Anti-Social Occupations: Considering the Dark Side of Occupation

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1 Anti-Social Occupations: Considering the Dark Side of Occupation Bex Twinley, Lecturer in Occupational Therapy & Gareth Addidle, Lecturer in Criminology/Criminal Justice

2 Occupation Occupation is everything that we do in life, including actions, tasks, activities, thinking, and being (Law and Baum, 2005). Occupation is often seen as something positive and productive done to enable people to develop as individuals and as members of their society (Townsend, 1997)

3 Violence: How it can present in the various dimensions of our lives Physical - being slapped, punched, tripped, pushed, kicked, stabbed, burnt, or having your belongings stolen or damaged. Emotional - making threats, speaking in a way that is frightening, putting you down, and emotional blackmail. Economic someone else controlling your money, keeping you financially dependant, or making you ask for money unreasonably. Social being insulted or teased in front of other people, to be kept isolated from family and friends, controlling what you do and where you go. Spiritual - not being allowed to have your own opinions about religion, cultural beliefs, and values. Sexual assault, abuse and rape the most underreported criminal offences.

4 Pro-Social Occupations Engaging in work (productivity) activities Going on holidays to rest and relax Playing sports Pampering ourselves Socialising with friends Cooking meals for other people Heterosexual people may have sex in order to procreate Anti-Social Occupations Gang (organised crime group) members Violence (all forms) Theft Fraud Drug use and/or supplying Prostitution/sex work Terrorism Career offenders doing, being, and becoming (Wilcock, 1999)

5 The Criminology of Violence Violence is understood to have a complex nature (Allen-Collinson, 2009). Individual acts of violence, as the great majority of accounts highlight, need to be considered within the context in which they take place - to be contextualised.

6 The Occupation of Violence Arguably, some occupations may not promote health or wellbeing, such as violence, which is seen as harmful, disruptive and anti-social. These anti-social occupations may, like other occupations, still hold meaning for people that engage in them (Reed et al 2010) and might even be done for the purpose of relaxation, creativity, celebration and entertainment (Christiansen et al 2005).

7 The Gap What is the impact of the link between anti-social occupations upon other occupations, health and wellbeing? Inadequate definition of occupation - need to include aspects of doing not deemed pro-social, healthy or productive. Potential for deeper, more authentic understanding of people as occupational beings.

8 The Perpetrators : Understanding their perspective Hi. Been having anger attacks...when I have a squabble with my parents, [which I always lose] because they can make up any excuse to exclude me from family outings with the other family members. I got so mad I punched a big hole in my bedroom wall. I hid it using posters. I ended in a Psych-Ward and ended up there for a week. I had few fights there too... (Reach Out Australia, 2011a)

9 The Perpetrators as occupational beings People may be violent for a range of reasons including: gives them a sense of purpose or belonging something to do financial rewards routine and habitual being angry, frustrated, or sad enforcing control over somebody having a history of violence in the family which may lead to it being an accepted way of handling situations being short tempered which may lead to reacting to a situation with a violent action drugs and alcohol use increases the likelihood of acting in a violent way (Cunradi et al., 2002)

10 The Survivors: Understanding their perspective Experiencing violence as part of our daily occupations: 7AA

11 Challenges to understanding the Survivor perspective The incidence of violence is hidden or goes unreported (Smethurst, 2006). Many women do not seek help or support (World Health Organisation, 2009). Men have been found to be significantly less likely to report physical or sexual violence (Coker, 2000). Non-disclosure is typical in the realm of health care; few patients disclose and very few professionals ask about the occurrence of violence or abuse (Johnston et al., 2001). Some people may want the opportunity to disclose within the therapeutic relationship (Rodriguez et al., 1996). Found to be true for occupational therapists who work within the emerging role of victim advocacy (Koch, 2001).

12 Taking an occupational perspective to the dark side Violence as another dimension of (anti-social) occupation. Exploring how might this motivate people, how it holds meaning, shapes them, their attitudes, values, beliefs, experiences and actions. Considering how this might impact upon performance in other areas of occupation (i.e. work, leisure, sexuality, spirituality). Not condoning behaviour and participation in this occupation, but suggesting we understand it by studying its effect upon the individual, their health and wellbeing. There will be legal, ethical and practical implications to consider.

13 Questions Reference list available from: