Rosie Harding

‘Dogs Are “Registered”, People Shouldn’t Be’: Legal Consciousness and Lesbian and Gay Rights

In this article I examine lesbians’ and gay men’s attitudes towards the legal recognition of same-sex relationships, using the theoretical framework of legal consciousness. I first provide a brief overview of the legal consciousness literature, before outlining some of the critiques of legal consciousness. Lesbian and gay legal consciousness is then examined through an analysis of qualitative responses to a large-scale online study of perceptions of and attitudes towards same-sex marriage and the legal recognition or regulation of same-sex relationships. Responses are analysed using thematic analysis to elaborate on five main themes within these data: formal equality, the relationship between legal and social change, the naming of legally recognized same-sex relationships, human rights discourse and citizenship claims. I argue that legal consciousness studies can help to interrogate the pervasiveness of discourses around formal equality and discrimination in the ways in which lesbians and gay men think about, use and position themselves in relation to law.

‘It’s a huge maze, the system, it’s a terrible maze’: Dementia carers’ constructions of navigating health and social care services

Dementia is a challenging, progressive set of conditions which present a large care burden to informal, familial carers. A complex array of health and social care services are needed to support people living with dementia. Drawing on the interlinked ‘Duties to Care’ and ‘Dementia Talking’ projects, in this article we focus on British carers’ talk about health and social care services. We explore data from a mixed-method questionnaire (n = 185), four focus groups and eleven interviews with informal carers of people living with dementia using thematic discourse analysis. Three themes are discussed: (1) services as a ‘maze’; (2) services as overly limited – ‘beyond our remit’; and (3) the battle and fighting discourse deployed by these carers. Our analysis highlights that carers find navigating systemic issues in dementia care time-consuming, unpredictable and often more difficult than the caring work they undertake.

Divorcing romance, rights and radicalism: Beyond pro and anti in the lesbian and gay marriage debate

In this article about ‘For Better or Worse? Lesbian and Gay Marriage’ (Feminism & Psychology, 14[1]) we focus on the contributions to the special feature, the commentaries provided by Ellen Lewin (2004), Sheila Jeffreys (2004) and Sue Wise and Liz Stanley (2004), and on wider debates about lesbian and gay marriage and partnership recognition. We agree that ‘there is a lot of confusion/assumptions made about what “it” (i.e. “marriage”) is’ (Wise and Stanley, 2004: 333). Thus, when talking about same-sex partnership recognition we are concerned with civil marriage (or civil union, or civil partnership), and not religious marriage. Our emphasis is on the public not on the private sphere; we are less interested with the personal aspects of relationships (such as intimacy or commitment) than with their public function in, for instance, obtaining ‘rights and responsibilities’.

Surveying Sexualities: Internet Research with Non-heterosexuals

In this article we describe and evaluate the process of conducting online survey research about the legal recognition of same-sex relationships (key findings from which we have reported elsewhere, see Harding and Peel, 2006). Our aim in so doing is to contribute to the growing generic literature on internet-based research methods (Nosek et al., 2002; Rhodes et al., 2003; Stern, 2003; Strickland et al., 2003; Thomas et al., 2000) to the research methods literature within lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBTQ) psychologies (Fish, 2000; Morris and Rothblum, 1999; Meezan and Martin, 2003; Mustanski, 2001) and also to extend the germinal literature focusing on internet research with non-heterosexual groups (Elford et al., 2004; Ellis et al., 2003; Ross et al., 2000). We begin by discussing the process of developing the online survey tool, before outlining the experience of the survey ?going live? and providing details of who completed the survey. We conclude by exploring some of the positives and pitfalls of this type of research methodology.

Editorial Introduction: Recognizing and Celebrating Same-sex Relationships: Beyond the Normative Debate

The [civil partnership] legislation marks a coming of age, not only for the gay community, but for the nation as a whole. Middle England can broaden its stereotype of homosexual men and women beyond Village People, moustaches and dungarees to include wedding lists, buttonholes and fidelity. Meanwhile, lesbians and gay men can assume identities beyond protest and embrace that most intimate, testing and mundane of relationships, the legal union . . . Gay partnerships look set to transform the nature of wedding rituals for all. Inspired by the improvisational nature of partnership ceremonies, our collective sense of ceremonial may become more inventive . . . a phenomenon has been started that will change this country forever. (Betts, 2005 The Times)

‘HE WAS LIKE A ZOMBIE’: OFF-LABEL PRESCRIPTION OF ANTIPSYCHOTIC DRUGS IN DEMENTIA

This paper explores the legal position of the off-label prescription of antipsychotic medications to people with dementia who experience behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). Dementia is a challenging illness, and BPSD can be very difficult for carers to manage, with evidence that this contributes to carer strain and can result in the early institutionalisation of people with dementia. As a result, the prescription of antipsychotic and other neuroleptic medications to treat BPSD has become commonplace, in spite of these drugs being untested and unlicensed for use to treat older people with dementia. In recent years, it has become apparent through clinical trials that antipsychotic drugs increase the risk of cerebrovascular accident (stroke) and death in people with dementia. In addition, these types of medication also have other risk factors for people with dementia, including over-sedation and worsening of cognitive function. Drawing on recent questionnaire (n = 185), focus group (n = 15), and interview (n = 11) data with carers of people with dementia, this paper explores the law relating to off-label prescription, and the applicability of medical negligence law to cases where adverse events follow the use of antipsychotic medication. It is argued that the practice of off-label prescribing requires regulatory intervention in order to protect vulnerable patients.

Legal constructions of dementia: discourses of autonomy at the margins of capacity

This paper explores the ‘right to autonomy’ for people with dementia. The provisions of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) sought to allow more decisions to be made by those who are situated at the margins of capacity. This paper explores conceptual approaches to autonomy to highlight the limitations of contemporary regulation and the shortcomings of legal understandings of autonomy. Discourse analysis is used to analyse judicial language in a key recent case about where a person with dementia should live. It is argued that how the MCA approach has been operationalised by the courts does little to facilitate decision making for people with dementia. Possibilities for autonomy at the margins of capacity may be closed down through the discursive strategies used to determine disputes about the best interests of people with dementia. I argue that relational autonomy should be revised to include insights from person-centred care in order to empower decision making for people with dementia, and that judicial decision-makers should engage with the relationality of autonomy at the margins of capacity.

Civil partnerships: a new couple's conversation

The practicalities of introducing partnership registration for gay couples, with rights and responsibilities attached, are complex. But the case for doing it is clear and, I believe, strong. I believe there will be a day when gay couples dont have to struggle to have their partnerships, their families, recognized. (Barbara Roche, UK Labour MP1)

A Right to ‘Dying Well’ with Dementia? Capacity, ‘Choice’ and Relationality.

This is the accepted version of a paper that has been subsequently published in the journal, Feminism and Psychology. The definitive version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0959353514562811

The Rise of Statutory Wills and the Limits of Best Interests Decision‐Making in Inheritance

This article addresses ‘statutory wills’ executed under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) for persons with impaired mental capacity. The article provides an overview of the historical development of statutory wills, before exploring their rising contemporary significance. It considers the shift from the previous ‘hypothetical substituted judgment’ test to the contemporary ‘best interests’ orientation of the MCA. The article assesses the problems that the best interests approach raises in this area, and its (in)compatibility with the right to equal recognition before the law under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, arguing that the pervasive reach of best interests in contemporary mental capacity law requires reconsideration. The paper concludes by suggesting that a more limited framing of the power to execute statutory wills is required in order to appropriately balance the rights of individuals with disabilities with practical considerations around the distribution of assets on death.