ABSTRACT
The concept of masculinity is under-theorised in forensic mental health settings. However, as proven in the broader criminological and sociological literature, it can be an illuminating concept to better understand the lived experiences of men in forensic hospitals. Drawing on qualitative, biographical interviews with ten male patients with convictions for violence in a medium-secure forensic psychiatric hospital in Scotland, this chapter describes patients’ accounts of medium-secure care and treatment. The chapter will begin by reviewing the existing literature surrounding the emergence of medium-secure care and its aims in Scotland. It will then make a case for viewing the forensic care and treatment experience through a sociological and criminological lens. The results of a qualitative study will be presented, discussing how masculinity is connected to diagnosis, compliance and control, rebellion and violence, and power and hierarchy in ‘liminal’ medium-secure settings. The chapter will demonstrate that medium-secure care appears to undermine traditional masculinities and that it is important to remain cognisant of this when engaging with male patients. The chapter will add to the growing body of literature that outlines the lived experience of forensic care and treatment, and provide a currently lacking Scottish perspective on this topic.
