Professional social workers whetherthey have just entered the profession or have beenworking for a number of years have an indispensablepartnership with law. By virtue of the nature of socialwork and peoples expectations as human serviceprofession, legal knowledge is imperative for socialworkers. They should know the laws connected witheveryday matters such as adoption, inheritance,begging, prostitution, offences against women, children,low castes and the like as they will be often required to

Social Reform s Social Legislations Social Development

Social Development


fall back on their legal knowledge in the process ofhelping their clients. A social worker working in thefield of women welfare must have knowledge about thefamily laws, the Dowry Prohibition Act, the Preventionof Immoral Traffic Act and other such laws available forthe welfare of women. Likewise those working withchildren must have knowledge about the JuvenileJustice Act and other laws protecting the interests ofchildren. We can, thus say that social legislation whichcomprises areas of laws fundamental to the welfarerights of the people are essential to the practice of socialwork.

Irrespective of the field a social worker works, theyneed to know the application of law to their clients.They should be sufficiently equipped with not only theknowledge of these laws but also the process andprocedure as it relates to their practice. Here, we haveto understand that the knowledge of law that a socialworker must possess is significantly different from theone possessed by the legal practitioners. They use lawto empower the vulnerable and disadvantaged sectionsto reform social institutions, and to ensure social justicerather than to win or lose cases. They need to knowabout the legislations so that they can use it in thebest interests of the clients/agencies. In fact sociallegislation in social work parlance is the application ofthe methods of social work especially communityorganisation, and social action for the promotion ofpeoples welfare and right. If social workers are fullyaware of these laws, they can work more easily for thetarget groups. By knowing these laws, they will bestrengthening the efforts of the government indelivering welfare to those in need of it. Munby,mentioned five reasons why social workers need toacquire legal knowledge, (i) to discharge their socialresponsibilities, (ii) to offer advice and assistance, (iii)


to protect the rights of individuals as clients of socialservices to practice in an anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory manner, and (iv) to protect their ownposition as employees.

Role of Social Worker In Legal AssistanceThere is an interdependence between law and socialwork which we have examined in the last unit. MadhavaMenon says that the entire arena of legal counselling,legal literacy, legal documentation and settlementthrough Lok adalats and other modes of resolution ofdisputes is dependent upon the collaborative efforts oflaw and social work establishments. Recognizing theimportance of this intimate relationship for betterdelivery of legal services, Parliament has provided forsocial workers taking the role of judges (lay judges) inselected judicial bodies. Enlightened andaccommodating team work in the cause of justice isthe key to a client being able to receive the full benefitof any legal proceeding. Union and State Governmentshave constituted rights commissions, vigilance bodiesand has provided an elaborate scheme of legal aid forthe poor in order to provide access to justice for everyone.Legal aid in India is concerned as not just arepresentation by lawyers in court proceedings but amovement to empower the people with legal literacy, tomobilize them for legal action and to enable them withfree legal aid to settle disputes. In short, social workerhas an equally important role in legal aid movement asthat of lawyers. Courts and legal aid authorities areincreasingly using the social workers as courtcommissioners to gather evidence in PILs and tomonitor and report on court orders in the matters ofrelief and remedies.

The terms legal aid and legal assistance are differentas they are not one and the same but often used


interchangeably. Legal aid originally mean givingtechnical legal help free to a poor person with regard tohis rights under the law. It includes payment of courtfees, payment to legal practitioner and other expensesincurred in connection with legal proceeding. Legalassistance on the other hand refers to any advice (oralor written) given to the client as the nature of the casemay require. In this section we will take a look at somespecific areas of social legislation wherein the socialworker can play a significant role in providing legalassistance and the nature of this assistance. We havetaken four areas ---women, criminal justice, juvenilejustice and probation --- to demonstrate role of socialworker at various levels.

Social Worker and Legal Assistance to Women

Women have been victimized by centuries old traditionsin our country, however, their status has considerablyimproved after Independence. Our Constitutionalguarantees equality of sexes in Articles 15 and 16which grants social favours by exercising positivediscrimination. Further, special antidotes throughvarious laws have been given to them so as to makeequality of sexes a way of Indian life. However, thereis still a great need of legal assistance for women. Whatwe need is a strong lobby of active lawyers, sociallyconcerned persons and groups who can stimulatefurther legislative action with the help of professionalsocial workers and women welfare organisations. Effortshave to be made to use the judicial process to redressthe wrongs done to the women both inside and outsidetheir families even today.

Justice Sujata Manohar opined that social, educationaland financial hardships make women speciallyvulnerable when facing problems within the family suchas matrimonial conflicts compelling them to resort to


the law. She has outlined some programmes of legalservices for women. Not all the aspects of the programmerequire the participation of trained lawyers. She feelsmost of the work should be carried out by trained socialworkers , for most of the basic work, right up to takingthe case before the lawyer, social workers with legaltraining are essential. Trained social workers mustprecede the lawyers and legal services, to evaluate theneed for such a program. Most of the important follow-up will also have to be done by trained social workers.women victims of crime such as rape, domestic violenceface great difficulties in accessing justice as socialtaboos prevent women from disclosing the crimes. Socialworkers must keep constant touch with such womenwho are victims of rape or attempted dowry murder,before, during and after trial. Identifying specialproblems of women and reaching out to women in needof help and making them take recourse to the legalremedies can be an important task of the social worker.Mumbai has the only city civil court in the country whichhas associated with its matrimonial work a group oftrained social workers in cooperation with the Schoolsof social work.

Justice Sujata Manohar in a judgment explained thatthe programmes of legal assistance to women shouldinclude the following:

i) Identifying special problems of women and reachingout to women in need of help.

ii) Special programmes for reaching information towomen regarding their legal rights; this may eveninvolve reaching out to such women as, for example,women in jails, women in mental asylums, womenin purdah --- and initiating legal action on theirbehalf.


iii) Giving relevant information to women regardingtheir legal rights. This may include giving talks, orthe use of the media, printing and distribution ofpamphlets or articles giving relevant informationin simple language.

iv) If laws are unsatisfactory, creating a lobby forsuitable reforms.

v) Filing test cases, class action or public interestaction in suitable cases

vi) Making available free or subsidized legal adviceand also services of a lawyer of her choice to awoman litigant in a deserving case.

vii) Providing financial aid to meet out of pocketexpenses of litigation.

viii) Formulating programme for advice andconciliation in family disputes under which theparties to the dispute can be summoned, theirproblem discussed by trained family counsellorsand reconciliation attempted.

ix) Creating emergency cell where women in urgentneed of help can go and, if necessary, stay forsome time and receive legal advice and help e.g.women who are subjected to physical abuse,harassed for money or dowry by their in laws,thrown out of their matrimonial homes and needprotection for their children.

x) Providing information desk where apart from legalinformation, women in distress can get informationabout womens homes and hostels where they canstay with their children, if required. The deskcan also supply information regarding any jobs ortraining for work available to women.


xi) Making available a follow-up service to help womenafter the completion of the court case.

xii) Establishing a research cell to compile andanalyse the data regarding womens problemreceived at the legal aid centres.

By doing above mentioned activities, social workerscan involve themselves in many ways, and use theirprofessional knowledge and skills. Using the case workmethod, the social workers can give emotional support,counselling and guidance to the victims. With themanifold skills at their disposal they can be a greathelp to the women in all the programmes mentionedabove. Along with these social workers can use othermethods also in an integrated manner.

Social Worker and Victims of Immoral Trafficking

Prostitution has been an age old problem. Despite theinstitutional guarantees and laws such as PreventionOf Immoral Traffic Act (PITA) trafficking in girls andwomen has been on an alarming increase. In our societywhere a women is at the receiving end of sexual anddomestic violence, it is fairly easy to exploit them.However, what is even more disturbing is the fact thatmore and more children are being pushed into thistrade.

Article 23 of the Indian Constitution makes traffickingin human beings punishable by law. There are alsoprovisions under the Indian Penal Code which aim atcontrolling this problem. The present act PITA, whichhas replaced earlier legislation Suppression of ImmoralTraffic Act (SITA) has very stringent punishments forbrothel owners and especially those forcing childreninto prostitution. However, the enforcement of the lawhas been far from satisfactory in controlling the menace


of prostitution and protecting the women from sexualexploitation. Often police are hand in glove with thepimps and the brothel owners. While the victims aresent to protective homes the real perpetrators of thecrime go scot-free. When raids are conducted and thegirls are detained no legal help is offered to them norany counselling is provided to them. The role of a socialworker becomes very important here. Social Workerscan provide legal help to such victims and can buildnetwork with different agencies for educations,prevention and rehabilitation of such victims.

Role of Social Worker in Criminal Justice

The modern concept of reformation and rehabilitationhas changed the traditional approach of retaliationand punishment towards the criminals. The aim of anycriminal policy is to eliminate crime but this traditionalpunitive and repressive approach have been graduallyreplaced by other alternatives such as probation andparole. Our earlier approach based on the premise thatpeople are born with criminal intent has been rejectedby the conviction that no one is born as a criminal ratherthere are other factors as well. Thus, person whocommitted crime can be reformed and rehabilitated.We shall be dwelling on these concepts later in theunit but let us understand that the benefits of probationand parole are not available to all adult offenders. Ourcriminal justice system, has limitations as well asdrawbacks but our prison administration functionsinadequately as centres of reformation. The presentprison system suffers from overcrowding, prolongeddetention of under trials, lack of proper treatment andrehabilitation programmes. There are still cases wherepersons are detained for years and may be set freeone day but the courts do not in any way help them intheir rehabilitation.


The Ministry of Welfare has formulated a scheme forwelfare of prisoners that makes provision for counsellingand guidance to prisoners and setting up ofrehabilitation homes. It includes reintegration of theoffenders with the community. When criminalproceedings aim at the prevention, rehabilitation andcorrection of the offender, a social worker becomes anintegral part of this system.

Social casework services become indispensable for theeducation, social adjustment and for the preparation ofthe offender for living a normal life. In the practice ofsocial casework in a prison set- up, there are restrictionson personal contacts, which is an essential requirementof casework, nevertheless, there are possibilities forindividual work with convicts. Social workers aregradually finding place on the team of prisonmanagement. The authoritarian setting of the prisonmay not be very conducive to case and counselling asthe offenders may refuse to cooperate but a skilledworker can overcome these barriers as prisoners arein great need for personal attention and help.

In fact the best time for the social worker to contactwith a prisoner is when he or she has just entered theprison. The initial shock of the first day or night in theprison and meeting the other inmates makes theprisoners bewildered, afraid, and often develop hatred.Talking with the social worker gives the prisoner achance to discuss the hard realities of prison life, thepossibilities for the future, educational and vocationalopportunities. Frequently the offender may hide his realfeelings and may need time before he or she is able totake advantage of casework service. The main task ofthe social worker in prison is to help the convicts inexploring their attitudes towards the crimes, sentenceand confinement. The social worker can try to help them


clarify their thinking about their actions, change theirattitude towards society, and develop new plans for theirfuture. Finally the social worker will have a substantialrole in preparing convicts for release and return to thecommunity. The social worker can bring to them theinsight that after release their chances of successrequire a definite change in behaviour, which canresult only from a more positive attitude towards society.(Friedlander 1954)

After-care services are an integral part of a socialworkers responsibilities, which include helping theoffender to find his lost moorings in the society, findingemployment, and reintegrating him with the familyand society. The social worker can also offer servicesto the families of the offender while he is undergoingsentence. Regular visits by the family members canbe helpful in coming to terms with his imprisonment,relieving loneliness and sustaining the morale of thefamily. Meetings can be organised for the prisoner familyand group activities can be encouraged.

Parole

Parole is the release of the prisoner before theexpiration of the sentence with the provision that he/she will return to the prison if the conditions of paroleare violated. Sometimes the prisoner is put undersupervision. The supervision of the prisoner shouldideally be carried out by the social worker, who cannetwork with other agencies in the community thatwill facilitate the adjustment of the prisoner back inthe society. A Social Worker can further help theoffender in finding employment to support his family,regain his lost self respect and reintegrate with familyand the community. For their supervision we require


trained and skilled social workers with knowledge ofhuman behaviour, social casework and knowledge ofthe laws and its procedures.

Role of Social Worker in Juvenile Justice

Various agencies are involved in managing delinquentsviz. the police, the court, the parents. Each one ofthem look at the problem from a different angle and tryto handle it with their own special purposes andaccording to their own methods and traditions. Theyconcentrate on the specific segment of a problem suchas i.e. the delinquent behaviour of the child and ignoreother aspects. The role of the social worker becomessignificantly important in juvenile justice as they donot classify the juvenile delinquents as a class or acategory but look at each delinquent as a uniqueindividual. Social Workers have to study reasons ofdeviation in totality of varied institutions like home,neighbourhood, school etc. Social work services areextremely useful in modifying the behaviour of thedelinquent and of those around the delinquent orneglected child.

The earliest involvement of social work practice in legalprocedures related to juvenile justice requiredincreasing involvement of probation, correction andrehabilitation. Under Juvenile Justice Act 2000, thejuvenile court and the child welfare board have beenvested with the responsibility of professionalcollaboration of social work and law in theadministration of justice to children in general anddelinquent and neglected children in particular. A greatreliance has been placed on the case study report ofthe probation officer for diagnosing the problem anddetermining the appropriate method of disposing thecase by the juvenile courts and juvenile boards. Each


juvenile delinquent offers a unique situation whichneeds to be studied in relation to his local condition,home, school and the neighbourhood. Therefore, insuch cases the casework method of social work can beeffectively used. The effort can be in the direction ofdeveloping attitude and creating conditions, which wouldbe conducive to a moral, decent and healthy living ofthe juveniles. The efforts should be made in creatingattitudinal changes through counselling and therebycreating a happy home situation, better socialadjustment, proper facilities of education, training andrecreation in the neighbourhood instilling a proper senseof values and respect for laws.

First of all the social worker needs to work with thechild directly in order to modify the childs behaviourand attitudes through a series of interventions whichcan be done as follows:

accepting the delinquent as he is

showing a non-condemning and non-judgmentalattitude

establishing a strong client-casework relationship

being a patient non-blaming listener

creating an atmosphere wherein the delinquent isencouraged to discuss the reasons of his revoltagainst the law

giving emotional support, guidance and advice andmaking him understand the reasons of his rebellionagainst the laws

making him understand the importance of socialand legal norms and the consequences of theirviolation.


At the same time the social worker also needs to workwith the family members. Social Worker is oftenrequired to make the family members aware of thechilds problems. He has to enable the parents to realisehow they may have in some way contributed to theproblem. A good number of children can be taken careof without being processed by the police or the juvenilecourts, through non-institutional services of recreation,education, counselling, craft training, etc. by the family.

As the social worker will have limited funds at theirdisposal they should explore community resources tomeet the demand of the child. Further the social workerneeds to network with the various organisations in thecommunity to pool the resources. Even school teachershave a profound influence on the behaviour of the child.They can be interviewed and made aware of the childsproblem and with their help and cooperation influencethe behaviour of the child. A social worker can do thefollowing tasks : (i) Training for the school drop-outs,(ii) Organise legal awareness camps, (iii) Co-ordinatesocial work with the home, the school , police, courtsand correctional institutions, and (iv) examine theexisting laws and its implementation and enforcement.

Home Visits and Community Contacts

The importance of family and home environment is wellrecognised in social work. The home plays the mostimportant part in the development of the attitudes andpersonality of the child. The child has the basic needsof love, affection, physical and emotional security etc.These needs are primarily fulfilled at home and it isthe responsibility of the parents to see that a healthyenvironment is created at home. Lack of love andcontinued neglect can lead to delinquency. Delinquencyand vagrancy is largely a consequence of maladjustmentat home.


The purpose of the non institution services under theJuvenile Justice Act 2000 is to recognize pre-delinquency behaviour at an early stage and byundertaking home visits a social worker can makedetailed case study of the clients situation and identifythe causes of delinquency . The social worker observesthe delinquent in his family environment and the socialinteractions that take place. This helps him indeveloping a fuller diagnostic understanding forappropriate treatment. Home visits and communitycontacts thus become an effective tool in the wholeintervention programme. The child along with the familymembers be counseled and the aggressive behaviourand faulty attitudes can be modified and changed intopositive and healthy attitudes which would lead to betteradjustment.

Role of Social Worker in Probation

Probation is a method of dealing with those who violatethe law of the land. It consists of the conditionalsuspension of punishment during which time theoffender is under the personal supervision of theprobation officer who gives him individual guidance andtreatment. It is an extension of the principle ofindividualized treatment where the punishment isdesigned to fit the offender rather the offence.

Probation has been seen as a part of the courts. Thesocial elements of probation are three fold: (i) It permitsthe probationer to live a normal life in the communityand to readjust to socially acceptable attitude withoutbeing confined during this period to a penal orcorrectional institution. (ii) It is granted on the basisof a social investigation by the court, assuming thatthe probationer will be able to live a lawful life. (iii) Itis a process of adjustment with the supervision of aprobation officer.


Pre sentence investigation report is an essential inputin criminal trials and probation officers who areordinarily social workers generate these reports. Courtsdepend heavily on them for determination of sentenceappropriate to the accuse in question. And whenprobation with or without supervision is made a part ofthe sentence, the role of the probation officer becomescentral to the whole proceedings. Apart from sentencedetermination, the treatment of the inmates of prisonsand other custodial institutions is a function of socialwork practice.

It is increasingly recognized that probation is a highlyskilled service requiring specific technical training andapplication of modern scientific casework methods.It is a form of community treatment which permitsnormal social experience not available in theinstitutions. It does not disrupt offenders relationshipwith his family and occupation.

The employment of skilled social workers is requiredfor an effective probation system. Workers must betrained in the casework, in the use of communityresources and in understanding the behaviour of thejuvenile and adult offender. Probation is not merelygiving the offender another chance. It is a systematicassistance in his effort to become a citizen capable ofliving without coming into conflict with the law and thesocial rehabilitation of the individual offender is thesocietys guarantee against future crime. It issupervision and not surveillance. Negatively, it protectsthe probation from unwise use of his personal freedomand to that extent it may be regarded as authoritativestructure of discipline. But more important are itseducational and rehabilitative objectives, which togetherconstitute the treatment the probationer receives.During the home visits; through skillfully conducted


interviews, the probation officer gives a chance to theyoung offender to discuss his personal situation. Theofficer makes significant efforts to explore thepossibilities of making changes in his family, work andgeneral social environment. For this the social workerneeds to build up a relationship with the probationerbased on understanding and respect. During the periodof probation the probationer is helped to sort out hisemotional as well as environmental problems.

Conclusion

Our Constitution promises equality to all. To translatethis promise into reality, it becomes imperative for theState to undertake special measures aiming at thewelfare of the weak and the marginalised segments ofour society. One such measure that the State has takenis the enactment of special laws for improving andprotecting the social and economic positions of theseweak and vulnerable groups. Social legislation is thebranch of law which deals with the drafting and theadministration of laws aimed at social welfare. Sociallegislation gives us the proper formalised legalframework for achieving our promises of equality andjustice.

It aims at removal of discrimination, safeguarding theinterests and rights of the weaker sections, eradicatingtraditional malpractices and social evils such as dowry,child marriage, female infanticide etc. There aredifferences of opinion regarding the efficacy of sociallegislation as an instrument of social change. It is truethat law alone, unless it is supported by public opinionand administrative reforms, may not produce desiredresult. However, we cannot ignore the potential of lawfor social change. It has played an important role inimproving the socio-economic status of weaker sections


especially women, children, scheduled castes and tribesin pre and sort independence India. For instance womenhave gained considerable legal stature after the passingof Hindu Marriage Act 1856,Chid Marriage RestraintAct 1929, Hindu Marriage Act, Hindu Succession Act,Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act 1939, Prohibition ofDowry Act 1961 etc.

Professional social workers are the people who can uselaw as effective tool in accelerating this process ofchange. Legal knowledge then becomes imperative forsocial workers by virtue of the range of their duties andresponsibilities. They should be sufficiently equippedwith not only the knowledge of these laws but also theprocess and procedures as it relates to their practice.A social worker working in the field of womens welfaremust have knowledge about family laws, Prohibition ofDowry Act, Prevention of Immoral Traffic Act and otherrelated laws. Likewise those working with children musthave knowledge about The Juvenile Justice Act,probation laws, child labour laws etc. Using theknowledge and methods of social work, the socialworker can give assistance within the legal frameworkand thereby support the process of law. They shouldsee to it that laws are properly framed and implemented.The social workers can, thus, play an important role inthe delivery of justice.

References

Gangrade, K.D. ( 1978), Social Legislation in India, ConceptPublishing Company, New Delhi.

The Planning Social Legislation : Its Role in SocialCommission Welfare, (1956) Government of India, Delhi.

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