Hunger striking has been recognized as a form of political protest for many years but surprisingly little published work on hunger strikers (H.S.) exists in medical literature. We present twelve cases of H.S. They were identified from a female remand prison (7), a Special Hospital (4) and a psychiatric hospital (1). Seven of the twelve were psychotic and these were more likely to refuse drink as well as food. In four cases the motivation was concerned with protest against personal injustice. These were the four longest H.S. The possible associations between H.S. and anorexia nervosa is discussed.
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British Medical Association (1974) Ethical Statement. British Medical Journal2, 52.
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TroisierS. (1980) Les Grèves de la faim. Acta Med Leg. Soc. (Liège) 30 (1), 219–25.
