Ethics
Whispers of Care brings together materials emerging from mental health care settings where vulnerability, coercion, and unequal power relations are often present. This archive is guided by an ethic of care that prioritises the safety, dignity, and autonomy of those whose lives and experiences appear, directly or indirectly, within it.
Consent and Participation
Materials included in this archive are shared with care and deliberation. Where contributions are offered by people with lived experience of mental health care, consent is treated as an ongoing process rather than a one-time agreement. Contributors may choose the form, level of detail, and mode of representation through which their experiences are shared.
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Participation is voluntary, and contributors retain the right to withdraw their material at any time.
Anonymity and Representation
Names, identifying details, and contextual markers are altered or withheld where necessary to protect privacy and safety. In some cases, narratives are intentionally partial, fragmented, or anonymised beyond recognition.
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This archive does not aim to provide transparent or complete accounts. Silence, omission, and refusal are understood as meaningful ethical choices rather than absences to be corrected.
Limits of the archive
Whispers of Care is not a comprehensive record of mental health care in India, nor does it claim to represent all experiences, perspectives, or settings. The materials gathered here reflect specific sites, moments, relationships, and conditions of access.
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The archive should not be read as a diagnostic, clinical, or evaluative account of individuals or institutions.
Use and Circulation
Materials from this archive are not to be reproduced, circulated, or cited without appropriate care and context. Readers are asked to engage with the archive attentively, recognising the vulnerability and specificity of the experiences shared.
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If you wish to reference or use material from this archive for research, teaching, or publication, please do so responsibly and with attribution.
Support and Accountability
The development of Whispers of Care has been supported by the Spring 2025 Researchers in the Global South Grant, awarded by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (APA Division 9), to Neha Jain.
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This support does not imply endorsement of all interpretations or uses of the material presented here. Responsibility for the archive’s content, curation, and ethical commitments rests with its assembler.