Abstrakt
The chapter defines the concept of dignity in the context of relational ethics and ethics of care. Dignity (together with autonomy) is one of the central concepts of social work ethics, but also a pillar of social work methods. The author presents one of the possible optics for reflecting on work with people through the reflection of caring relationships.
In the Introduction, the author presents various definitions of dignity in the context of social work. Then it describes the key elements of care ethics and through them offers contexts for understanding dignity in care relationships (Tronto 2013). Author connects the concept of dignity with the concept of (self) respect (Dillon 1992, 1997). The main part of the chapter is the presentation of the understanding of self-respect as elaborated by Sarah Clark Miller in her work (2013, 2017). The chapter concludes with a presentation of the results of a secondary analysis of the stories of women from excluded Roma communities in Slovakia through the lens of the ethics of care.