Advocacy

Assessment | Biopsychology | Comparative | Cognitive | Developmental | Language | Individual differences | Personality | Philosophy | Social |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |

Clinical: Approaches · Group therapy · Techniques · Types of problem · Areas of specialism · Taxonomies · Therapeutic issues · Modes of delivery · Model translation project · Personal experiences ·

---

This article is in need of attention from a psychologist/academic expert on the subject.
Please help recruit one, or improve this page yourself if you are qualified.
This banner appears on articles that are weak and whose contents should be approached with academic caution.

Advocacy is the process of representing the cause of an individual or group to ensure their case is heard. It can be an umbrella term for organized activism related to a particular set of issues.

Advocacy is expected to be unbiased and participated in in good faith, though it is sometimes tainted by use of propaganda.

Individual advocacy occurs in health settings, where patient advocates can be involved in negotiations about care etc. In other instances, an individual may act as a lobbyist, on their own account, or on behalf of a corporation or industry.

At the group level it is almost always organized into or by an advocacy group or special interests. Political advocacy may be understood more completely when it is compared with economic, religious, or academic advocacies; and when it is contrasted with the features of propaganda and indoctrination.

Effectiveness compared to direct action

In 2004, a study by University of Washington sociologist Jon Agnone, compared the number of bills passed between 1960 and 1994 by the U.S. Congress with tactics used by 'green' groups within the same year. The study showed each protest raised the number of pro-environment bills passed by 2.2%, whereas neither efforts at conventional lobbying on Capitol Hill nor aimed at affecting the state of public opinion made any difference. The study concluded that direct action, like protests at public venues or disrupting political events, is more likely to influence environmental policy than talking to politicians.

External links

• Public Private Dialogue A resource for advocacy practitioners wishing to promote policy reforms through dialogue (sponsored by World Bank, IFC, OCED, DFID, GTZ)

Specific types of advocacy

• Child advocacy
• Consumer protection
• Psychiatric survivors movement
• Self-advocacy
• Abortion rights
• Animal rights
• Child advocacy
• Community practice social work
• Consumer protection
• Environmental protection
• Health advocacy
• Psychiatric survivors movement
• Youth rights
• Social justice

See also

• Crime victim advocacy program
• Civil disobedience
• Civil rights
• Electronic advocacy
• Empowerment
• Governmental policy making
• Human rights
• Independent Advocacy
• Indoctrination
• Legislative processes
• List of advocacy groups
• List of disability rights activists
• Right to treatment
• Social work