I (o)kunskapens frånvaro. Kön och självmordsbeteenden inom suicidologi

Abstract

We still lack knowledge about what implications gender has in suicidal behaviours. This is particularly true when it comes to women's suicides and suicidal attempts. In this article I argue that one reason for this is that suicidology has had a "gender neutral" approach to it's research object. This has often meant that studies on men have been generalized to the whole "suicide population". When gender has been on the agenda, it has been treated in a problematic way. Through a critical analyses of the studies that have been done in this field, the article is able to show that the knowledge gap existing in suicidology is filled with traditional theories of gender roles. That is, mythology enters the knowledge-empty spaces. The article also discusses the serious consequenses this has for women seeking help fortheir suicidal thoughts. In spiteofthefact that women are overrepresented concerning both suicidal attempts and serious sucicidal thoughts, suicidology still doesn't picture womens suicidal behaviours as one of its primary issues.