Struggles with the Devil Identity change among street

Struggles with the Devil: Identity change among street children and young offenders in rehab in Brazil Gisella Hanley Santos

Recovery and Identity Change l Role of identity transformation (Anderson 1998; Best et al. 2016; Biernacki 1986; Cain 1991; Kellogg 1993; Larkin and Griffiths 2002; Mc. Intosh and Mc. Keganey 2000; Reith and Dobbie 2012; Swora 2004) l Stigmatised ‘spoiled identity’ (Goffman 1963) l ‘[P]rocesses of behaviour change are embedded in wider social relations’ (Reith and Dobbie 2012: 511)

The Centre Catholic Therapeutic Community - 12 -steps of NA 30 to 40 boys (street children and young offenders) Drugs used: Crack-cocaine, cannabis, cocaine, alcohol, glue, paint thinner and ‘pills’

Research methods l Person-centred ethnography "anthropological attempts to develop experience-near ways of describing and analysing human behaviour, subjective experience, and psychological processes" (Hollan 1997: 219). l Participant observation and life-history interviews l 42 boys interviewed

‘This Life’ l l l Drug use Begging Offending: theft, burglary, drug trafficking Sex for drugs Codes of behaviour: ‘Law of the strongest’ / ‘Devil’s law’ Everyday life of violence “I wasn’t afraid of anything, I wasn’t afraid of death because I knew I would die anyway” (16 -yr-old Ivan)

Religious beliefs l l Catholicism, Protestant Pentecostalism, Kardecismo, Candomblé and Umbanda The rise of Pentecostalism in Brazil has brought talk of the Devil to the forefront “What leads us to use drugs, to do wrong things like, for sure it’s Him that puts bad things in our heads when we harm, when we come to take away people’s lives, because I think it’s Him that incorporates in us. Many times I got crazy that I remember when I began to drink I turned into an animal. I think it was Him that took over my body, I don’t know, and began to control my life. I did things that the next day I would think wow how did I have the courage to do this… If it was really me I wouldn’t have the courage to do it. For sure it was another person who was inside me. ”

Religious beliefs l Umbanda - three main groups of spirits: pretos velhos, caboclos and exús – Exú Zé Pilintra, Exú Tranca-Ruas, Exú Pombagira, Exú Maria Padilha “There were times that I did as she wished. . . I had sex with women, with everything. I couldn’t help it. Because when she descends there’s no way you can control yourself. ”

12 -step program Carole Cain (1991) – Research on Alcoholics Anonymous l Cain (1991: 215) distinguishes between a period of identity diffusion followed by a period of identity reconstitution whereby ‘the AA member learns the AA story model, and learns to place the events and experiences of his own life into the model’. l In ‘acquiring a new identity, individuals must understand the identity, internalise it, and become emotionally attached to it’ (Cain 1991: 218).

12 -step ‘stories’ – Forming an ‘addict’ identity l l l l l “Made my family suffer” “Made my mother cry” “Lost the trust of my family” “It was prison or death for me” “I’m tired of being beat up by the police” “I lived to use and used to live” “If I had to choose my girlfriend or my mother over the drug I would choose the drug” “It was my bad behaviour that led me to drugs” “I used drugs to fill an emptiness inside” “I only thought of God during hard times”

Belief in a Higher Power 1. 2. 3. We admitted we were powerless over our addiction—that our lives had become unmanageable. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

A focus on personal responsibility l Battle between ‘good and evil’ l ‘The Devil is sitting on my shoulder’ l Temptation to ‘do bad’

l Management of stigma and shame l Victim of ‘evil’ rather than agent of ‘evil’

Carlinhos – 12 years old l Carried pictures of saints in his pockets Regularly went to church Guia blessed by the priest l ‘I relapsed only once’ l l

Pedro – 17 years old l l l “She said that I had the gift to help people, with dignity, with affection. ” “That stayed with me until today. It was important for me. I think it was God who sent this in her. It was the first time I heard that” “I have this desire … to give my testimony and say that God changed my life. God there gave me salvation. God gave me happiness, peace … I want to share, to talk there at the front there, with everyone there. I see that this is cool. You can be sure that the people will clap there, at what I said there, right. It will be very cool, very cool. ”

Fernando – 17 years old l “To tell you the truth the Devil took a hold over my life without me having given my life over to him [in a pact]. By the time I realised I was already in the palm of his hand. I was already a wild animal. ” l Reinterpreting his visions at the centre l ‘I saw an angel in the sky’

Conclusion l Identity change is socially situated l Draw on cultural and religious frameworks to give meaning to program discourse and process of change l Management of stigma and shame

Contact info Gisella Hanley Santos gisella. hanleysantos@plymouth. ac. uk