Understanding occupational justice from the concept of territory: A proposal for occupational science

ABSTRACT

This article was developed based on dialogue and reflections during the First Occupational Justice and Social Inclusion Symposium in Chile, in 2016. It is intended as an invitation to discuss the relationship between territory and occupational justice. As a first step we review the concept of occupational justice and the forms of occupational injustice described to date. Subsequently, four elements of Gilberto Giménez’s (1996, 1999, 2005) concept of territory are introduced and their potential application in occupational science are explored from an occupational justice perspective. Building upon this, we propose a new form of occupational injustice, which we have named occupational displacement. Additionally, we suggest a potential use for this concept in the situation of campamentos or squatter settlements in Chile. In our opinion, an understanding of the situational basis of occupation can help delve deeper into the phenomena that underlie numerous situations of occupational injustice.

KEYWORDS:

• Occupational justice
• Territory
• Place
• Identity
• Migration

TAMBIÉN PUBLICADO EN ESPAÑOL:

• https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2018.1487262

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Faculty of Medicine of the Universidad Austral de Chile, for the support given to the Symposium that inspired this paper. To Lilian Magalhaes, for her guidance and kind words. This work was supported by a grant provided to the first autor by the National Commission of Scientific and Technological Research (Chile), [grant CONICYT-PFCHA/Doctorado Nacional/2017-21171279].

ORCID

Eugenia Pizarro http://orcid.org/0000–0002–5787–7642

Gail Whiteford http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6136-1844

Notes

1 Event held at Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile, on August 25 and 26, 2016.

2 The presentation dealt with a dissertation titled: “Construction of a land-based occupational identity of youth between 13 and 18 years old living in the Alto Guacamayo quarter in the city of Valdivia, Chile, 2016”, written by Silvana Estrella, Fernanda Figueroa, Francisca Helmke, and Claudia Pontigo with Eugenia Pizarro as their supervisor.

3 This issue has aspects in common with the concept of occupational apartheid. From the current perspective, however, emphasis is placed in the relationship between power and territory.

4 In Chile, squatter settlements are called “campamentos” or camps (T.N).

5 Several studies that are part of a growing group of investigations concerned with phenomena associated to the country’s housing policies were reviewed. Some of the most outstanding research lines are those by Isabel Brain, Francisco Sabatini and Rodrigo Hidalgo (2007, 2008, 2010, 2017).