The Emotional Particulars of Working on Rape Cases: doing Dirty Work, Managing Emotional Dirt and Conceptualizing ‘Tempered Indifference'

This paper asks: In what ways are the work of rape barristers dirty, with a particular focus on emotional dirt? What impact do clients' burdensome emotions and affects have on barristers and what mechanisms are used to manage this taint? Based on 39 interviews with advocates from four English c...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Gunby, Clare (Author) ; Carline, Anna (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2020
In: The British journal of criminology
Year: 2020, Volume: 60, Issue: 2, Pages: 343-362
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Keywords:
Dirty work
Barrister
Rape
Emotional labour
Affect
tempered indifference
Description
Summary:This paper asks: In what ways are the work of rape barristers dirty, with a particular focus on emotional dirt? What impact do clients' burdensome emotions and affects have on barristers and what mechanisms are used to manage this taint? Based on 39 interviews with advocates from four English cities, we argue that emotional dirt is central to the taint of the role. Barristers must distance themselves from emotional dirt in order to maintain objectivity, yet simultaneously invest in those emotions in order to convince a jury. In these contradictory circumstances, barristers employ what we term ‘tempered indifference', a form of emotional work premised on strategically turning emotions down. However, the subsequent ability to turn them back on remains debatable.
ISSN:1464-3529
DOI:10.1093/bjc/azz054