Skip to main navigation Skip to search Skip to main content

The imposition of a coerced autonomy: suicidal "bad girls," human service professionals, and gender bias

Harriet Townsend

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    14 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Through a thematic analysis of four cases of suicide by young women identified from the National Coronial Information System, I apply a gendered lens to understanding the ways in which human service professionals’ expectations of feminine behavior, led them to view these young women as “bad girls” and imposed a disempowering “coerced autonomy” framework onto them. In this framework, the girls were held responsible for factors that caused their distress but were denied self-determination in their diagnosis and/or treatment. I aim to broaden our understanding of how gendered expectations can have fatal consequences.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)443-462
    Number of pages20
    JournalAffilia - Journal of Women and Social Work
    Volume39
    Issue number3
    Early online date6 Nov 2023
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Aug 2024

    Bibliographical note

    Copyright the Author(s) 2023. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

    Keywords

    • mental health
    • qualitative
    • sexual abuse<social work/social welfare history and philosophy<research categories
    • suicidal femininities
    • suicide

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'The imposition of a coerced autonomy: suicidal "bad girls," human service professionals, and gender bias'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this