Thoughtful Forensic Practice Combats Structural Racism

[摘要] In the last year, medical organizations of all types have been declaring their opposition to structural racism.1,2 This has been catalyzed by the national conversation about race and the devastating deaths in police custody that reinvigorated it. Besides the general affirmations, medical leaders have been seeking specific ways to concretize their opposition to racism. For them, as for others, questions persist about the behaviors that should oppose racism in everyday work. The American Journal of Psychiatry, for example, recently published an editors’ note emphasizing the Journal’s commitment to combatting racism, social injustice, and health care inequities.3 This statement of intent included the recognition that previous efforts had fallen well short of improving discrimination in health care. We now hear that forensic psychiatrists are discussing anew what it means to oppose structured racism in their professional activity and how to work at mitigating its effects. Does the commitment to oppose racism change our professional practice? Does it lead us away from traditional ethics-based forensic work? We are not surprised by this new discourse about our professional roles. In forensic practice we have long had a front-row seat at the repetitive cycle of oppression and protest. Our skills of assessment, report-writing, and testimony become increasingly relevant as politics, violence, and mental health converge to seek resolution in the courts. We are also keenly aware that defendants and plaintiffs of color are regularly disadvantaged in those courts. These currents have now merged into a national demand for accountability in a maelstrom of race, justice, and health.

[学科分类] 儿科学

[关键词] ethics;racism;justice;forensic psychiatry