The Sex, Research & Resistance Podcast · The OU Research Group on Reproduction, Sexualities and Sexual Health

E6 Part 2: Untangling the Web: Stigma in abortion, poverty and foster care

·31 min·2 clips

Healthcare assistants agonize over potentially saying the wrong thing to abortion patients, creating a stressful environment.

This episode features host Ayomide Oluseye and researchers Carrie, Justin, and Katie from the Open University examining stigma's micro-level impacts on access and autonomy. They continue a discussion on societal stigma, focusing specifically on abortion, foster care, and poverty systems. The conversation analyzes how stigma operates in service delivery and individual experiences. Carrie notes frontline health professionals can reduce abortion stigma but require structural support, not just individual commitment. She references UK abortion care workers who strive to make patients feel safe while facing pushback from colleagues in related fields. Katie explains service providers in welfare systems often operate within a framework that views recipients as needing policing, citing conditional cash transfer programs globally. Justin discusses campaigns that have lessened mental health stigma as a potential model, while also noting the harmful stereotypes about educational outcomes for care-experienced youth. A key insight is that peer support, suggested by young people in care, can alleviate the daily labor of managing a stigmatized identity. Carrie emphasizes the power of language, advocating for terms like "pregnant person" over "mother" or "subsequent abortion" over "repeat abortion" to shift narratives. Katie highlights how ATD Fourth World, an anti-poverty group, successfully challenged the term "intergenerational transmission of poverty" as victim-blaming. Justin reveals a nuance where some care leavers in Kenya worried peer groups might hinder moving on from their care identity. The discussion warns that advocacy can inadvertently reinforce stigma, such as when avoiding the word "abortion" for medical terminations creates hierarchy. Katie argues poverty narratives often deliberately "other" people to justify policy, using examples like the UK TV show "Benefit Street." She also cautions against framing people in poverty solely as voiceless victims, which removes their agency. Justin shares research by Zachary Dunkelfeld showing care-experienced people often achieve educational success later in life, countering negative statistics. The tone is analytical and conversational, grounded in the hosts' and guests' academic research and fieldwork. The style is collaborative, with each speaker building on the others' points to explore systemic solutions. This episode would appeal to listeners interested in social policy, stigma theory, and the practical intersections of research and advocacy. Those seeking a debate-driven or sensationalist take on these topics might find it too academically focused.

As heard by us

A careful, policy-minded look at how stigma shapes care, language, and survival across abortion, foster care, and poverty.

This episode treats stigma as a practical force, not a slogan, moving through abortion care, foster care, and poverty to show how it shapes access to resources and autonomy.

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Why you'd press play

You want a rigorous look at stigma where abortion, poverty, and foster care meet.

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