Exploring possibilities for a feminist ethic of collective care in suicide research

Abstract

Suicide is a major public health concern responsible for around 700,000 deaths globally every year. In response, researchers worldwide seek to understand suicide and suicide prevention, primarily using quantitative methods. As such, the development of qualitative methods tailored for the complexities of working with participants, for whom the primary ethical concern occupying researchers and ethics committees alike is whether taking part in the research will increase suicidal distress and contribute to a greater risk of dying by suicide, is in its infancy. Seeking to address this gap, in this article, I draw on feminist research methods to explore the unique design considerations and challenges faced when doing interview-based, qualitative suicide research. I argue that qualitative suicide research must resist risk focussed approaches to ethics, and instead reframe our ethical decision-making to centre a feminist ethic of care, drawing on Brannelly and Barnes’ concept of “care-full” research practices. Central to this reframing is recognition of the ways in which reciprocal relationships between researchers, research participants, and research institutions are inherent to qualitative research, meaning that no single research actor can be thought of in isolation from the other, necessitating a relational approach to our feminist research ethic.