Stigma and Accountability in English Social Housing

Event Date: 19 October 2022

Speaker : Dr. Mercy Denedo and Dr. Amanze Ejiogu

Venue: Via zoom

Time: 2pm

Abstract:

This paper explores how stigma intersects with accountability in the context of social housing in England. We draw on the notion of “stigma power” to conceptualize stigma as a form of governmental power as this enables an exploration of how the deployment of “stigma power” is productive for accountability. Our dataset consists of 45 individual interviews and 29 focus groups with over 200 participants as well as parliamentary and other archival documents. Our findings highlight how the government and landlords deployment of stigma as a means of controlling and silencing tenants enable landlords to become less accountable to tenants. They also highlight how tenants resist stigma by demanding for accountability and presenting themselves as more accountable. We are thus able to develop a framework which presents a relational account of stigma, resistance and accountability. Central to the framework is the notion of the stigma triangle which highlights how three elements – power imbalance, stigmatisers ends and stigmatizing attribute – are required for the deployment of stigma power.

Published: 1 November 2022