The Process of Advocacy

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What is advocacy? Elaborate on the aims and objectives of advocacy. Describe the process, types of advocacy and skills of advocacy. By Munsoo Kurrimbaccus Introduction Advocacy is a strategy that is used around the world by non - governmental organizations (NGOs), activists, and other social actors to influence policies. Advocacy is a means to an end or to address problems in another way that we aim to solve through programming strategies. What is Advocacy? A simple frequently used definition of advocacy is “to defend or promote a cause”(Mc Cormick, 1970; Panitch, 1974; Weissman, Epstein & Savage, 1983). Thus, advocacy is about making your views heard; it is a strategic series of actions designed to influence or persuade those who hold power to implement public policies and practices to bring about desired change that would benefit those with less political power and fewer economic resources (the affected group). Hepworth and Larsen (1986) developed a more useful definition of advocacy: The process of working with and/or on behalf of clients (1) to obtain services or resources for clients that would not otherwise be provided (2) to modify extant policies, procedures, or practice that adversely impact clients, or (3) to promote new legislations or policies that will result in the provision of needed resources or services. (p.569) Aims and Objectives of advocacy The Aims and objectives of advocacy are as follows: * Social justice * Effective services * Promote rights * Enhance quality of life * Eliminate negative and unethical practices Social justice: Social practitioners advocate to create a society that is just, in which all people have equal opportunities to pursue their full potential. Effective services: Nowadays a wide range of services are available in all settings, yet there exist lots of barriers and

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