Aitchison, Essex, Self-harm in immigration detention- political, not (just) medical (1).pdf (360.11 kB)
Self-harm in immigration detention: political, not (just) medical
Self-harm within immigration detention centres has been a widely documented phenomenon, occurring at far higher rates than the wider community. Evidence suggests that factors such as the conditions of detention and uncertainty about refugee status are among the most prominent precipitators of self-harm. While important in explaining self-harm, this is not the entire story. In this paper, we argue for a more overtly political interpretation of detainee self-harm as resistance and assess the ethical implications of this view, drawing on interviews with detainees from Australia’s offshore system. Self-harm by detainees is not only a medical ‘condition’ arising in response to oppression but a form of political action to lessen or contest it. We first establish how self-harm could be conceptualised as resistance. We then discuss its political purpose, noting it serves at least three functions: intrinsic, instrumental and disruptive or coercive. Viewing detainee self-harm as political resistance is a supplement to (rather than a substitute for) a medical approach. However, conceptualising self-harm this way has several advantages, namely, moving away from the idea that such behaviour is ‘maladaptive’, recognising detainees as political agents, combatting government claims of ‘manipulation’ and ‘blackmail’ and clarifying the duties of healthcare workers who work in detention.
Funding
BA/Leverhulme Small Grant -“Starving for Dignity: Re-framing the Ethics of Hunger Strikes”. J16998 and 21/18405
History
School
- Social Sciences and Humanities
Department
- International Relations, Politics and History
Published in
Journal of Medical EthicsPublisher
BMJVersion
- AM (Accepted Manuscript)
Rights holder
© Author(s) (or their employer(s))Publisher statement
This article has been accepted for publication in Journal of Medical Ethics, 2022 following peer review, and the Version of Record can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1136/jme-2022-108366.Acceptance date
2022-12-11Publication date
2022-12-29Copyright date
2022ISSN
0306-6800eISSN
1473-4257Publisher version
Language
- en