[Dignity and respect for privacy]

Privacy is of paramount importance for building and maintaining self-esteem, an essential component of dignity. Defined as a space for the 'self', it is threatened by illness and healthcare interventions. For dignity to be preserved rather than violated, care must respect this space that is necessary for the individual; in other words, access to and sharing of this space must be negotiated. The carer who becomes intimate thus ceases to be a threat. For their part, they must in turn negotiate the non-threatening opening up of a part of their own privacy. Three key concepts of contemporary social ethics-hospitality, gift-giving and resonance-will be drawn upon as frameworks for understanding this closeness to be co-constructed.