The British Journal of Social Work has released an online version of its Special Issue titled Voice and Influence of People with Lived Experience. I’m proud to have been invited to be a member of a guest editorial panel for this ground-breaking initiative.
It’s a bumper issue with
- 14 academic papers
- 38 reflective pieces and
- 29 artefacts – poetry, music, short films, photos and other visual arts.
What makes this publication so special is that, rather than articles being just ‘about’ people with lived experience, all the published items are created by people with lived experience (as the lead author in the case of more than one author).
These are first-hand accounts from a diverse range of perspectives, experiences and formats providing a critique, and response to, social work from a wide range of countries. And there could have been even more to choose from. Even after the closing date for submissions, we received enquiries from people who had just found out about this issue – too late to contribute this time, but …
As the editorial panel remarked, this “is one genie that cannot be put back in the bottle”. We see this as the start of even more involvement in the Journal, and maybe other journals will see the value of inviting people with lived experience and other disadvantaged and disempowered groups and communities to have their voices heard.
