Why do farm accidents persist? Normalising danger on the farm within the farm family

In the western world, farming is the most dangerous occupation with the highest rates of accidents and fatalities. Farming remains largely a family business and most accidents happen to family members. Why do safety campaigns have such limited success and why do farm families bring this terrible gri...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociology of health & illness 2019-03, Vol.41 (3), p.470-483
Main Authors: Shortall, Sally, McKee, Annie, Sutherland, Lee‐Ann
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accidents
accidents and trauma
Accidents, Occupational - legislation & jurisprudence
Accidents, Occupational - psychology
Age Factors
Agriculture
Agriculture - standards
Campaigns
Families & family life
Family
Family owned businesses
family/kinship
Farmers
Farming
Fatalities
gender
Gender Identity
Grief
Humans
Occupational Health
professional socialisation
Relatives
Risk behavior
Risk-Taking
rural health
Sex Factors
Socialization
Sociological Factors
Threats
Women
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Summary:In the western world, farming is the most dangerous occupation with the highest rates of accidents and fatalities. Farming remains largely a family business and most accidents happen to family members. Why do safety campaigns have such limited success and why do farm families bring this terrible grief on themselves? This article argues that farm accidents are a persistent social pattern requiring analysis of how families are socialised to interact with the farming space. Based on qualitative data gathered for a Scottish study, it is argued that within farm families there is a socialisation and normalisation of danger. Accidents are to be expected. Two key arguments are advanced. First, danger is normalised and children are socialised to undertake risky behaviour. Second, it is suggested that when women do take up farming, they consciously undertake dangerous farming activities to prove that they are ‘authentic’ farmers. No previous research has considered women's approach to danger, and the existing literature suggests women are more safety conscious. This is not supported by our findings. We argue that farm accidents and fatalities are a persistent social problem because family members socialise each other to accept danger as the norm.
ISSN:0141-9889
1467-9566
DOI:10.1111/1467-9566.12824