Queer Interventions on Self-Harm in Prison

This proposal deals with the persistent problem of self-harm in prisons and addresses limitations of mainstream approaches by outlining a theoretical approach informed by Queer Studies.

This project aims to offer a queer interpretation of these phenomena through a more holistic, less pathologizing frame of understanding self-harming experiences in prison settings.

My research so far (Vasiliou, 2020) has examined the paradox of pleasure in ex-prisoners’ accounts of pain and suffering in prison and has attempted to engage issues of gender and sexuality in considering narratives of pain/pleasure, agency and resistance.

These findings are the base for this training and research proposal which will focus specifically on understanding the problem of self-harm in prisons from a Queer Criminology (QC) perspective.

The project is divided in three phases: First, during the outgoing phase, I will train for 5 months with a prominent expert in the emerging field of Queer Criminology in Australia (Dr Matthew Ball) and, second I will work with Dr Eric Stanley in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies of the University of California (19 months).

In the return phase, I will work for 12 months in the department of Sociology in the University of Warwick with an outstanding expert on the issue of women’s self-harming in prison settings (Dr Anastasia Chamberlen).

The aims of the project are: 1) training in QC Theory and Methodology 2) To outline the scene in relation to self-harming issues in European prison settings. 3) To design and apply a QS methodological tool for conducting research with self-harming individuals in ex-prisoners population. 4) To conduct research with ex-prisoners about experiences of self-harming at the return phase in the UK. 5) To publish a brief policy document in which issues of self harming will be addressed from a holistic perspective with a particular interest about issues of gender and sexuality.

This project will make an important empirical and theoretical contribution to the issues of self-harming in prison settings and will contribute to the development of the field of QC in Europe.