Dorien Claessen
Her PhD research ‘Human Rights and Social Work: Challenges of local professionals at the frontline’ explores how professionals in social district teams can contribute to human rights realization in the context of decentralization and how well social work education prepares students for a human rights perspective.
Dorien Claessen is an active member of several professional organizations. She serves as a board member of the Dutch-Flemish Law & Society Association (VSR) and co-initiated the annual international PhD School in collaboration with the Dutch Empirical Legal Studies Academy and the UK Law & Society Association (SLSA). She is also a member of the Netherlands Network for Human Rights Research, a core group member of the Utrecht Human Rights Coalition, and an advisor on human rights education for the Johannes Wier Foundation.
Fields of expertise
- Human rights and social work
- Legal capabilities of social work practitioners
- Universal accessibility of social care services in the context of decentralisation
Publications
- Striking a Balance Between Counseling and Compliance: Social Workers’ Legal Consciousness at the Forefront of Human Rights Implementation
- Bringing Human Rights Home: Access to Justice and the Role of Local Actors Implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Social Workers as Local Human Rights Actors? Their Response to Barriers in Access to Care and Support in the Netherlands
