Suicidal behaviour in a globalising context: exploring changing causalites and moralities of self-harm in Sri Lanka and comparative settings
Lead Research Organisation:
Brunel University London
Department Name: School of Social Sciences
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Tom Widger (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
Publications
Staples J
(2012)
Situating suicide as an anthropological problem: ethnographic approaches to understanding self-harm and self-inflicted death.
in Culture, medicine and psychiatry
WIDGER T
(2013)
Reading Sri Lanka's Suicide Rate
in Modern Asian Studies
Widger T
(2012)
Suicide and the morality of kinship in Sri Lanka
in Contributions to Indian Sociology
Widger T
(2012)
Suffering, frustration, and anger: class, gender and history in Sri Lankan suicide stories.
in Culture, medicine and psychiatry
Widger T
(2015)
Suicide and the 'Poison Complex': Toxic Relationalities, Child Development, and the Sri Lankan Self-Harm Epidemic.
in Medical anthropology
Widger, T
(2014)
Suicide in Sri Lanka: The anthropology of an epidemic
Widger, T
The suicidal body
| Description | The aim of the project was to disseminate the results of my PhD research into suicide in Sri Lanka. I published an edited volume, three authored articles, and one co-authored article as a result of the project. I also conducted a small amount of archival research into the relationships between suicide and colonialism in Sri Lanka, both in terms of the impact of the colonial encounter on suicide rates and how colonisation shaped local understandings of suicidal behaviour. The project also gave me the opportunity to present my work at international conferences in the UK, Poland, Germany, USA, and Canada. |
| Exploitation Route | Aside from stimulating research and debate in anthropology, my work has been enthusiastically greeted by health researchers and health professionals working in Sri Lanka. It is helping them to better understand the sociocultural causes of suicide, implications for prevention, and thus plan their activities. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Chemicals,Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| URL | http://www.tom-widger.com |
| Description | My research has been used by toxicologists to better understand the sociocultural causes of self-poisoning in Sri Lanka, the WHO and World Bank to stimulate policy developments in Sri Lanka, and local NGOs to encourage greater debate at a local level concerning the causes and prevention of suicide in Sri Lanka. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2011 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Healthcare |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | Society and Ethics Research Fellowship |
| Amount | £220,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2014 |
| End | 09/2017 |
| Description | Aesthetics of suicide (New Delhi |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | workshop facilitator |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Conference panel attended by around 15 people None |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Article on The Lancet Global Health blog |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | None |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://globalhealth.thelancet.com/2014/06/27/cultural-social-and-medical-equity-could-provide-lastin... |
| Description | Interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Feature interview on the blog of the Wenner Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Contacted by an undergraduate student interested in progressing to a PhD on the anthropology of Sri Lanka |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://blog.wennergren.org/2013/09/interview-tom-widger-and-the-youth-suicide-epidemic-in-sri-lanka/ |
| Description | Suicide conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Scientific meeting (conference/symposium etc.) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | paper presentation |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Health professionals |
| Results and Impact | Conference funded by WHO, focused on suicide and self-harm in Sri Lanka Featured in local press |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| URL | http://suicideandculture.wordpress.com/bibliography-of-suicide-and-culture-research/proceedings/ |