Women, self-harm, and the moral code of the prison

Abstract

Discriminatory attitudes directed at women who nonfatally self-harm have been documented in psychiatric wards and medical settings, especially in Accident and Emergency departments. Such attitudes constitute a "moral code," which surrounds the act of selfharm and subjects it to negative comparison to accidents, physical illness, and completed suicide. What is less clear, however, are the characteristics of that moral code which governs self-harm in prisons, despite the fact that high rates of self-harm in women's prisons are well known. Reporting the findings of a research project in one English prison, this article identifies the characteristics of that "moral code" and the way it affects the experiences of women in prison.