The Identity Work of Torture Scars
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2392412 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Petra Mäkelä (0000-0002-3343-2139, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 849-857 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sociological Research Online (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1360-7804 • E-ISSN: 1360-7804 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/13607804241263666 |
| OpenAlex | W4402409374 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 37 |
Scarring can be understood as a visible bodily entity or a metaphorical internal experience. Each type has liminal qualities, changing in form or intensity over time. The bearer may conceal scarring from others or may share stories that hold varied emotions, from horror or disgust to pride or self-esteem. For people who have survived torture or other forms of violence, and are seeking asylum, scars may take on particular additional meanings as objects that are put to work in official decision-making processes. In this Sociology in Action article, I explore multiple meanings of scars following torturous violence, with a particular focus on asylum-seeking contexts. I contribute to literature on identity and on the narrative potential of scars in survivors' recovery, as a means of narrative connection between a traumatic past and desired future, in lives that are disrupted or unstable. I consider the work of performing the consistency required in an asylum claim alongside the sense-making that might be achieved through narratives, within dynamic constructions of identity over time. Future narrative research could explore how survivors of torturous violence develop a coherent sense of self while navigating these conflicting strands of identity work, and the impacts of those who scrutinise or support them
Aesthetics · Art · Criminology · Political science · Sociology · Torture · Engineering · Gender Studies · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Law · Migration, Health and Trauma · Torture, Ethics, and Law
Torture and Torturous Violence
Actual Minds, Possible Worlds
The Self and Others
Autoethnography
Contaminating data with theory to reimagine support for ‘self-management’
The scarred body
They brought you back to the fact you’re not the same”
Above chaos, quest, and restitution
The detention of asylum seekers in the UK
Gender and Degendering in Autobiographical Narratives of Physical Scars
Ethical Considerations
Scarred objects and time marks as memory anchors
Narrating the “Asylum Story
Personal narrative, performance, performativity
Positioning
The United Nations Convention Against Torture. A Handbook on the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Stories of Suffering
Understanding the role of scars in adults' narratives of childhood liver transplantation
The Body Multiple
The narrative constitution of identity
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |