Keeping our mouths shut: the fear and racialized self-censorship of British healthcare professionals in PREVENT training
Article
Younis, T. and Jadhav, S. 2019. Keeping our mouths shut: the fear and racialized self-censorship of British healthcare professionals in PREVENT training. Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry. 43 (3), pp. 404-424. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11013-019-09629-6
Type | Article |
---|---|
Title | Keeping our mouths shut: the fear and racialized self-censorship of British healthcare professionals in PREVENT training |
Authors | Younis, T. and Jadhav, S. |
Abstract | The PREVENT policy introduced a duty for British health professionals to identify and report patients they suspect may be vulnerable towards radicalisa- tion. Research on PREVENT’s impact in healthcare is scant, especially on the lived experiences of staff. This study examined individual interviews with 16 critical National Health Service (NHS) professionals who participated in mandatory PRE- VENT counter-radicalisation training, half of whom are Muslims. Results reveal two themes underlying the self-censorship healthcare staff. The first theme is fear, which critical NHS staff experienced as a result of the political and moral subscript underlying PREVENT training: the ‘good’ position is to accept the PREVENT duty, and the ‘bad’ position is to reject it. This fear is experienced more acutely by British Muslim healthcare staff. The second theme relates to the structures which extend beyond PREVENT but nonetheless contribute to self-censorship: distrustful settings in which the gaze of unknown colleagues stifles personal expression; reluctant trainers who admit PREVENT may be unethical but nonetheless relinquish responsibility from the act of training; and socio-political conditions affecting the NHS which overwhelm staff with other concerns. This paper argues that counter- terrorism within healthcare settings may reveal racist structures which dispropor- tionality impact British Muslims, and raises questions regarding freedom of conscience. |
Keywords | United Kingdom, PREVENT, Self-censorship, Healthcare professional, Racism, Radicalisation, Muslims |
Research Group | Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research group |
Publisher | Springer US |
Journal | Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry |
ISSN | 0165-005X |
Electronic | 1573-076X |
Publication dates | |
Online | 05 Apr 2019 |
15 Sep 2019 | |
Publication process dates | |
Deposited | 18 Mar 2020 |
Accepted | 08 Mar 2019 |
Output status | Published |
Publisher's version | License |
Copyright Statement | © The Author(s) 2019. Open Access. |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1007/s11013-019-09629-6 |
Language | English |
https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/88x8x
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