All too frequently we read horrific stories in the media of abuse and neglect in institutions that have been charged by society with a special duty of care for some of its most vulnerable members.
In this strand of research, we are deepening our understanding of how cultures of harm – physical, sexual and psychological – have formed and been perpetuated in institutions of care from the nineteenth century to the late twentieth century. What have been the effects of wider medical, political and social discourses on the production of harmful practices? How have spatial layouts, material cultures, language, attitudes and belief systems affected the lived experiences of residents?
Read about Louise Hide’s new project: ‘Hiding in Plain Sight. Cultures of Harm in Residential Institutions for Long-Term Adult Care, Britain 1945-1980s’
Listen to podcasts of our conference Cultures of Harm in Institutions of Care: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives.
Read the special issue of the Social History of Medicine, guest edited by Louise Hide and Joanna Bourke, titled ‘Cultures of Harm in Institutions of Care‘:
