Un(ac)countable no-bodies: the politics of ignorance in global health policymaking

Lee, PH (通讯作者),Natl Taiwan Univ, Global Hlth Program, Taipei, Taiwan.
2023-1-1
By analysing debates between member states of the World Health Organisation (WHO) over health inequities experienced by sexual and gender minorities (SGMs) from 2013 through to 2015 and 2016, this paper interrogates a WHO decision to 'do nothing', and the relationship between this decision and the production of ignorance and non-knowledge. This paper problematises state representatives' discursive practices regarding the lack of evidence on SGM health inequalities, drawing on the sociology of ignorance. Informed by the sociology of nothing, two analytical categories - non-recognition (omissive) and mis-recognition (commissive) of SGM communities - are proposed to critically understand the production of 'no-bodies' and the tolerance of the lack of evidence. The lack of evidence, rather than prompting WHO action, was used as a rationale for intentionally neglecting the health concerns of particular social groups due to their invisibility in health research. Therefore, the paper argues that the lack of evidence in itself is symptomatic of the existence of SGM health inequities, which require the WHO to take action such as formally expressing concerns about and endorsing research on the topic.
CRITICAL PUBLIC HEALTH
卷号:33|期号:1|页码:48-59
ISSN:0958-1596|收录类别:SSCI
语种
英语
来源机构
National Taiwan University
被引频次(WOS)
0
被引频次(其他)
0
180天使用计数
1
2013以来使用计数
1
EISSN
1469-3682
出版年
2023-1-1
DOI
10.1080/09581596.2022.2025578
关键词
Evidence-based public health sexual and gender minorities sociology of ignorance sociology of nothing World Health Organisation
WOS学科分类
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health Social Sciences, Biomedical
学科领域
循证公共卫生 循证社会科学-综合