The Definition of Social Justice and How to Use This Book

                        © Prazis | Dreamstim

To serve is beautiful, but only if it is done with joy and a whole heart and a free mind. ~Pearl S. Buck

Social justice is defined as "... promoting a just society by challenging injustice and valuing diversity.” It exists when "all people share a common humanity and therefore have a right to equitable treatment, support for their human rights, and a fair allocation of community resources." In conditions of social justice, people are "not to be discriminated against, nor their welfare and well-being constrained or prejudiced on the basis of gender, sexuality, religion, political affiliations, age, race, belief, disability, location, social class, socioeconomic circumstances, or other characteristic of background or group membership" (Toowoomba Catholic Education, 2006).

This handbook was developed by the Charter for Compassion Social Justice Sector as a tool to encourage action in applying compassionate social justice to all people. Its goal is to bring awareness to how simple issues can create barriers for certain groups of people while being invisible to others.

While every opportunity will be taken to frame social justice through a global lens, we depend on contributors from various countries to provide accurate perspectives. Because of the subject’s complexity, examples will be use from the views of the contributors. So we encourage you to contribute to this living guide to ensure it represents the views of our combined global efforts.

Handbook Sections

Creating and Developing Awareness

• What do I need to know?
• Learn to look and act with the heart--Shut your eyes so the heart may become your eye and with that vision look upon the world. ~Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī
• How?

Educate, Inform and Create Inspiration

• Where and how does injustice exist?
• Historical context
• What are the issues?
• Who is doing inspirational work?

Skills Development and Activities

• What skills are needed?
• How can I stay informed?
• Where can I learn the skills I need?

How to Implement or Put into Action

• Who is doing the work?
• How can I get involved?
• What can I do to make a difference?

Understanding Compassionate Social Justice In Practice

• What is Empathy and how does it help in understanding social justice?
• How our worldviews shape how we see social justice or injustices?
• Why Language is important?
• How is compassion different from empathy and what role does it play in social justice?

The first section: Creating and Developing Awareness, explores how everyday things we take for granted might pose barriers for others. It will help us understand what it means to be a compassionate social justice watchful heart. The term is not used lightly because it takes effort, fortitude and a great deal of action to make awareness a part of our everyday process.

The second section: Educate, Inform and Create Inspiration, is exactly what it said. We want to help educate people around the issues of social justice. For those who are already educated, we want to continue to stay informed about efforts, issues and challenging that still exist when it comes to ensuring social justice in every instance of society. In creating inspiration, we want to spark a light bright enough to illuminate down the street, around the corner and across the world.

The third and fourth sections: Skills Development and Activities, as well as How to Implement or put into Action, are the practical sections. There you will find the “how-to’s” and actual processes to develop and implement social justice actions.

The final sections looks at some of the practices that can be used to expand our understanding of as to social injustices can be difficult to change and how we can acquire the skills to start to make changes in ourselves.