A Feminist Social Work Perspective on Misogyny and the function of Empathy

The social work profession strongly aligns with the concept of human rights being inherent, for all people. This article considers hostile attitudes towards women (misogyny) alongside the function of empathy. When misogyny is normalised in societies, women are more frequently, more severely dehumanised. I argue that the curtailed development of empathy, contributes towards the perception of women as less human, rather than women as inherently holding rights. This is particularly relevant to the social work profession as whilst all women are affected by misogyny, those already in the margins, are most at risk of being treated as sub-human.