Suicidal journeys: attempted suicide as geographies of intended death

Stevenson, O. (2016) Suicidal journeys: attempted suicide as geographies of intended death. Social and Cultural Geography, 17(2), pp. 189-206. (doi: 10.1080/14649365.2015.1118152)

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Abstract

In geography, a conversation around suicide survivors and their suicidal journeys has yet to happen. The current prioritisation of suicide as end points marked on maps and patterns of death in space and regions has obscured the lived experience of adults who attempt suicide and do not die. In an effort to reduce this invisibility, evidence derived from in-depth interviews with adults (18 years and over reported as missing) who freely delivered narratives of their attempts is employed to understand the complex spatiality of suicide in retrospect. Situating suicide survivors as knowledgeable about their feelings, beliefs and experiences, the paper encounters testimonies of intended death via a focus on spatialised journeys: physical routes, pathways and places of attempted suicide. Discussing these particular journeys as socio-spatial process represents the potential for geographical scholars to rework geographies of dying and (attempted) death as an active practice.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Stevenson, Dr Olivia
Authors: Stevenson, O.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Geographical and Earth Sciences
Journal Name:Social and Cultural Geography
Publisher:Routledge
ISSN:1464-9365
ISSN (Online):1470-1197
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2015 The Author
First Published:First published in Social and Cultural Geography 17(2): 189-206
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
512121Geographies of missing people: processes, experiences and responsesHester ParrEconomic & Social Research Council (ESRC)ES/H030166/1SCHOOL OF GEOGRAPHICAL & EARTH SCIENCES