The Inevitable Applicability of Privacy Legislation in Social Work Practice: A South African Perspective

The right to privacy is one of the fundamental human rights recognised by many countries. Privacy extends to the protection of one’s personal information, including when such information is shared for the purpose of receiving professional services. Despite the significance of protecting personal information across international communities, there is scant literature to guide compliance among social work practitioners who deal with the most vulnerable population groups. This integrative literature review sought to explore the applicability of South African privacy legislation (the Protection of Personal Information Act of 2013 (POPIA)) to social work intervention processes and practices. Data were analysed deductively following Five and Gossner’s framework. The findings revealed that POPIA relates to the indispensable social work principle of confidentiality and that it applies to social work interventions whenever personal information is involved. POPIA is central to social work practice in South Africa. It is therefore essential to develop guidelines for compliance in social work practice and for training social workers on the protection of personal information of their clients. This study contributes to knowledge by shedding some light on the importance of POPIA in social work interventions.