Decolonial Feminism and Practices of Resistance to Sustain Life: Experiences of Women Social Workers Implementing Mental Health Programmes in Chile

Abstract

Feminisms have had a significant impact on social work discussions in Latin America in recent decades. However, the gap between academic discussions and professional practice remains wide. Based on a qualitative study that included 69 semi-structured interviews with social workers in Chile, in this article, we focus the analysis on the experiences of women social workers implementing mental health programmes. These are women – professionals facing extremely precarious working conditions – who work with other women who, while below the poverty line, are users of state health policy. The findings suggest that in these highly precarious spaces, the division between professional and the user is blurred, producing what feminist philosopher María Lugones calls ‘liminal space’. Professionals and users establish alliances and practices of resistance from that liminal space to challenge the oppressions they experience. Drawing upon a decolonial feminist perspective, we identify challenges for social work such as problematising professional bonds, incorporating structural readings of precariousness and feminised resistance, and repositioning the value of frontline social workers’ and users’ knowledge. We can learn from these women's experiences that question the deepest foundations of colonial and patriarchal capitalism still present in training and professional practice.