Introduction

Feminist action has a long-established tradition in adult community learning (ACL). In the United Kingdom, the Workers’ Educational Association (WEA), the largest third sector provider of adult education, has its foundations in the labour movement and has also historically been allied to the women's movement (WEA, 2013). In the radical tradition, ‘serious, woman-centred education represents the intellectual dimension of the struggle for women's liberation. Its purpose is to raise consciousness, develop theories, clarify understanding and inform women's action for social change’ (Lovett, 1997, p 69). It can also provide a vital source of support for women and a means of finding solidarity with others (Thompson, 1997; Coare and Johnston, 2003; Schuller and Watson, 2009).

In this chapter, I reflect on the ways in which ACL provision can be a constructive response to social injustice and its psychological consequences for women (Williams and Lindley, 1996; Sheppard, 2002), one of which may be ‘alcohol misuse’. The chapter uses findings from a study of mental health ACL – provision that is targeted for mental health and often delivered in partnership with mental health agencies. It discusses alcohol problems among other imbricated consequences of the sociocultural contexts of women's everyday lives – domestic abuse, identity issues and depression (Staddon, 2011, 2013). The focus of the chapter is on the ways in which mental health ACL can provide a range of resources that can help engender agency freedom (Sen, 1999, 2010) for women in the context of social and mental health inequalities.

I begin by providing some background to inequalities and women's mental health before describing the study design. Findings are then set out. The conclusion summarises the findings and reflects on their implications for social policy and provisioning.

Women's mental health

Social determinants of health, and mental health more specifically, are driven by ‘inequities in power, money and resources’ (Marmot et al, 2010, p 10), by inequalities of capabilities (freedoms or opportunities that are a form of power; Sen, 1999, 2010) and of ‘capitals’ , or resources (see also Schuller et al, 2004; Friedli, 2009; Schuller and Watson, 2009). As an organising principle and system of relations, gender suffuses social life and is of particular significance for mental health because ‘while other social inequalities are also important, they are usually less central to our private lives and psychological functioning’ (Williams, 2005, p 152).