Compassionate Ageism: A Curse Within Social Care: Speech given at Hertfordshire Social care Festival 12th November 2019

Recently, I spoke at the Adult Social Care festival of Practice organised by Hertfordshire (ASC, Development Centre in Stevenage, Tuesday 12th November 2019). I was privileged to share the platform with Mr Justice Mumby and professor Bob Hudson. It was a daunting experience given their prestigious national profiles. My subject was listed as 'Compassionate ageism in Care Services', though I had at the outset to reclaim the original title which I had proposed, namely "Compassionate Ageism - a curse within Social Care". 

Whilst I did not write a paper, using only notes and headings, this blog is basically my speech written from those fairly chaotic scribblings which I now hope reflect more or less the performance! 


A TRINITY OF SOURCES


One of the best analyses I have read on the existing social care narrative was recently published by Social Care Futures' (Talking about a Brighter Social Care Future, 2018), written by Neil Crowther.

The second source was the late feminist writer and gerontologist, Betty Friedan, from North America, The Fountain of Age (1993), which, for me, is one of the most influential books on my shelves, introducing me to the concept of Compassionate Ageism and in particular, its pernicious effects on  how we think about age and ageing, and hence the practice of social care.

Finally, a book published only a few months ago, edited by four amazing individuals and with contributions from a number of writers (Rob Mitchell, Elane James, Hannah Morgan, Ian Burgess and Mark Harvey). I was privileged to speak at the London book launch at what I consider a publishing social work sensation (Social Work, Cats and Rocket Science, 2019). It has been said of this book that it has 'been written by social workers who dearly love their work, powerful, hopeful, funny and informative'.

I, therefore, wish to apply the Neil Crowther narrative about social care's injustices in how we think about and communicate compassionate ageism; the challenge of Betty Friedan in understanding the destructiveness of this form of ageism with the inspirational, practical application of what social work is, can be and ought to be in Social Work, Cats and Rocket Science.


REFRAMING THE SOCIAL CARE NARRATIVE AND MESSAGING


We understand, and it is a given, that in general terms, social care lacks adequate financial investment. We accept, too, that there are structural and systemic issues in how it is delivered and carried out and 'the gap between those requiring good support and those accessing it'. In Crowther's view, this is set to get wider.

Both policy and certainly campaigners and the media in highlighting the social care deficit and shortfalls focus on presentations and a narrative of decline, deficit and othering of older adults seeking support. We, and here I speak as an ageing baby boomer, are 'somebody else'. By seeking to appeal to the public and politicians' hearts and minds, existing narratives and messaging is about the plight, negativity, rescue, pity and fatalism. Older adults are a burden, a drain on limited resources, lonely, increasingly living with the risk of dementia, frail and long-term care, whether in the community or institutions, evidence a demographic time bomb, which is at the tipping point of an explosion. What is argued is that we need beds, more beds, and even MORE beds. Let us resource the provision of beds, more nursing and residential care, more home care, more clubs, and all will be well.

This is a pernicious narrative, one that, in my view, has and remains at the heart of present-day social care, third sector effort, and political ambivalence. It is one that blames older adults for the 'care crises', one that rigs our responses to primarily outdated so-called 'responses'. Responses that patronise older adults, infantilises them, and others them. In addition, it too frequently disempowers, removes real choice and control from many social care workers, and ALL older adults. We collude with the plight, negativity, rescue, pity and fatalism, rather than the hope and optimism of citizenship, human rights, ownership, control and, above all, the radicalisation of social care.

Compassion and empathy are important. Even Compassionate Ageism, coined by Robert Binstock (1984) was originally one that led to policies and politics on ageing that benefited older adults through its 'collective concern.' Indeed the very construction of 'an old age welfare state' was facilitated by it. But, over the past half-century, it has arguably become corrupted, which was the Friedan view and social care policy and practice, in this context, is potentially destructive.

Returning to Crowther, the values we hold today and how they are framed need to inspire hope and possibility, but also need to be regarded as a certainty. We need a more collaborative and cooperative social care model. The ethics and values of social care/work that underpin practice has to communicate a set of different values, a different vision, a different underpinning in the context of age and ageing, and a narrative adopted professionally of social care and by the public. 'The messaging of organisations campaigning for reform and spending on social care and the consequent impact on public thinking is at the heart of the problem concludes Crowther.

My questions to all of us engaged in some way in adult social care is: where is the power, ownership and benefit held? Where are the voices of discontent, indeed who are the social care professionals that silence the voices of those wanting to reshape the narrative? Crowther has articulated the story we want to tell and the dominant framing that has allowed Westminster to dither and delay and put off the Social Care Green Paper. What is worse is my fear that, if that consultation paper ever sees the light of day, it will be based on the very negative framing of which Crowther warns!


A CURSE ON ALL OUR SOCIAL CARE HOUSES


Compassion is biased and tends to tilt assessments and subsequent actions and outcomes that benefit the agency's commissioning and provision of services. It is about feeling good about ourselves as financial managers or gatekeepers, charity trustees, elected politicians, practitioners, volunteers. God help us! We think celebrity endorsement of our third sector objectives/purpose is a cherry atop a cake of stale ingredients, which is consumed with gratitude, as little alternatives are on the menu.

"Ageism in broad terms is 'complicated'. Ageism is not equivalent to sexism and racism; there is no one group discriminatory against another. Younger people can be discriminated against, as can older adults. Indeed we are all, throughout our lives, oppressed by ageism, by dominant expectations about age, expectations that dictate how we behave and relate to each other"  writes Bill Bytheway ( Ageism in Age and Ageing Ed. Malcolm Johnson 2005) 

Little, however, is mentioned about Compassionate Ageism, though we are increasingly becoming familiar with the Decline System of New Ageism. The economic drain of older adults on society, time bombs, demographic tsunamis, the boomers robbing of generations x/millennials, the innocent absorption of cultural signals, youthful age anxiety, and so-called 'middle ageism' dominates ageing narratives (Gullett, M, 2013). Where is the notion of how compassion compromises human rights, wellbeing, belonging, citizenship and hope? We are blinded to the potentially pernicious consequences of our social care actions and responses. All of us in this room is at risk of colluding with the pretence that our practice is without prejudice, myths and stereotypes about older adult users - nay, older adults generally. Eligibility criteria, resource constraints, case demands and our internalised cultural attitudes to and about older adults shape our responses. Compassionate Ageism demonises and commodifies ageing, leading to a belief that we are doing what is in their best interests. It leads to systemic stereotyping and discrimination against people we deem older. It is the offensive exercise of social care power in reference to age. It oppresses. It is a social construct. All evidenced by and through both our behaviour and language-imaging, negative narratives and communications which dehumanise and depersonalise. It sees our older adult 'users' as victims and vulnerable, and it pathologises and others. Older adults become somebody else! Evidence? Look at case notes, care plans and minutes.

Compassionate Ageism is a curse dressed up as concern and as sympathy. As a professor of Social Gerontology Tom Scharf (Newcastle University) coined, 'benevolent patronage'. Compassion exists and here's the rub - it exists in the minds and attitudes of older adults themselves. Older adults 50yrs plus are essentially the same and worthy of government assistance. The notion of  "silver or grey" power is a myth. We see older adults as goodies or baddies (deserving or undeserving, needy and desperate, requiring special policies). It is a time of loss and decline. Ageing celebrity endorsements have in my view, distorted the narrative around loneliness, dementia, social isolation and poverty.

Compassionate Ageism sees:

- Older adults as a problem = they are somebody else
- Dependency, sickness and deficit = plight
- Imaging = negativity (decline) eg images of wrinkly hands
- We must do something = rescue
- Age has to be avoided = pity

Plight, pity, decline and rescue - beware! A rescuer can easily become the persecutor, and good intentions, risk assessments, safeguarding policies, care homes, day centres, eligibility criteria, home care, budgets, financial management, and adult social care generally, become, in reality, oppression.


FROM OPPRESSION TO "LIBERTY" - THE ANTIDOTE


The third and final source on which I have drawn for this presentation is the recent publication Social Work, Cats and Rocket Science (1919). The authors reflect in my view a different pathway and value base, which moves the narrative from hopelessness to hope. It is a narrative of ambition and a belief in a better social care future for adults - especially older adults. It is a narrative of opportunity and freedom. We move from the rhetoric of  'personalisation and co-production' and professional/political grandstanding to the reality of outcomes that people actually want.

Earlier we explored Neil Crowther's analysis of the importance of language, messaging and communication. We now look at the importance of upholding respect for the inherent dignity, equality, and worth of all people. Upholding social justice and human rights and, quoting judge James Mumby, 'being a servant, not a master'. To this I would add: not being a jailor to a prisoner of social care or work bondage.

Much is said and written these days about loneliness epidemics, dementia tsunamis, mental incapacity and frailty. I urge you to read chapter one of Social Work, Cats and Rocket Science. In fact, I urge you to read all the chapters. Read Mavis's story. It is a familiar one, one that was evident in the late 1960s when I first started my social work career. And it is evident in November 2019, as I stand behind this lectern. To quote two sentences, 'We are guests in people's lives, and it is not always benign or good.' And 'social care is about standing up for peoples' rights, to have a right to a home and a private family life'. To Liberty!

Mavis died in her sleep, waiting to return to her home, with her lifelong partner. Her husband was the eighth person to be informed of her death.

The years, months or days remaining to an older adult is of value: everyone is capable of exercising choice and everyone has a right to participate in society. So what is the nature of wellbeing, of social justice, of choice and control? On what grounds are they denied? What are the existing protections in place? I leave these provocations with you.

I have, over the years, given and heard eulogies at funerals, and frequently thought that they provide more information on the deceased than ever obtained on the living through social care assessments and processes. Knowing the person, not the labels, of loneliness, dementia and frailty is written large. It's not rocket science!

" THE JOY OF SEX BEYOND 70" ROYAL COLLEGE OF NURSING EVENT PRESENTATION ( 23.09.19)

Recently I shared a platform with three amazing panel members at a joint event between the RCN and RCN Foundation.  It has been many a year since I spoke or published on sexuality in later life. I was flanked by Dawne Garrett, RCN Professional Lead in the Care of Older people and Dementia; Lynne Segal Anniversary Professor of Psychology & Gender Studies at Birbeck, the University of London and author of  "Out of Time: The Pleasures and Perils of  Ageing" and  Esther Wislerlake whose day job is manager of a dementia day service specialising in non-pharmaceutical intervention when managing the Behaviour Psychological Symptoms of Dementia. In her spare time, Esther writes about the complexity of managing sexuality within care settings. She spoke to the audience by  "gently lifting the lid of Pandora's box by introducing us to, the silent K"

My own focus was to explore two areas seldom discussed within the Age Sector: Older Sex Workers and the Pornography Industry and Porn use and engagement by older adults. 

The event was chaired and facilitated by Tammy WhyNot (a very unique experience). Each speaker was given 8minutes to present to which surprisingly I was compliant. What follows, therefore, is the pre-prepared full text, most of which went unsaid given the time constraint, but hopefully, you may find of interest. 

THE CONTEXT AND THE "MISSING VOICES"

We are increasingly beginning to explore, understand and respond to the issues of ageing and wellbeing in the context of sexuality, sex and intimacy. Most of us would probably agree that sex has been a neglected issue in much gerontologic research. There are of course some notable exceptions. What research, however, has been undertaken is inclined to focus on sexual activity and sexual health, but what is encouraging, but not surprising, given the age demographic, is the role and meaning of sex in new intimate late-in-life relationships.

Sex, however, is frequently framed in terms of the ideology of LOVE whereby causal sexual adventures are frowned upon and views about the sexual behaviour of young adults/adolescents perceived as being less healthy than that of older adults.

What is frequently absent is research incorporating the voices and views of older adults themselves. Asking older adults their views, opinions, experiences and attitudes with regard to their sexuality and activity. It is important here in the context of tonight, to respect a wish not to engage, not to be ambushed and Dawne, in her presentation rightly emphasised the absolute necessity of permissions, contexts, cultures and belief systems. The ethics of researchers ensure the protection of these obligations, but too frequently outside that construct, people can be coerced into "a confession based" interaction. 

Those older voices that have been sought however seems to show:

• Older women describe male sexuality as simple and pleasure orientated - but men tended to actually subscribe to the same ideology of LOVE as the female adult.
• Sexual interest and activity is rekindled in new relationships and frequently seen as sexually better than previous relationships
• The importance of sexual self-realization (especially older adult women)
• Marriage was not seen as important for having a sexually intimate relationship
• Sex, however, was not entirely liberalized, but framed in an ideology of love.

AREAS SELDOM EXPLORED

 1. PROSTITUTION AND  OLDER SEX WORKERS: A Co-operative approach

Susan Davis is the Leader of the West Coast Co-operative of Sex Industry Professionals (Canada) and thought of forming a sex worker co-operative following her meeting with members of India's thriving. It started back in 1995 and now has 65,000 members. Its purpose was to " promote their quality of life at a number of levels and is good for the morale of everybody and particularly to minimize the potential risks in sex work". 

Davis has been an escort for 25 years and evidence that being a Co-operative provides:

• Control of working conditions and safety
• Profits that benefits the workers
• Scholarships for sex workers
• Loans 
• Employment opportunities for those wishing to exit sex work. 

The legal framework and criminalization related to "living off immoral earnings" present serious barriers within Canada and of course the United Kingdom in establishing Co-operative development. That said we need to acknowledge that the scale and engagement of older adults working within the sex industry generally are, as far as I know, unknown. In addition, when I asked my contacts within the Co-operative Sector some while ago, I was informed that there were no sex industry co-operatives or Collectives. Should there be? Absolutely, but would need to confront and dismiss what is illegal but not fall over some arcane outdated moral judgement and attitude to that which is lawful. The issue of lawful pornography and older workers within this industry and/or those older adults viewing it is my next discussion point

2. "DIRTY OLD MEN AND WOMEN AND THEY": PORNOGRAPHY

 Pornography is generally defined as "visual depictions that are intended to sexually arouse the viewer" ( Tarrant S The Pornography Industry 2016). Regardless of the medium, the challenge in defining the term, as Tarrant points out is that one person's pornography may seem like hate speech to the next. What is the difference between erotica and porn? Some argue that pornography "reflects patriarchal hegemony or abusing the other, while erotica depicts sex among equals and thus free of subjugation." In short, pornography is about dominance: erotica mutuality. 

If we reflect on the negative attitudes and stereotypes towards and about older adults and ageing, no wonder there has been so little exploration of this area of engagement and behaviour.  Past and existing attitudes towards older women they are multiply dammed, men simply get away with simply being regarded as "a dirty old man". The mere use of the word pornography evokes negative reactions, let alone to those older adults actively engaged and participating in the industry. Tarrant says " the ubiquitous presence of pornography is a rich source for studying the ways in which ideas about gender, race, class, beauty, and sex are constructed, conveyed and maintained." She adds " Pornography is an important media category for questioning normative expectations exploring forms of resistance that challenge racism, classism and ageism" (italics mine)

Is pornography a crime, a sin, a vice or a choice?  "It cuts to the heart of sexual pleasure, sexual danger, censorship, coercion and personal agency" (Tarrant again)

Let me ask a question. How far is pornography discussed and a source of sex education within the sex and wellbeing literature, guidance and pr retirement workshops by employers? How far is it a subject of discussion in day centres, residential care, Older adult Forums between sing songs, bingo and Any Other Business? 

Dawne Garrett and my dear friend Shirley Ayres ( sitting in the audience) have for some time been discussing a publication ( Journal article?) on a whole range of sex and sexuality in later life. Being a recent convert to social media ( in part Shirley's fault) I checked out Twitter accounts related to sex, sexuality, pornography and dating sites for the over 50's. I'm not particular;y an innocent, but I was surprised by the breadth and scope- all tastes catered for, but that said, I was convinced that the engagement of older adults regardless of genders, sexual orientation and preferences actively engaged as performers in the pornographic industry and/or  engaged in viewing was an issue worth exploring in the context of public health, mental health,  wellbeing, relationships, addiction. The free and easy availability of porn via social media is rightly well researched with regard to child protection, but it is necessary to explore its impact on older adults, not necessarily in the context of safeguarding ( though that said, it does raise some interesting issues in that regard re MCA) but in addressing sex and ageism, sex and wellbeing, sex that is free from moral judgement, sex and social media, sex and so-called sex toys, sex and health, sex that is, for the over 70's a joy!

Finally, as I was reminded recently, the rejection of sexual activity, however, defined is and remains in the control of each and every one of us.


[Sources: I have avoided lengthy footnotes or references, but are available on request.DM me @Merv.ChangeAGEnt]

  

"Here, Kitty, Kitty": From Coverture to Coercive Control; the Abuse of Catherine Dickens

This new extended blog seeks to examine the abuse and cruelty of Catherine Dickens (Nee Hogarth) by her world-famous author husband. In doing so, highlight Charles Dickens' behaviour towards Catherine in the context of the Victorian notion of coverture and the twenty first century term of coercive control.


It is my contention that she played out her life with Dickens in the 'white noise of coercive control, ever-present and ever-threatening. Catherine's strength to live with this and to function daily in a range of domestic and social settings - to survive - was enormous and courageous' 1.

Mr Dickens: A Demon in Plain Site?

Even the most casual student of Charles Dickens' life cannot fail to be disappointed at his public persona and outstanding literary accomplishments in journals and novels should be at such variance with the man and the husband. Even by today's standards, he is probably no different than many a famous public figure, and would certainly apply to countless 'ordinary people in personal relationships who behave repeatedly in a way that makes their partner feel 'controlled, dependent, scared and isolated' 2.

Arguably, Dickens was not, as far as we know, violent towards Catherine, but he did attempt to use his considerable influence and contacts to get a doctor to sanction her admission into a 'lunatic asylum'. This was in no way a casual 'nod and wink' to a friendly doctor, but a serious and nearly successful attempt to lock Catherine away on the spurious grounds of 'mental disorder'. Bending the law to his will was clearly not beyond Dickens' reach, and why not, when his best friend, Edward Buluer Lytton, had 'successfully plotted to have his wife Rosina seized, certified insane and incarcerated in a private asylum' for three weeks 3. Many Dickens scholars and biographers have written about his appalling behaviour towards Catherine pre and post Ellen Turner affair, but it was the so-called 'Violated Letter' of 1858 attempting to 'discredit' Catherine 4, that led to a shocked reaction and best-summed up by Elizabeth Barrett Browning to say 'What a dreadful letter that was! And what a crime for a man to use his genius as a cudgel... Against the woman he promised to protect tenderly with life and heart'. Barrett Browning goes on to add 'taking advantage of his hold with the public to turn public opinion against her. I call it dreadful' 5.  There was an attempt by Catherine to mitigate against the letter's authenticity, but the damage had already been done 6. The attempt to publicly discredit, belittle, degrade and intimidate Catherine are examples, I would argue, of coercive control 7.

Returning to Dickens' attempt to 'put Catherine away', it is important to stress the broader context during the Victorian era. By publicly stating that Catherine was suffering from a mental disorder was 'sufficient for a certificate of moral insanity to be drawn up' 8.

Miriam Margolyes claims that Charles Dickens 'terrified and depressed' Catherine and uncompromisingly refers to his mental cruelty and that his own relations with women were all damaged, incomplete or destructive'. She goes on to observe that 'Miss Haversham (Great Expectations) was Dickens himself' 9. Surprisingly, Margolyes says of Dickens that 'his humanity descends his cruelty' - really!

Dickens' depiction of women has been scrutinised during the past two hundred or so years, and this is not the place to explore in detail over and above acknowledging that 'when it came to the problem of man/women relationships, he was severely hampered, not only by the attitudes of his age', but as Holbrook says, 'his emotional makeup and psychic pattern' 10. It is, however, timely before we look at the notion later of Coverture to name-check firstly the works of Isba, Claire Tomalin and Lillian Nayder. I have deliberately referenced three female Dickens scholars. My reasoning being that, in any explanation of the relationship between Dickens the abuser and Catherine the abused, I am anxious that any interpretation of that relationship is gender-sensitive, ensuring her agency in the context of both Coverture and coercive control.

Anne Isba argues that Charles 'infantilised' Catherine who, despite bearing him ten children, 'before being dumped', references 'the weird relationship Dickens had with his sister in law Mary'. For readers unfamiliar with this 'weird relationship', I quote the following by Isba from Dickens in a letter to Lavimia Watson a year before he broke up with Catherine and at the height of his wooing (I might say grooming) Ellen Ternan his eighteen year old mistress.

I wish I had been born in the days of ogres and dragon-guarded castles... I wish an ogre with seven heads had taken the princess who I adore - you have no idea how intensely I love her! - to his stronghold on the tip of a high series of mountains and there tied her up by the hair. Noting would suit me half so well this day, as climbing after her, sword in hand, and either winning her or being killed. 11

The 'princess' is obviously Mary Hogarth (sister in law); the 'sword in hand' - let's leave it there! Remember Mary died in Dickens' arms at the age of seventeen years, and he repeatedly during his marriage to Catherine referred back to her sister not infrequently, comparing Mary to Catherine, and wanted to be buried next to her. Weird? In the context of coercive control, perhaps not! Isbar also references Dickens' 'infatuations with teenage girls and his fantasies of being a hero of young (attractive) women' 12.

There are for our purpose two important books by Dickens scholars. Claire Tomalin, firstly her book Invisible Women (1990), which is about the relationship with Ellen Ternan and its impact on Catherine, and indeed Charles' behaviour towards her and her children, especially the fate of Plorn. Secondly, her seminal biography Charles Dickens: A Life (2012). When writing about the year 1858, Tomalin says 'you want to avert your eyes from a good deal of what happened'. She evidences Dickens' 'unforgiving callousness towards his children, and even egregious attitude towards Catherine' 13. Tomalin also writes that Dickens' physical deterioration which 'most if not all writers dramatically deteriorated in the 1860s'.She speculates, and the author David Abrams agrees, that his 'unspecified but unpleasant and persistent symptoms were, by the way, most-likely gonorrhoea 14. Dickens' children claimed that their father 'behaved like a madman... And saw their mother humiliated'.

That callousness is picked up in Tomalin's Invisible Woman, with regard to Plorn, who was 'unwillingly packed off to Australia' in the late 1860s and only two years prior to Dickens' death. Plorn was sixteen years old! Tomalin is quite right to point out that 'even in the circumstances of Victorian family life and economics are taken into account, it seems a harsh way of treating a not very bright boy' 15. In fact, Dickens during this period denied Catherine three of her sons who were forced to leave England. She, however, as Nadir points out, despite her powerlessness to stop Dickens, 'ensured she spent time with each of them and wrote frequently, and at length, until her death in 1879' 16. Isolating a mother from her children is a behaviour common in coercive control.

Certainly between 1858 through to Dickens' death in 1870, the Dickens household and relationships fractured, and whilst the Ellen Ternan affair was perhaps a catalyst, there is an argument that Ellen herself as a seventeen year old child was also a victim of Dickens narcissistic (NPD), bipolar and, some would say, sociopathic personality. I suppose the debate or conjecture about Dickens' own mental health and personality will forever continue to explain his cruelty; but it is time to look at Dickens through the lens of Victorian Coverture and Catherine's experience of it.



The Principle of Coverture: Catherine's Subordination to Dickens

I am particularly indebted to Helen Picolli via Twitter (@Helen88811) who, during a Twitter thread, introduced me to Lillian Nadirs, The Other Dickens. Helen was responding to my Tweet 'on this day I reflect on Mrs Catherine (Kate) Dickens (1815-1879)', her fortitude, her determination and above all her strength as a daughter, a wife, as a friend. I reflect, too, on her being the victim of coercive control by her A-lister celebrity husband (#IWD2019). Helen quotes Nayder in that she debunks this tale in retelling it, wrestling away from the famous novelist the power to shape his wife's story. She demonstrates that Dickens' marriage was a long and happy one 17. We took the discussion offline via a series of DMs, and I read the book which I have liberally quoted here and elsewhere. The book is indeed a powerful piece of scholarship and reflected my long standing view that Catherine Dickens' story was totally constructed by Dickens. That said, I had never seen Catherine as weak and disorganised or lacking in resilience, but, at the same time, I acknowledged that Victorian values and norms permitted and even expected that wives would be subordinate in all things to their husbands - 'the logic of coverture' 18. Nayder deviated from the other Mrs Dickens to her memory. I named my pet pug in her memory, too!

Quoting Nayder, 'coverture signifies a woman's dependence on and subordination to her husband, as well as his obligation to protect or to cover her. More specifically, it stipulated that a woman's legal selfhood was subsumed by that of her husband upon marriage, when they became 'one person'' 19. A wife could not have a legal identity in her own right, losing agency, autonomy, self-determination and control. No wonder Dickens loved hypnotising her and other women in his controlling orbit. He may not have just been weird; but, he was certainly a control freak!

Under coverture, Catherine took her role as his wife and mother very seriously. Frequently, and perhaps even always, 'subordinating her identity and duties as a mother to those belonging more strictly to Dickens' wife when asked to do so' 20. Dickens would, from their early days, also take his responsibilities under Coverture seriously. He was, by nature, an obsessively controlling and micromanaging man, and my impression, reading Nadir et al, is that he should have really married a pug, for Catherine was certainly no 'stubborn donkey'. He treated and referred to her in those early years of marriage as if she were a pet (e.g. my beloved), encouraging her to always be at his beck and call, meeting his demands, even excessive requirements, and to accommodate him in ALL things. Coverture did not sanction such behaviour. She had 'an identity that acknowledged her worth, but as an object of affection, tracing her value to a source outside herself, her husband's feelings and perceptions' 21. Nayder, however, is absolutely correct in her observation that 'Dickens' identity as the Inimitable 'allowed for almost any kind of behaviour, but the 'Beloved' is a restraining sobriquet, prescribing a narrow range of behaviour, and revocable at Dickens' will' 22. Had Catherine been a pug, one could just imagine being taken by Dickens on one of his numerous long walks, being let off the leash and him calling out, 'here, kitty, kitty!'.

Catherine may have been the 'Beloved of her husband', but she was Catherine Hogarth and Nadir powerfully reclaims her as such. In addition, she was mother, sister, daughter, niece - and these roles she did not relinquish, and Coverture did not 'grant Dickens the power to erase or subsume her as such' 23.

Her motherhood was a given, but Coverture did require her to give Dickens priority. The ability of Catherine to negotiate, to ignore, and on occasions to contest this, and even to thwart her husband, reinforces the recuperation of Catherine Hogarth. Nevertheless, Coverture did play a significant part, not just on the couple of occasions he attempted to hypnotise her, but generally in her 'selfless submission to him' 24.

During their marriage, Catherine would act as Dickens proxy in matters related outside the husband-wife relationship; but even then she herself realised that that proxy did not out-proxy that of his male proxies. Dickens frequently overruled her decisions, thus undermining the so-called authority he had given her. Catherine, not surprisingly, was 'weary' when Dickens urged her to judge for herself - to consider matters in her own eyes and follow the 'influence of her own heart (Pilgrim Letters 7225) - knowing her word was not the last in most matters' 25. Coverture did not 'sanction' humiliation, undermining and violence as we will explore later; but, it did (as always) nourish over countless generations the abusiveness of countless men. Coercive control?

There are a number of examples from Dickens' extensive network of married acquaintances and friends who, whilst also living with coverture, found Dickens, at best, unreasonable and at worse abusive in his application of it, not least of which the Hogarth family, which came to a head in the Ellen Ternan affair. It is important to remember that whilst coverture was institutionalised and an obligation, the husband had an obligation to protect his wife from ill treatment and certainly not be the perpetrator of it. Dickens certainly did not materially neglect Catherine. He did, however, limit her powers of decision making, expression and, arguably, her 'significance as a person in her own right' 26. He was duplicitous, a liar, deceiver, trickster, humiliater, and overall, in David Adams' description, 'an arse' 27.

When in 1858 Catherine eventually signed a deed of separation drawn up by Dickens and his solicitors, it was primarily a financial contract, but it did not, as Nadir points out, 'violate the principle of coverture' 28. A judicial, civic separation required proof of Dickens' wrong-doing, which she did not have. The settlement was considered generous but Catherine arguably remained under coverture by two male trustees who would provide her with the required guardianship. Open access to her children was written in the deed, but this did not stop Dickens denying her freedom to when and how.

Coverture, however, provided cover to the continual Othering of women; and, whilst during the Victorian era their 'role improved considerably', and legislation safeguarded a number of rights, it was clear that Dickens had no concept of 'the new woman'. His behaviour towards Catherine is rightfully considered cruel and abusive. There have been a number of writers who have sought to give Catherine agency in her own right. Coverture is a curious legal doctrine and without doubt limited a married woman's rights. It dates back to medieval times and through to the Victorian. Through these epochs, many women 'creatively used or subverted Coverture' 29. Coverture was, however, a legal fiction in that a husband and wife are one person in this doctrine, but was enshrined in Common Law. It was during the mid 1800s however that it came under increasing criticism as oppressive towards women. Had Charles Dickens turned his considerable reforming influence and focus to the words of his own creation... Mr Bumble (Oliver Twist) when informed that 'the law supposes that your wife acts under your direction', he replies 'if the law supposes that... The law is an (sic) arse - an idiot. If that's the eye of the law, the law is a bachelor; and the worst I wish the law is that its eye may be opened by experience' 30.

As a common doctrine and in her own way, Catherine was at ease with nineteenth century Coverture, but probably based upon the relationships within the Hogarth family experienced as a child growing up with her parents and siblings. Her experience however living with an 'angry and controllable husband' was to be of an entirely different order. It is now time to explore Charles Dickens through the twenty first century lens of coercive control.





Coercive Control: Inside the Mind of the 'Inimitable'31



As I was indebted to Helen Picolli and the author Lillian Nayder in the previous section, I am now indebted to Joan Merideth and the work of the Choice Project at the University of Aberystwyth Wales, and the author Lundy Bancroft 32 33. Coercive control is a term developed by Evan Stark and refers to 'a pattern of behaviour which seeks to take away the victim's liberty or freedoms, to strip away their sense of self. It is not just women's bodily integrity that is violated but their human rights' 34. Abuse is not simply about one-off or repeated acts of physical violence, it incorporates a whole range of behaviours. And, using Stark's rationale in coining the term, it 'explains a range of tactics used by perpetrators and the impacts of those actions on victims/survivors. It is 'how men entrap women in everyday life'' 35. It is furthermore not mental abuse.

There are a number of signs that would be associated with coercive control. Those of particular importance in our Dickens discussion are:

• Monitoring activities with family and friendship networks
• Repeatedly checking up on you
• Questioning your behaviour and decisions
• Setting deadlines for your return home if visiting relatives and friends
• Isolating you from those relatives and friends; and/or
• Choosing your friends and acquaintances
• Controlling what you spend and how you spend it
• Controlling or negatively disparaging comments on what you wear and how you look
• Telling you what you should eat
• Putting you down in public
• Getting angry at the slightest little thing
• Creating an environment both within the family home or outside it where you are in constant fear of upsetting him
• You have to do things in a particular way or they get angry with you
• Your needs are secondary to his



Adapted from learning mind - 20 signs of coercive control that reveal you are being manipulated in a relationship, 2019

Obviously, some of these behaviours and others may be contextualised as other offences, as well as coercive control. Today, these would and could be treated as criminal offences 36. It is important to stress that coercive control is when a person with whom you are personally connected repeatedly behaves in a  way that makes you feel controlled, dependent, isolated or scared 37.

Did Catherine Dickens feel controlled, dependent, isolated or scared? Was Catherine Dickens alarmed or distressed by the inimitable behaviours? Did it cause her to alter how and when she socialised? The key question is, was Dickens' behaviour simply a reflection of the institutionalisation of nineteenth century coverture? If this were so, then, arguably, he cannot be criticised in the twenty first century, behaving as he did due to cultural relativity. Even with a cursory knowledge of Dickens the husband set against the coercive control signs listed above, should we argue that the nineteenth century lack of human rights, the notion of coverture and coercive control is a somewhat academic argument? Some might even say naïve. Regardless, it is my contention that custom and practice, legislated or not, did not make policy of a given custom right. Coverture was such a custom and exists even today.

Bancroft reminds us that there are presently millions of women who have never been beaten 'but who live with repeated verbal assaults, humiliation, sexual coercion and other forms of psychological abuse' 38. Here, he evidences that abusing men can and do have 'many good qualities, including times of kindness, warmth and humour, especially in the early period of a relationship... He has a successful work life... And when she feels her relationship spinning out of control, it is unlikely to occur to her that her husband is an abuser' 39. Reading Bancroft's introduction and section 'The Tragedy of Abuse' he could be talking about Dickens and Catherine's experience of him, and what is crucial is his point that 'the woman also sees that her partner is a human being who can be caring and affectionate at times' 40. 1858 for both Dickens and Catherine may have been a watershed when the mask of Dickens was removed, showing the nakedness of his cruelty and viciousness.

Dickens never did anything he considered morally unacceptable; he had a distorted sense of right and wrong; and his value system (coverture) was unhealthy. Regardless of his journalistic and writing success, his behaviour towards Catherine did not improve 41. What was the Dickens reality? Dickens was without a doubt controlling; he felt under coverture 'entitled'; he twisted things into their opposites; he disrespected Catherine and considered himself superior to her; he confused love and abuse; he was manipulative; he obsessively sought a good public image; he felt justified; he denied and minimised his abuse; he was possessive. He in fact ticked every single box in Bancroft's analysis of the abusive mentality 42.

There are two areas worth a brief mention: addiction and sex. There is no evidence as far as I can tell with regards to alcohol, but we know he was a workaholic and that he had an addictive personality. With regard to sex, we are aware he regularly visited prostitutes and, according to some biographers, his sexual activities with Catherine, if judged by Nadir, was loving. I am not sure if this was necessarily true. Addiction takes many forms, and we will perhaps never know how he looked at sex over and above he refers to it in typical Victorian doublespeak and code in his letters. Sex, however, to Dickens was about meeting HIS needs. It was in all probability Catherine's responsibility to have sex with him when he wanted and it was her job. Coverture to a large extent 'considered that marriage is the moment her body transferred to his ownership' 43.

We know that sex is a way of establishing power and dominance. Did Dickens de-personalise Catherine? Was Dickens sexually aroused by Mary Hogarth, Georgina Hogarth and others? He clearly was by Ellen Ternan. Were there real or fantasy relationships with prostitutes and others a way of humiliating Catherine? These are questions of Dickens scholars to untangle; but they are also questions that need to be viewed in the context of not just relationships of the nineteenth century but of the twenty first. The Victorian court of opinion brought into Dickens own narrative, that his early biographers were seduced by the public image Dickens portrayed. He hid his abuse in plain site. His celebrity status determined the narrative. That narrative over the past two or three decades has rightly been seen to be a myth; and I would personally argue that his continued literary acclaim and belief that 'his humanity transcends his cruelty' 44 in no way excuses this most angry and controlling of nineteenth century famous men.

Catherine Hogarth did indeed live during her marriage years and up until her death in the white noise of coercive control. She did so with fortitude and courage. In my view, it is she who is to be celebrated and admired. It is her voice that needs to be heard loud and clear.

References

1) Adapted from Scottish Women's' Aid. What is coercive control? CEAR network website (undated) 'coercive control is the white noise against which she plays out her life; ever present, ever threatening. The strength to live with this and to function daily in a range of settings - to survive - is enormous and courageous'.

2) www.learning.mind.com 20 signs of coercive control that reveal you are being manipulated in a relationship

3) Bowen, J, Our Mutual Friend, Times Literary Supplement (19th Feb, 2019)

4) Pilgrim 8: 740, Letters of Charles Dickens

5) Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 5th October 1858, Maggs Brothers Catalogue (Summer, 1922, quoted in Pilgrim 8: 648-49, No. 4)

6) For a detailed account refer to the excellent Lillian Nayder's recent publication "The Other Dickens: A Life of Catherine Hogarth", Cornell University Press, Ithaca, London, 2011, PP268-272

7) Goddard S, 10 ways to spot coercive control. Abuse does not have to be physical. Cosmopolitan 240718

8) Sotherland J, Victorian Fiction: Writers, Publishers, Readers in Boweng, (Ibid)

9) Margoyles and Fraser S, Dickens' Women, quoted CHITOLN, culture editor, The Telegraph Book Review, 26012016

10) Holbrook D, Charles Dickens and the Image of Women. First edition. New York, New York University Press (1993), cited in essays. UK (November, 2018). How Dickens depicts women. Retrieved from HTPS://www.ukessays.com/essays/english/literature/charles-dickens-depicts-women-3864.php? vref=1. Author not cited.

11) Isba, Dickens' Women: His Wife and Loves (date not referenced)

12) Ibid, cited in Chilton Martin

13) Tomalin C, Charles Dickens: A Life (London, 2012), cited in Abrams David. The Dark Side of Dickens. MASTODON: SUBMIT. 7022012. Here, Abrams writes 'it is a truth universally acknowledged that CD was a genius, but CD the man was an arsehole'

14) Ibid, Tomalin and Abrams D

15) Ibid, Tomalin, cited in Nayder The Other Dickens. Footnote 86, Invisible Woman

16) Ibid, Nayder L, p287

17) Ibid, Nayder, p2

18) Ibid, Nayder, p2

19) Ibid, Nayder, p19

20) Ibid, Nayder p21

21) Ibid, Nayder, p103

22) Parker D, The Doughty Street Novels. (New York, AMS Press, 2002), cited in Nayderl, p103

23) Ibid, Nayder p103

24) Ibid, Nayderl, p117

25) Ibid, Nayder, p219

26) Ibid, Nayder, p223

27) See footnote reference 13 above

28) Ibid, Nayder, p251

29) Stretton T, Kesseliring KJ, (author and editors), Married Women and the Law: Coverture in England and the Common Law World (Montreal, 2013, p15)

30) Shapiro (2006), p197-8

31) Title inspired by Bancroft L, Why does he do that? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men. Berkeley Books (New York, 2002)

32) The Choice Project (Aberystwyth University). I heard Joan speaking when I attended a meeting of the Choice Steering Group (29/03/19). Her story as the wife of a controlling partner. It was powerful and the choice project introduced me to the reality of coercive control

33) Ibid, Bancroft L. Lundy Bancroft has spent many years specialising in domestic abuse and the behaviour of abusive men, and was former co-director of Emerge, the USA's first program for abusive men. He at the time of writing practised in Massachusetts

34) Ibid

35) Ibid

36) Came into force on 29th December 2015 and only applies to behaviour that occurred after this date

37) Coercive control and the law: rights of women: helping women through the law (Feb, 2016)

38) Ibid, Bancroft L, p8

39) Ibid, p9

40) Ibid, p9

41) For a summary, Bancroft listed in detail seventeen myths about abusive men, pp23-4. Out of the seventeen, twelve could apply to Dickens

42) Ibid, Bancroft, pp49-75

43) Ibid, Bancroft, p175

44) Ibid, Margoyles M, 26th January 2016

Co-Operatives Are More Than 'Carrots and Coffins'

CO-OPERATIVES ARE MORE THAN ‘CARROTS AND COFFINS’: Towards a Transformative Principle 7: ‘Concern for Community

 This extended blog seeks to explore the potential of an imaginative application of the International Co-operative Principle (nos7) “ Concern for Community” in empowering and increasing civic participation and addressing social injustice and isolation. Drawing on the experience and research from a number of sources it will hope to show how local community radio, community development studies and practice, ethical retail shopping, strength-based approaches to social care and the concept of “beloved communities” can increasingly become a reality through and by a Co-operative integrated response

THE CO-OPERATIVE PARADOX OF ‘CONCERN FOR COMMUNITY’ (P7)

How the Co-operative Commonwealth views this International principle is primarily evidenced by how it is translated and experienced by communities. Airton Cardoso et al (2014) points out that it represents the way co-operatives interact with its community, especially in a social aspect” (1).  That interplay implies social responsibility but also the “paradigm of the gift- the obligation to give, receive and reciprocate.” (2)

The general public see Co-operatives in terms of its’ high street retail stores, funeral services, maybe through its insurance services and, up until recently the now hedge funded Co-operative banks. Selling “carrots and coffins” or drawing out cash from a wall, dwarfs, even in the UK, the amazing variety and scope of Co-operative activity and enterprise. The Co-operative Group (Coop) every year celebrates its donations (gifts) to local causes thus helping environmental and economical sustainability, whilst at the same time fulfilling its obligation to local Co-operative members in deciding which causes are to benefit from their benevolence.

It is worth at this juncture highlighting just how much money is involved. The Coop Group’s revenue (2018) was £10.2b, a not insignificant increase of 14% in 2017: £60m was returned to its members and £19m gifted to some 4000 local community projects (3).  The Group emphasises that it is building “stronger communities by championing a better way of doing business”(4) and, arguably, in so doing trades on its ethical brand. In the words of Group Chair Allan Leighton, “it is important to understand that our Co-ops commercial activity and its community and campaigning work go hand in hand. It’s beyond philanthropy and traditional social responsibility programmes....”(5). This point is important to us, considering that the Group considers that Principle 7 is interdependent with all the proceeding Principles of Co-operation. We need to therefore look at gift giving and local environmental and economic sustainability alongside voluntary and open membership (P1); democratic member control (P2); member economic participation (P3) : autonomy and independence (P4); education and training and information (P5); and finally co-operation among Co-operatives  (P6). Community concern and social responsibility for the Co-operative Group specifically and the sector generally, is, therefore, central to its ethical brand and reputation, which in turn becomes a significant strategic marketing priority to avoid reputational damage (6).  I have only been in and around the Co-operative sector the relatively short time of some dozen years but learnt very early on from lifelong seasoned co-operators that never stereotype the Group leadership as fluffy hippy throwbacks to the 1960s, they are mostly ‘hardnosed business executives’! The public may well buy their carrots from local coop stores and plan their coffins at Funeral Care but are nevertheless acutely aware that groceries and burials reflect the ethical basis of Co-operatives and trust it.

Cardoso adapts from Srour (2003) the Dimensions of Social Responsibility.(7) Broad Social Responsibility is classified as Social  Philanthropic actions whilst Narrow Social Responsibility is value to its members. The former requires a Modern Vision, the latter an Economic one.

The obligation within Care for Community to benevolence has, in my opinion, distorted and marginalized the obligation inherent in Principle 7. It is not just about engaging with or even in the community, it is about being of it.  Building stronger communities require a clear and dynamic vision of social responsibility and community development. This, in turn, requires all Co-operative retail outlets/ businesses and services to mobilize its membership to address significant local social issues rather than just rely on selecting a range of local causes in which the Group can donate some cash! Lest I be accused of being grossly unfair and unreasonable to the Group, let me celebrate the following by being an unleashed co-operative critical friend.

The 2017/18 campaigns related to Modern day Slavery was, and is, a spectacular example of going beyond philanthropy or gifting to local causes. The Group’s campaign tackling loneliness was (with some reservations on my part) a a significant contribution to increasing awareness, and additionally, was one of very few current narratives that seriously explored loneliness from a cross generational perspective. Both campaigns are to be commended. The Group’s strategic “ Stronger Co-ops , Stronger Communities” initiative, whilst now in its second year, again evidences a wide range of social issues, including, but not exclusively,  education, community safety and funeral poverty. What, however, is now required is to facilitate and encourage civic empowerment and participation of different communities, affirming they are valued members, not only of the Co-operative (for they already are). Beyond this, we should foster holistic support and friendship to peers, promoting intergenerational talents to those living in excluded and marginalized communities, often on the doorstep of Co-operative stores in neighbourhoods. The Local Community Fund represents an important and welcomed first step in meshing “Care for Community” within overall Co-op Principles and moving beyond the paradigm of gift giving. Understanding community need via Community Wellbeing Indexes; the role of Member Pioneers offer incredible opportunities using as it does local Co-op stores ( a theme I pick up later) as does the Co-op Foundation’s Belong programme tackling youth loneliness.

                                                                                                

Gifting to the traditional Charity sector, however worthy does not in and of itself empower or address power imbalances and arguably remains a 19^th century approach to a 21^st century issue of social alienation and exclusion. Adult social care for example, is generally considered to be in crisis. Social injustice and breaches of human rights remain with us and communities too often marginalized, forgotten and discriminated against with some devastating consequences, for example, Grenfell. Such communities exist in rural and urban areas alike and certainly in our cities across the UK. Deepening our understanding of community need, developing community wellbeing indexes, establishing member pioneers, empowering young people, and tackling loneliness must be viewed through a more visionary and radical lens. Thus whilst celebrating all these developments, is the Co-operative a social movement of which the Group is a part, not its centre?

The Cardoso paper I have been quoting openly acknowledges that integrated community development is required and that in critiquing ‘Concern for Community’, social responsibility and the theory of Gifting it draws attention to the discrepancies, and thus the paradox  between them (8). There is yet to be research to evidence their theses. For our purpose, however, it acts as a useful proposition that Co-operative community development has to be the heart and be the spirit of Concern for Community whilst not sacrificing it on the alter of philanthropic endeavour- or is it visa versa?  Perhaps we need to refocus, recalibrate and re-invent Principle7, but above all we need to be clearer about what we mean by community and co-operative community development.

‘BELOVED’ COMMUNITIES OF CO-OPERATION

I came across the term “beloved communities” in the publication “Understanding Community,” an excellent book by Professor Peter Somerville of the University of Lincoln.UK (9) He rightly poses the question as to what is meant by community a “much used and abused word with countless definitions and interpretations” (10) This point made, I do not intend here to debate the issue but it is only right that I make clear the definition I am using, namely community “ is a kind of state of being or existence, which is both subjective and objective, or in which the distinction between subjectivity and objectivity is dissolved” (11). It is about “ being together”- a state of being- “living together, working together, learning together, caring together, acting together” (12)  Somerville points out that whilst community is ambiguous and contested its “ value as an idea lies in its core meaning as social attachments, bonds, ties or obligations beyond the family” (13)

It is the term ‘beloved communities’ I find resonates in the context of Co-operatives and co-operation. It is, as Somerville argues, “a community whose spirit is one of compassion or loving kindness for all...characterized by freedom from exploitation and domination, with a radically open membership, and always in the dynamic process of becoming, being made and remade into more free and equal and less coercive forms of life” (14)

In Somerville’s chapter on Community economic development he discusses community ownership, worker and community co-operatives. (15) Whilst the benefits of community ownership is beyond dispute for a Co-operator it is a “slow and laborious process and exists in a variety of contexts and activities- some of which are contradictory”. Worker co-operatives exist outside ‘carrots and coffins’, but whilst being communal, “are largely dependent on capitalist markets “(16) Community Co-operatives, however, “exist primarily for the benefit of the community as a whole, not just for their members” but can be largely indistinguishable from many voluntary associations”(17)

It is time to draw these conceptual threads together. Concern for Community is at the centre, but not disconnected from the Principles underpinning Co-operatives. Communities are defined in terms of social attachments, bonds and ties characterized by social justice and inclusion. A Co-operative community is part of a co-operative one which does not exploit its members who own, control and benefit the business, service or enterprise. In addition, Co-operatives are part of a social movement and one of solidarity. Community development (economic and social) adds value, not just in terms of money, capital growth or even job creation. (18) Co-operative Community Development facilitates, builds and strengthens poorer communities, exploited communities and excluded communities. It addresses social exclusion and social injustice. It does not confuse benevolence and welfareism with civic participation and social justice. It is never patronizing and paternalistic.

The Coop Group is well-placed to take into account the limitations of professional community development as it understands and exists within a capitalist reality. However Care for Community can be, should be, must be rooted in a transformative and radical social vision and responsibility leading to civic participation and social justice that sees “carrots and coffins” can be, must be in the minds of managers and staff of  local high street store or funeral service about selling a vision of social inclusion and justice.

A TRANSFORMATIVE DIFFERENT WAY OF THINKING

If we accept the premise that co-operation should be at the heart of our communities we have to accept David Rodgers claim that “you can’t shift responsibility onto society without shifting power”(19) Addressing social exclusion and injustice requires systemic change rather than simply hanging up a sign outside a Co-op store saying come in for a cup of tea and have a chat with other lonely people, or organising local initiatives under the .coop marque and  concluding that they in and of themselves will bring about ‘beloved communities’. Campaigns of course do have a crucial part to play, but to create a movement requires a significant number of people. An active membership base of 1.6m people, if mobilized with a vision, can indeed become such a movement. A principle of local co-operative community development concerned with social injustice and exclusion requires leadership from the very community in which it exists. £19m to some 4000 local causes is not insignificant, but, if gifted to non-co-operatives then, it will, yes, be of some benefit to those lucky enough to have been selected by members, but it will not in my view build stronger communities, let alone beloved ones. The Group’s social purpose, through a successful commercial enterprise with a £4.500 gift to local causes, whether that be to Bromley in London, or Dundee, Bradford or Manchester, will not, in my opinion, make a significant difference in those locations and certainly not enrich the lives across the UK. Let me be clear. I am not saying £19m is to be sniffed at, but distributed in chunks of £4,500 to a population of say 250,000 people does not address the systemic causes of social isolation or injustice in Dundee, Bradford, Bromley, Birmingham or Manchester. I readily admit it was not intended to but the rhetoric underpinning gifting can imply it does. A UK mobilization however of some 4.6m active Co-operative members could, just could, turn that rhetoric into a reality if underpinned by imagination and the necessary community development processes put in place. Steve Murrells, Chief Executive of the Co-op Group is as CEO, impressive and says in his contribution to the Strategic Report quoted above “our social purpose means our ambitions are far greater than the Group’s bottom line”.(20) The question is, is that ambition great enough? This blog is a constructive provocation not a gratuitous criticism or devaluation of the celebration rightly made in the Group’s Annual Strategic Report.

I wish now to explore the potential of a number of initiatives that do not rely on gifting. They do however require resourcing of a different kind. They also have the potential to be transformative Co-operative responses in meeting the underlying spirit and purpose of Concern for Community and incorporate “carrots and coffins.” They require a whole systems approach of integration rather than siloed activity or top-down coordination and leadership, but rather empowerment at a local level with local people owning and controlling.

The examples are:

·        Increasing the number of Councils involved in the Co-operative Councils Innovation Network (CCiN)

·        Community radio for civic participation and engagement

·        Co-operative retail eg: development of VoxWorld Coop

·         Strength/Asset Based Community Development in the context of adult social care

I have selected them on the basis of my direct knowledge and experience of them and thus fully aware they do not, in of themselves, represent a blueprint or even template. They each have inherent challenges but however provide and offer incredible opportunities in our quest for a transformative Principle 7

Co-operative Councils Innovation Network (CCiN) Unleashed

There exist a number of Councils signed up to this non-party political, policy development and practice Network. The network is an active hub for co-operative policy development, innovation and advocacy (21) . It seeks to help Councils translate Co-operative polices and Principles into practice. A Review and Forward View of CCiN undertaken in 2017 concluded that “ Coop Councils must become Co-operative Places” and “ this should be the ultimate test of the next few years” It also at the same time concluded that whilst Councils in the Network had “made important progress against its stated aims they could not evidence  a relationship between co-operative ambition, principles and a positive shift in local communities”(22)

The CCiN has, however, established itself as an important influence within Local Authorities and recognised the challenge from an interviewee quoted in the Report: “Coop won’t make a difference unless it is put into the fabric and infrastructure of the organisation” (23). This takes leadership, courage and creativity and again the Review clearly stated the Network “will need to be different, based on co-operative values and principles into a deeper account of how we create positive change in our communities through collaborative systems and places”(24)

My reasoning for name-checking this potentially transformative Network is that Councils have an incredibly important role, not just in terms of its electoral Ward Councillor structure but its reach across different communities within and between wards, the business sector, local Third Sector organisations and those communities living with social and economic exclusion and injustice. The Network therefore within its membership sharing the Principles and value base of Co-operatives evidence transformative community development not just within their specific local authorities but across the UK.

My contention is that local Councils at all its various electoral levels, in partnership with the Co-operative sector can ensure a whole sector response including co-operative retail, worker co-operatives, social enterprises based on co-operation but with the active coop members in their given area. The Co-operative Council network can encourage investment in Co-operatives; it can encourage and commission social care services; it can encourage the development of community radio; it can help in supporting, at the right time, Strength-based community development; and it can indeed meet the challenge of becoming Co-operative Places. The evidence suggests that they are on that journey and, who knows? Communities in those places will become ‘beloved’.

Community radio production unleashed for civic participation and engagement

Much of my thinking has been influenced by both my involvement with East London Radio over a number of years personally hosting near on a 100 shows focused on age and ageing issues and a product of the Change AGEnts Co-operative Collective but more recently hearing about the development of Older Voices, a monthly show produced and hosted by older adults (NE1fm) and supported by Arlind Reuter et al from Newcastle University (25). The shows are very different in content and structure and whilst AGESpeaks (26) draws mainly a professional listenership, it is Older Voices and the support and research of Arlind Reuter et al which is of particular relevance here. In different ways both demonstrate the potential of how community radio can (and does) support the process of having a voice in ones’ community as part of civic action, and promote community dialogue. Hearing from and communicating with local people from local communities through radio offers a platform for people to not just raise concerns and issues but to engage in discussion and to be informed and influenced, but to also influence. East London Radio has regular presenters aged from 16- 80yrs and trains volunteers across different communities and generations  East in radio production and presenting.

When Ian Chambers the owner and producer of East London Radio and I attempted to engage with the Co-operative Group in sponsoring or advertising on the station or of particular shows its silence was deafening. There are, as Reuter points out from her experience with Older Voices, some real challenges including “audience engagement, content persistence and process sustainability”(27) That said ELR and Angel, and in fact most community radio outlets  through their programming have the potential to increase community participation. Radio affirms sections of the community that they are valued members “offering support and friendship of peers, promoting ...talents and ensuring their talents are acknowledged to a wider audience”(28) “Community radio is non-politically biased and owned by or accountable to the community that they seek to serve”(29) (30). Community radio encourages local people to become active and quoted in Reuter “discussions contribute to social capital formation, helping foster tolerance by strengthening specific communities’ interests and connecting them with other groups. If dialogue is created between citizens and service providers, community media can help shape local service delivery” (31)

If we define the term civic participation as to “voluntary activity focused to helping others, achieving a public good or solving a community problem including work undertaken either alone or in co-operation with others we can effect change”(32) The distinction however between participation and engagement has to be recognised if we wish to develop a Co-operative approach to community development via radio media. Reuter goes on to clarify that in whatever definition we use to distinguish participation from engagement they encompass three important dimensions in the context of radio. Firstly engagement is about a psychological attentiveness to an issue but participation implies civic action. Secondly, it is an individual or collective activity and finally clarity of purpose or outcome of that activity. In her experience supporting Older Voices in producing their programmes these elements were critical. The same therefore would apply to the Co-operative sector if it wished to develop a sustainable community radio as one of its means to address social isolation and exclusion- Concern for Community. As a regular shopper at our local Co-op buying my carrots but not yet thankfully my coffin I hear the in-store radio with its offers, but in-store radio is not community radio, but could it be? Alternatively could not the local Co-operative economy support existing community radio stations or develop co-operative programmes that encourage civic engagement and participation, and could this not be explored by Co-operative Councils?

Retail stores as hubs for dialogue and conversations: The Voxworld.coop model unleashed

I had never heard of Voxworld.coop until via LinkedIn some years ago I happened to connect with the amazing Richard O’Farrell from The E-Communities.Coop Programmes. Through that connection I became aware   “how visibility, identity and awareness of Vox community brands can build bridges that span the inequality divide”(33) Vox stands for the ‘Voices of the e-Xcluded’ in communities, a collective voice that is heard, heeded and through which the silent majority can speak and where unheard ideas can take root”.  Vox is about social inclusion. It has several strands alongside ethical shoppers (those who buy specific products/services) to address social exclusion. Arguably the Group are already through’ Care for Community’ and its Foundation etc are undertaking this role. VoxWorld.Coop is the ethical Symbol Retailer and promoter of community owned brands that carry the VoxGEM Ethical Label. When our Change AGEnts Network IPS (now Collective) developed a joint project with VOX we set up a number of cafe based hubs to engage in conversations with older shoppers.

In summary VOX is about ethical shoppers purchasing with a social conscience and expanding the market place to promote social inclusion. How can local coop stores promote awareness beyond simply showing a video at check out of local charities receiving money from the money spent collectively to good causes? Local stores in a given community radio catchment area could open a dialogue with communities about a whole range of Group and/or become a hub itself by using potentially available rooms, or by sponsoring  conversation/dialogue  local hubs in other venues available in the community.

Richard introduced Change AGEnts to the Chaordic Community organisation; a concept dedicated to the disadvantaged, underserved, the socially excluded starting with ageing populations which were then followed by what was termed the “coping classes”. It addressed ageism and community empowerment. VOX  is trade rather than aid based for social innovation. It seeks to engage with the wider Third Sector through its Community Social Values:

Ø Community Co-operatives- for Principles

Ø Community Fair Trade – for Standards

Ø Community Tele Centre- for digital access

Ø Community Hubs – for Social Innovation

Ø Community Colleges- for classes and courses

Ø Community Diaspora- for Social Enterprises

Ø Community Third Sector- for intra Community Collaboration

                    (Taken from Eriu Community VOX. A Voice for Ethical Ireland.p8 (34) )

All VOX communities operations relate to Community Circles, Hubs, Ethical Brands and ethical retail outlets.

For me it represents a construct and an approach that continues to inspire. It remains a fundamental conceptual pillar that is based on vision and transforming how retail and Concern for the Community at a local level can be realized.

What does Strength/Asset-Based Community Development Processes Offer?

When I first heard Cormac Russell speak (a faculty member of the ABCD Institute and Managing Director of Nurture Development), it was via a pre-recorded video presentation at a conference I was attending. It was inspirational. Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) over recent years has gained considerable traction in numerous local authorities seeking to explore its strategic and practical application. It could be said that some Councils’ think it could ease their financial burden on providing or commissioning care services by redirecting responsibility to local communities. Such a view is a failure to understand both social care and ABCD.

A recent Report from the Institute of Public Care- New Developments in Adult Social Care looked at emerging approaches.(35) During 2018 Professor John Bolton examined the responses of 6 local authorities seeking to develop new approaches in England. For our purpose the asset or strength based practice was identified as one of three themes, the others were Promoting Independence and Outcome Commissioning. Arguably they could be three legs of the same stool. In terms of specific social work practice however he looked at both pre assessment and assessment processes. The salient issue is, however, to take ABCD beyond the front door and staff simply acting as gatekeepers or signposts to existing local services. This presupposes that the staff undertaking assessments link strength based approaches to “finding solutions to meeting need from within local communities.”(36) Bolton raises questions related to the ‘evolution of community development’ within a given area and the broader understanding of and by a given community’s health and social care needs. A useful link here to the Co-op Groups Community Wellbeing Indexes mentioned above. Bolton questioned the front line workers’ knowledge and awareness of what was actually happening within the community and above all their ability to link the need to the right resource. Fundamentally he asks if Adult Social Care workers take the lead role in developing community resources and how closely they are involved in that activity. He also asks how effectively the Council engage people who might be socially excluded through community development, particularly those with learning disability.(37)

In relation to Performance Management, Bolton explored whether commissioning processes supported finding solutions from outside adult social care budgets and which PM arrangements are in place that evidences strength-based approaches on both council finances and communities. The Report did, however, conclude that Strength based assessments do offer a more positive approach and engagement with the “customer” but more significantly from our discussion here is the need for and dependence on “a parallel approach in relation to community development”(38)

At this juncture, understanding what is so distinctive about ABCD is worth some attention. I have often thought that the rather ‘pick and mix’ approach of some coop branded organisations to the Values and seven Principles of Cooperation can undermine the integrity of Co-operatives. Equally a ‘pick and mix’ approach to ABCD processes will undermine their effectiveness and to a large extent, in terms of outcomes for the communities engaging in development, at best will be disappointing or non-sustainable, and at worse, increase social injustice and exclusion. Cormac repeatedly emphasises that ABCD is about “enhancing collective citizen visioning and production” but, in my view, it inevitably moves us away from State driven, led and controlled responses which are, by and large, patronizing and paternalistic and people don’t want! The distinctive nature of ABCD was the very title of a Paper by John Knight and Cormac Russell (2018) (39) which spell out four essential elements of an ABCD process: resources, methods, functions and evaluation. Key to our discussion is that local resources include the citizens’ gifts, skills, knowledge and passions (note active co-operative members); local associations including volunteers (note active Co-operative Party members) and local Places (note CCiN). McKnight and Russell list a whole range of resources and of particular note is their inclusion of credit union schemes, worker-owned co-operatives and local shop initiatives. Listed too are ‘stories’ – the local culture- the community way, shared visioning and productivity, intergenerational connections- the list is comprehensively endless (40). I add my own contribution at this point, community radio!

Community development the ABCD is “iterative and emergent” (41) but it has to be sequential starting with what local citizens can do independent of state or institutions. Secondly, what requires a little help and finally “once these local assets /strengths have been fully connected and mobilized, citizens can decide collectively on what they want outside agents to do for them.”(42)

Given that at its core ABCD is connectivity and the goal is to enhance collective visioning and production, in so doing the models adopted need to be of the community. ABCD is “without hierarchy and elements exist simultaneously and dynamically”. Co-operative Community Development underpinned by its Values and Principles is complementary and unique and distinctive in its own way- or is it? By looking at the strength-based approaches and process ABCD offers a process in which the Values and Principles of Co-operation coexist. Concern for Community transformed through synchronised whole systems “processes and activities by which various interests within the co-operative can successfully pursue common social, economic and even cultural objectives.”(43)

 Co-operative Values and Principles are international; ABCD processes are international; social injustice and inequality exist internationally, the former being a response to the latter – what a world it would be!

ENDGAME

In this extended blog I have attempted to not just provide a useful provocation, but demonstrate how Co-operative “Concern for Community” (Community Development) can, through harnessing its considerable resources, meet the challenges of social injustice and exclusion. ABCD often refers to “home based natural communities” and this is a powerful concept, as is the term “beloved communities”. Perhaps we should talk about ‘home-based beloved natural communities’. Change is often seen in the context of institutions doing and perceiving individuals as being in deficit. Local Councils can be disconnected from their local communities and defensively taking shelter in their Town halls or Civic Centres.

So, what is the endgame? A community where citizens live free from injustice and exploitation, safe, secure, healthy, and economically engaged, co-creating care and shaping their local economies in dialogue and conversation with each other and with those who represent them in Town halls, engaged and participating in commissioning decisions that affect their sense of belonging and enabled to care for and in, their own communities with confidence. 


Dr Mervyn Eastman

REFERENCES:

1.      AIRTON CARDOSO CANCADO Y MARIADE FATIMA, ARRUDA SOUZA, ARIANDE SCLAFONI RIGO, JEOVA TORRES SILVER JUNIOR: Principle of ‘Concern for Community’: beyond ‘social responsibility’ in co-operatives (01.07.14). Boletin de la Ascociacion Internacional de Derech Co-operativo. University de Deusto

2.      CANCADO, Ibid,

3.      Co-operative Annual Report 2018. Strategic report highlights

4.      Ibid,

5.      ALLAN LEIGHTON. Group Chair. Introduction p5 in Co-operative Annual Report 2018

6.      CANCADO, Ibid,

7.      CANCADO, Ibid  (p198). From SROUR R.H. Etica emresarial a gestao

                     Da reputacao .2^nd ed. Rio de Janeiro: Campus. 2003 (p82)

8.      CANCADO, Ibid,

9.      SOMMERVILLE Peter. Understanding Community: Politics, Policy and Practice (2^nd Ed). Social Policy Association. 2006

10.  HILLERY G. Definitions of Community: Areas of agreement. Rural Sociology 20. 1955 in SOMMERVILLE, ibid

11.  SOMMERVILLE P, ibid p4

12.  NEAL. S, WATERS.S 2008, Rural belonging and rural social organisations: Conviviality and community making in the English countryside. Sociology 42, 2,279-97 in SOMMERVILLE P, ibid,

13.  SOMMERVILLE, ibid,  p17

14.  Ibid, p16

15.  Ibid, pp135-140

16.  Ibid,

17.  Ibid, p136

18.  Ibid, p141

19.  RODGERS. D. Co-operative Communities. Co-operation at the heart of our communities: Creating a shared stake in our society for everybody. Local Government Association Leadership LGA: Local Government Labour Group. Sept 2010. P40

20.  MURRELLS. S, Chief Executive: Introduction to Co-operative Annual Report (2018) Ibid, p6

21.  Co-operative Councils Innovation Network. Publicity blurb (CCiN)

22.  KIPPIN .H and RANDLE.A: From Co-operative Councils to Co-operative Places. A Review and forward view for the CCiN. Collaborate for Change. Feb 2017. (p18)

23.  Ibid, p22

24.  Ibid, p24

25.  REUTER A, BARTINDALE T, MORRISSEY K, SCHARF.T and LIDDLE J. Older Voices: Supporting Community Radio Production for Civic Participation in Later Life. CH 2019. May 4-9^th 2019. Glasgow. Scotland. UK

26.  AGE SPEAKS RADIO SHOW produced and edited by East London Radio. www.eastlondonradio.org.uk

27.  REUTER A et al Ibid Abstract

28.  Ibid, Abstract

29.  European Parliament. The State of Community media in the European Union. (Sept) 2007 in REUTER et al

30.  Ibid in REUTER et al

31.  MANUEL L, VIGAR G, BARTINDALE T and COMBER R. Participatory Media: Creating Spaces for Storytelling in Neighbourhood Planning. Proceedings of the 2017 SIGCHI Conference in Computing systems 2017 in REUTER et al.

32.  BARRETT M, BRUNTON-SMITH I. Political and Civic Engagement and Participation. Towards an Integrative Perspective. Journal of Civil Society 10(1): p5-28.2014 quoted in REUTER et al Ibid

33.  VOXWORLD.COOP “ ERIU Community VOX’ A voice for Ethical Ireland. Ethical Shoppers Retail Campaign to End Social Exclusion. ( RICHARD O’FARRELL) 2018

34.  Ibid p8

35.  BOLTON J. New Developments in Adult Social Care. IPC ( Institute of Public Care): Oxford Brookes University. Jan 2019

36.  Ibid p16

37.  Ibid p16

38.  Ibid p37

39.  McKNIGHT J and RUSSELL C. The Four Elements of an Asset-Based Community Development Process: What is Distinctive about an Asset-Based Community Development Process. DePaul University ABCD Institute 2018

40.  Ibid p2

41.  Ibid p6

42.  Ibid p6

43.  McDONALD, WALLACE and McPHERSON. Co-operative Enterprise. Building a Better World: Global Co-operative Development Group. Sept 2013. P111