“Suicide prevention … I hate that word.” Women’s experiences of carceral logics whilst supporting loved ones with suicidal distress in rural Australia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11157/anzswj-vol36iss4id1198Keywords:
carceral logics, feminist research, critical mental health, suicide, Suicide preventionAbstract
INTRODUCTION: Modern neoliberal states discipline subjects through diffuse operations of state power by making individuals both the object of and subject of disciplinary gaze. Constructions of activities like caring, which are overwhelmingly performed by women, are devalued and marginalised.
METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with carers and workers and volunteers in the welfare and community sector from a rural part of Eastern Australia.
FINDINGS: Women’s experiences of the mainstream mental health system are characterised by carceral logics which limit women’s choice and their relationships with their loved ones, yet some women resist through enacting a form of relational feminist justice.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This study contributes to broader literature on women’s embodied experiences of legislation and critical mental health scholarship on the harms of coercion in the mental health system in many modern neoliberal states. I encourage social workers practising in neoliberal settings to critically reflect on the impact of carceral logics on women who support loved ones with suicidal distress, and I discuss ways social work practice can promote social justice through centring mutuality in relationships.
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