Explain How the Notion of Social Harm Is Connected with Ideas of Social Justice.

Explain how the notion of social harm is connected with ideas of social justice.

In order to explain how the notion of social harm is connected with ideas of social justice it is important to identify how these concepts are defined in order to use supporting evidence.
There are many forms of social harm, ranging from physical harm of violence, rape, child abuse which show the entanglement between harm and crime, and other forms of social harm which are more ambiguous arising from working environments.
Social justice evokes various connotations, such as freedom, equality, and having a fair distribution of resources to name a few. Individuals in society need to feel free from harms in order to obtain social justice. It is therefore evident that social harm is an end result of social injustice towards groups of individuals in society. In my assignment I will be showing how social policy is implemented in different societies to achieve social justice, and how social harm emerges from social injustices which are created in society.

Social justice evokes the notion of well-being and social inclusion by having access to resources, having freedoms and having equality. Amartya Sen argues that well-being and freedom depends on the development of capabilities. This is much more than having equal opportunities, the government’s role is to provide extra resources for certain individuals for them to translate opportunities into capabilities since some people need for help to develop their capabilities and overcome disadvantage. For example, a single mother needs childcare support and often housing benefits in order for them to participate fully in society.

“An equal society recognises different people’s needs, situations and goals, and removes the barriers that limit what people can do and can be.” (Cited in Widdowson, p 67, DCLG, 2007, .126)

This shows how social justice can be obtained by looking at it from a wide social context and how the care and support...