Intersectionality as an analytical tool for critical social work practice: reflections on unwanted solitude

Abstract

This article contains a proposal for developing the critical practice of social work. It is based on an understanding of this profession as crafting connections that encourage awareness of this form of practice, and it is proposed to incorporate the intersectional perspective when engaging in practice: literacy, the identification of issues and the structural contradiction that it produces, and reflective experimentation. It is explained that the use of intersectionality as an analytical tool can be of interest in the practice of social workers/agents because it facilitates a contextualised understanding of the complexity with which oppression is experienced, easing the task of making connections directed at achieving social justice. Moreover, with the aim of opening up dialogue on the possibilities of this proposal, unwanted solitude is defined in light of intersectionality and the role of the social worker in managing public actions to combat this issue is explored.