Stigma power, race and public accountability: an exploration of the hard lockdown of public housing in Melbourne

This study explores the intersection between stigma and accountability in the context of a disaster. We draw on the notion of stigma power to explore the COVID-19 pandemic-related hard lockdown of nine public housing towers in Melbourne, Australia, in July 2020. We investigate how stigma is implicated in the construction and operationalisation of systems of public accountability in relation to this disaster. The study adopts a qualitative approach and data is collected from secondary sources (including the Victorian Ombudsman’s report, media reports and social media posts) and 16 in-depth interviews with residents and a wide range of stakeholders. Our findings highlight the complexity of stigma which attaches to public housing and its residents and shows how stigma is drawn upon to create an image of residents as a danger to the public who are not owed care and accountability but rather need to be controlled, isolated and made to account for themselves. The study also shows how residents demonstrate care and accountability to themselves through resistance and how resistance to stigma drives the demand for accountability. This study is original as it provides new insights into the intersection between stigma and accountability particularly during times of crisis.