What is social advocacy? and how to do it

 An Introduction

A person who wants to solve a problem peacefully by talking, persuading, and convincing the other person is doing advocacy, says David Cohen. Advocacy is when you try to get people to help a cause or a person. Thus, advocacy is the name given to the way people try to solve any kind of conflict or problem. It is very clear when an advocate or a lawyer on behalf of his or her client tries to persuade the judge that the client's case is good. It means supporting or pleading for a cause so that the common good or interest of the society can be achieved. Advocacy is a word that starts with the word social.


Steps For Advocacy

Even though there isn't a set way to do social advocacy, the following steps or stages may be used to fight and advocate for the rights of people who are abused and oppressed. These steps are only there as a guide.

1-Identify the issue or the problem and become the voice of the voiceless:

It's important to figure out what the problem or issue is, and then become the voice of the people who don't have one. The first thing to do is to figure out which issues need to be talked about. Whether it's by the government or a person or a group, any action that is exploitative or against the common good is a problem. When a landlord is seen exploiting the bonded labourers and breaking the rules of the Bonded Labor Abolition Act,1976, social advocacy can be used to help the labourers get out of their bonds. It can help vulnerable people speak up when they don't have enough money or know how to speak up because of poverty and ignorance. Social advocacy can help them make their voices heard against the injustices that have been done to them. Social advocacy talks about the problems of people who might not have been talked about otherwise.

2-Collect data about the problem:

Get information about the problem: Medha Patkar, a professional social worker, has a group called Narmada Bachao Andolan that fights for the rights of thousands of people who have been displaced by the construction of a dam. She gathered data and put it in front of the government and the courts in a bid to get the project that was harmed by it the help it needed.

Her job was to get information about the people who were affected, the costs to people and the environment, and other things like that. She did this with all of the data she could get to make a strong case for them.

3-Draw up a plan for how to solve the problem: 

Social advocacy is about looking at the problems of human rights and injustice from a systemic point of view. It is clear that problems that cause a lot of pain, like pollution, can't be solved by helping a few people here and there.

Our current social, political, and economic structures must be changed in a big way to help people who are in pain. Before we take on a social issue, we need to look into the problem, its causes, and possible solutions. Then we write down a plan of action with possible solutions.

4-Network, forming alliances and mobilize public support:

The fourth step in a social advocacy is to connect with like-minded people, organisations, groups, and institutions so that they can work together to achieve justice. Groups and organizations already working for the rights of people who have been forced to leave their homes by the Narmada Dam project were first brought together by Medha Patker. People were able to work together better this way. For social advocacy to be successful, it needs to be done in a way that connects groups and people who have the same goals. There is a need to work with radical and existing advocacy groups. They need to be found and their support for the cause needs to be secured. An alliance of this kind helps bring the issue into the public eye and speed up the implementation of the plan of action.

5-Generate public awareness:

Make people aware of their rights and the consequences of not having them. This will help you build a strong case against the injustice that is being done. These have to be made public, so an awareness campaign is an important part of social advocacy, too. As in India, most people don't even know what their rights are. This is especially true for people who aren't as well-known as the rest of us. It is very important for the public to become aware of what the campaign is all about.

6-Plan and execute the campaign: 

A proper planning \sshould precede the action, defining the modusoperandi and the strategies and techniques to be \sutilized during the campaign. Pressures may have to be put on the government by using a wide range of tools and strategies. Dharnas, protests, and meetings with good speakers may have to be planned. Morchas may also have to be organised. This is important so that the campaign doesn't go off the rails when it starts.

7-Enlist media support:

Getting help from the media can help you get people to help and get the attention of the right people, so this is the last thing you should do. When it comes to communication, it is the fastest way to get the word out. Even people who live in remote and far away places can hear about it. Media support can help give the campaign the extra push it needs. People in Singur and Nandigram would not have had their land taken away forcibly by the West Bengal Government if they had not been reported on by the media. As a result, the government wouldn't have paid much attention to its policy on Special Economic Zones.

8- Get favorable judicial pronouncements:

Use PIL to get good court decisions: PIL has become an important and effective tool for social advocacy. According to Justice Bhagwati, "PIL is a joint effort by the petitioner, the public authority, and the court to make sure that the constitution and the legal rights and privileges given to the most vulnerable members of society are kept. This is how social justice is achieved." Through a lot of Public Interest Litigation, favorable court rulings have been made on a lot of different issues, like the problems of the Bonded Labor, the people who were displaced, and the projects that were affected by them. PIL has made people aware of how to get to the courts for their human rights today. They have also made people aware of how to get to the courts.

9-Build pressure and lobby for suitable legislation:

Through social advocacy, pressure can be put on members of parliament and legislative bodies to change an existing law or make a new one that better fits the needs of the society. A way to get a ruling party to pay attention to an issue is to talk to opposition members of the house. This can be done in the House of Representatives and the State Legislative.

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