ABSTRACT
John Hume, in a powerful speech at his Nobel Peace prize ceremony on 10 December 1998, talked about the Northern Ireland Peace Process as a rebuke to the evil that violence represents, to the carnage and waste of violence, to its ultimate futility. Dialogue with those using violence should be at the forefront of social work practice. Social work engagement will always strive for a clear and comprehensive idea of a person's needs and situation. Social work always has to balance the psychology with the sociology, keeping both grounded in its core values. There are common causes and cross-cutting risk factors across the different types of common violence which can be addressed by social workers. Positive social work practice promoting non-violence will rely on the systems and the culture at play within the organisations in which it takes place.
