Self-mutilation or self-harm is a recognised problem within custodial environments in the English-speaking world. This article utilises the work of Michel Foucault in relation to disciplinary power to provide a fresh analysis of this problem, locating its emergence within the exercise of this power. It also examines various strategies developed by custodial authorities to manage self-harm, as well as the sociological, psychological and criminological discourses that have emerged around it, in order to explore their role in the production and persistence of this problem.
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