Community Participation and Power Relations in Post-Disaster Recovery: A Qualitative Study from an Anti-Oppressive Social Work Perspective.

PURPOSE: This study examines the role of community participation in the post-disaster recovery processes of individuals who experienced the February 6, 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes from an anti-oppressive social work perspective. Although community participation and solidarity are increasingly emphasized in the post-disaster recovery literature, qualitative studies remain limited on how these processes intersect with institutional trust deficits, inequalities in access to services, stigmatization, power relations, and disaster survivors' experiences of regaining agency.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

A phenomenological qualitative research design was adopted. Semi-structured online interviews were conducted with 20 participants recruited through snowball sampling. Data were analyzed using MAXQDA software in accordance with Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis approach.

RESULTS

Four main themes were identified: erosion of trust in institutional support systems; the restorative and limiting nature of informal solidarity; stigma and inequalities in access to psychosocial support; and the reconstruction of belonging and agency through community participation. The findings indicate that community participation is shaped by institutional shortcomings, unequal aid distribution, stigmatization, and unsustainable solidarity practices.

DISCUSSION: Post-disaster recovery cannot be explained solely through individual psychological recovery or community solidarity. An anti-oppressive social work perspective highlights the need to address recovery through social justice, rights-based service delivery, institutional accountability, participation, and human dignity.

CONCLUSION

Post-disaster social work interventions should be structured through trauma-sensitive, rights-based, participatory, and anti-oppressive approaches. The findings contribute to more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable recovery strategies for post-disaster social work practice and policy.