The experience of self-harming behaviours that inflict external injuries to the body in UK-based Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani women: a literature review

Studies carried out on self-harm in the UK have consistently reported a higher level of self-harm among women with South Asian heritage resident in the UK when age-compared with other British women. The reasons for this variation are many including but not limited exclusively to family environment and gender role expectations. These studies have also shown that these women are also least likely to seek psychological support from mental health professionals again with a number of explanations including stigma against help-seeking, notions of shame and other culture-specific factors. However, previous studies have clustered this large group together based on geographical heritage, regardless of the differences between religious and heritage groups and have reported on all types of self-harming behaviours as similar and predominantly carried out quantitative studies which while providing important statistical data have not always looked at the meaning of this experience for the participants. This paper presents a review of the relevant literature within the area of self-harm among Bangladeshi, Indian, and Pakistani women living in the UK. It is noteworthy that many studies discussed are dated, this appears to reflect an apparent lack of recent interest in the topic.