19496
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PROVIDE SOCIAL SERVICES
Facilitate empowerment of people
experiencing oppression and
marginalisation
level:
6
credit:
15
planned review date:
June 2006
sub-field:
Social Services
replacement information:
This unit standard replaces unit standard 7964, unit standard
7965, unit standard 7966, unit standard 7967 and unit
standard 7968.
purpose:
People credited with this unit standard are able to: analyse
oppression and marginalisation and service user
disempowerment; facilitate identification of oppression and
marginalisation of service users; facilitate planning for
service user empowerment; facilitate implementation of the
plan for service user empowerment; and facilitate evaluation
of the plan for service user empowerment.
entry information:
Open.
accreditation option:
Evaluation of documentation and visit by NZQA, industry and
teaching professional in the same field from another
provider.
moderation option:
A centrally established and directed national moderation
system has been set up by Community Support Services ITO
Limited (Careerforce).
special notes:
1
People awarded credit in this unit standard are able to
implement Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the social services
according to the authority and resources available to
them, and are able to demonstrate application of this
competence to the context of assessment for this unit
standard (for further clarification, please refer to Unit
7928, Implement Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the social
services).
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
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PROVIDE SOCIAL SERVICES
Facilitate empowerment of people
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marginalisation
2
Glossary
Empowerment recognises that people may be
oppressed and marginalised, and lose power and
control over their own lives by virtue of oppression on
the basis of characteristics such as age, disabilities,
economic status, gender, race, or sexual orientation.
To "empower" connotes attainment or restoration of
power and control. "Empowerment is the process by
which people, organisations, or groups who are
powerless (a) become aware of the power dynamics at
work in their life context, (b) develop the skills and
capacity for gaining some reasonable control over their
lives, (c) exercise this control without infringing upon
the rights of others, and (d) support the empowerment
of others in their community." McWhirter, Ellen Hawley.
1991. "Empowerment in counselling". Journal of
Counselling and Development 69:224.
Facilitation role(s) may include but are not limited to:
counsellor, educator, enabler, facilitator, leader,
presenter, researcher.
Facilitation method(s) may include but are not limited
to: counselling, group discussion, hui, individual
dialogue, oral and written presentation, seminar,
workshop.
Historical and contemporary outcomes for service users
may be positive or negative, and include but are not
limited to: abuse, neglect and violence; access,
communication, sensory, and mobility issues; alcohol
and drug issues; attempted suicide and suicide;
criminal offending; economic status; educational
attainment; educational opportunities; educational
deprivation; employment and unemployment; housing
and homelessness; institutionalisation; physical,
mental, and spiritual health issues; prejudice and
discrimination; safety issues within care situations;
sexuality and sexual identity issues; social
displacement; welfare dependency.
Service user is used as a generic term to denote people
from user groups of the social services. They may be
referred to by various descriptive terms in the range of
social service settings.
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
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PROVIDE SOCIAL SERVICES
Facilitate empowerment of people
experiencing oppression and
marginalisation
Service user characteristics are physical, spiritual, and
mental characteristics, which include age and stage of
development, coping strategies, culture, disability,
experience and knowledge, individual or group history,
gender, group roles and dynamics, health status,
language, sexual orientation, economic status.
Strategies may include individual, couple, family or
whānau, or group counselling; family meetings or
whānau hui; crisis intervention; social services
information and advice; referral to other services;
mobilisation of resources; community education and
recreation; community and social change; changes to
social policy and structures; economic development.
Structures include but are not limited to cultural,
economic, ideological, and kin structures; political and
social agencies and organisations; and other
arrangements that distribute or process resources, or
maintain, manage, govern, or organise society.
3
For award of credit in this unit standard, candidates are
required to demonstrate competence in facilitating
empowerment in two contrasting situations with people
who are experiencing oppression and marginalisation.
The situations must differ on the basis of the service
user characteristics upon which the oppression is
based, which include: age, disabilities, economic status,
gender, race, sexual orientation.
4
All communications are treated confidentially. The
scope and limits of confidentiality are defined through
negotiation and informed consent, and criteria
established by legislation, ethical practice, and service
provider guidelines. In the context of this unit standard,
sources of criteria established by legislation, ethical
practice, and service provider guidelines include but are
not limited to: Official Information Act 1982, Privacy Act
1993, service provider codes of conduct, codes of
practice issued by the Privacy Commissioner, social
service codes of ethics, and service provider guidelines,
protocols, staff manuals, strategic plans, kawa, or
tikanga.
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
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PROVIDE SOCIAL SERVICES
Facilitate empowerment of people
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5
People awarded credit in this unit standard show that
their actions are guided and supported by valid theory
for social service practice. Evidence is required of
social service theory that is derived from authoritative
sources, which may include but are not limited to: body
of knowledge related to social service work; cultural
theory; practice research.
Elements and Performance Criteria
element 1
Analyse oppression and marginalisation and service user disempowerment.
performance criteria
1.1
The analysis defines the types of oppression and marginalisation that occur on
the basis of service user characteristics.
Range:
characteristics - age, disabilities, economic status, gender, race,
sexual orientation;
types - personal, institutional, societal.
1.2
Types of oppression and marginalisation of service users are analysed and
explained in terms of possible historical and contemporary outcomes for service
users.
1.3
Structural and personal features of oppression and marginalisation are
analysed and explained in terms of those that are common to all types of
oppression and marginalisation, and those that are unique to each type of
oppression and marginalisation.
1.4
Historical outcomes of oppression and marginalisation within social service
structures are analysed and explained.
Range:
historical outcomes – policy, staffing, structures for service
delivery.
Evidence is required in relation to the historical outcomes of two
types of oppression within social service structures.
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
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element 2
Facilitate identification of oppression and marginalisation of service users.
performance criteria
2.1
Facilitation role(s) and method(s) match service user characteristics.
2.2
Facilitation assists in identifying the type and level of oppression according to
consultation with service users.
Range:
2.3
Facilitation assists in identifying the history and outcomes of the experience of
oppression according to available sources of information on the oppression.
Range:
2.4
type of oppression - oppression because of age, disabilities,
economic status, gender, race, sexual orientation;
level of oppression - personal, institutional, societal.
available sources of information - oral accounts, personal
interviews, comparative social statistics between oppressed
populations and other populations, written sources.
Facilitation assists in identifying structures that are oppressive to service users
in terms of the type of oppression experienced by them.
element 3
Facilitate planning for service user empowerment.
performance criteria
3.1
Facilitation role(s) and method(s) match service user characteristics.
3.2
Facilitation of planning is conducted using methods that encourage selfdetermination of service users and discourage dependency by them on the
social service worker and service provider.
3.3
Facilitation of planning is conducted according to service user characteristics
and the social service worker's role and function.
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PROVIDE SOCIAL SERVICES
Facilitate empowerment of people
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3.4
Facilitation of planning focuses on the identified type of oppression and its
effects on service users.
3.5
Facilitation of planning assists in identifying strategies that focus on the
established kind of oppression and are appropriate to attainment or restoration
of self-determination of service users.
3.6
Facilitation of planning assists in developing essential aspects of the plan for
service user empowerment.
Range:
essential features may include but are not limited to - objectives,
resources, time frame, responsibilities and accountabilities of
people involved in service user empowerment, reality testing of
planned strategies, target people (or target structures), evaluation
methods.
element 4
Facilitate implementation of the plan for service user empowerment.
performance criteria
4.1
Facilitation role(s) and method(s) match service user characteristics.
4.2
Facilitation of implementation is conducted using methods that encourage selfdetermination of service users and discourage dependency by them on the
social service worker and service provider.
4.3
Facilitation is conducted according to the social service worker's part in the
plan.
element 5
Facilitate evaluation of the plan for service user empowerment.
performance criteria
5.1
Facilitation of evaluation is conducted in collaboration with service users.
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016
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Facilitate empowerment of people
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5.2
Facilitation enables evaluation of the plan in ways that measure outcomes
against planned objectives.
5.3
Where necessary, revisions to the plan are made according to the outcomes of
the evaluation and in collaboration with service users.
Comments to:
Careerforce
PO Box 2637
Wellington 6140
Please Note:
Providers must be accredited by the Qualifications Authority
before they can offer programmes of education and training
assessed against unit standards.
Accredited providers assessing against unit standards must
engage with the moderation system that applies to those unit
standards. [Please refer to relevant Plan ref: 0222]
 New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2016