Faith Harper Case Summary

Faith Harper was a 37-year-old African female from Kenya. In Kenya she was a practicing general surgeon that everyone admired. In hopes of a happy life, Faith married a Caucasian man named Bob and moved to the United States. The hopes of a happy and successful life deteriorated when Bob became controlling and abusive. He would beat, kick, chock, and even force her into doing different sexual activities. The abuse did not stop with Faith; her husband sexually abused their 2-year-old son. Faith attempted to get help, but no one helped her because her husband made everyone think she was mentally ill. Essentially, everyone believed Bob because he was Caucasian, and his wife in their eyes was different. While in the process of attempting to escape …show more content…
Women from other countries move to the United States in hope of a better life and get mistreated. In Harper’s case she was mistreated by both her husband and the system. A lot of the legal issues regarding Faith Harper revolved around child custody. For instance, her children were taken from her multiple times without legitimate reason. Custody was then given to the father of the children because he accused Faith of being a flight risk. Simply given the idea that she would flee the country with the children, the courts put the children at a great disadvantage. She spent months in court for custody of her children, and although she was the better fit parent the system granted Bob full custody. Another major issue that should be considered is the lack of cultural acceptance. No one believed Faith’s story because her Caucasian husband labeled her as a crazy African women. For the women like Faith, something needs to happen on a macro level to solve this problem. Legislation needs to improve their tactics on informing both women and men about domestic violence. Not only should people be informed about what it is, prevention and interventions should also be included. Legislation should also put more effort into marriages between people from different countries, mainly focusing on the relationships prior to wedlock. As far as different agencies are concerned policies should be put in place where discrimination or bias can be …show more content…
I have learned that I can never assume things about a person or situation. I also learned that I should do research on my clients background and try to gain understanding about what goes on in their lives and why they react the way they do. One major mistake the social worker made was over stepping her professional boundaries. This in particular showed me that I have to be always mindful of agency policy, and not get too attached to a client. Faith Harper’s story gave great insight into social work practice, and I will attempt to go above and beyond to help all women in Faith’s