Public Policies and Intimacy Towards Severe Illness
This text explores the role public policies play—or not—in the commitment relatives show to supporting their severely ill family members, especially spouses. During an anthropological study conducted in the French-speaking part of Switzerland between 2012 and 2016, we aimed to understand how the former dealt with the interconnection of work, family and care; and, consequently, take on the role of “family caregiver” that is promoted by public health systems. Based on thirty-nine end-of-life situations that we documented, where informal care was provided, we show—referring concretely here to five of them—that the individuals on the frontline are assigned to an intimate space where sharing is challenging, at times even impossible. This withdrawal into intimacy does not contribute to any construction of the self nor to any positive reinforcement of affective bonds. On the contrary, it amplifies doubts and uncertainties regarding the development of the illness and the future of the relations; this withdrawal confines these “family caregivers” to a space where questioning finds no answers. From this point of view, the differences of trajectories and destinies between the sick person and the relatives are to be seen in the interstices of what can be shared and what has to be silenced. The intimate sphere appears then as a zone of discomfort, that can place these relatives at odds with public health programs that strive to better support them and, simultaneously, to mobilize them to face the challenges posed by an aging population and the chronicization of illnesses.