Service Responses to South Asian Women who Attempt Suicide or Self-Harm: Challenges for Service Commissioning and Delivery

This article investigates service responses to women of South Asian background who have attempted suicide or self-harm within northwest England to outline policy challenges for adequate provision to this population. 4 main issues are discussed: 1) the impact of the contract culture on the form & structure of service provision; 2) limitations of current partnership arrangements with South Asian communities; 3) practical & conceptual problems within models of both consultation & change; & 4) key practical consequences of the covert ways in which the structure of service responses works to treat ‘race’ as more important than gender. (53 refs)