Voices Amidst the Smoke—Social Workers against Police Brutality in Hong Kong

Abstract

Abstract Social unrest occurred across the latter half of 2019 through to early 2020 in Hong Kong. It changed the lives of many Hongkongers, and also changed the identities of a group of social workers in the city. Initiated by the Hong Kong Social Workers’ General Union, around 140 social workers organised themselves into the ‘Battlefield Social Workers’. Their voices were often heard at the frontier of scenes of social conflict that were full of smoke caused by tear gas shells and other firearms used by the police. Whilst the protesters and police officers were in extremely tense situations, such voices that were trying to calm people down posed a huge contrast. In this study, the authors have interviewed twenty-two Battlefield Social Workers. Their experiences on the ‘battlefront’ were investigated, with special attention paid to their perceptions of what social workers had done against police brutality. The findings and discussions are considered to have brought insights on social workers’ roles in an increasingly turbulent world.