Bearing Witness and Testimony in Nursing: An Ethical-Political Practice

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

In this chapter, we explore the concept of bearing witness in nursing practice. We examine the description of bearing witness in the nursing literature, particularly that offered by William Cody who suggests that bearing witness results in the limited moral obligation of “true presence.” We then turn to Lorraine Code’s work on testimony, drawing parallels between the concepts of testimony and bearing witness. Code’s analysis of epistemic injustice complicates understanding of the practice of bearing witness, suggesting that since testimony itself entails social practices of knowledge-conveying among people, we need to be concerned with the effects of socially constructed patterns of knowing. More than mere presence, Code’s work suggests that an ability to receive testimony—or bear witness—requires analysis of the ways that social structures and identities influence understanding. We discuss these ideas in relation to a Canadian exemplar of witnessing: the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s work to understand and address the historical injustices done to Indigenous peoples in Canada. Here we focus on the Commission’s definition of witnessing and highlight the experience of Shelagh Rogers who served as an honorary witness. As an outcome of our analysis, we suggest that bearing witness in nursing practice is most usefully conceptualized as a social practice as well as both a moral and a political obligation. Implications for nursing practice are suggested, including first, the need to critically examine our own understandings of power and privilege in order to authentically bear witness and avoid being complicit in injustice, and second, the concomitant responsibility to take action to challenge injustice once we have borne witness to it.