2021
Pictures and news of the current situation in Afghanistan are disturbing and can be triggering and bring flashbacks.
How to calm down if you are triggered? Yourself, family or friends.Grounding exercises and stabilization techniquesIt may be helpful to know a little bit about trauma and what type of mental and physical reactions that are common among survivors of severe human rights violations, both for survivors and for people who are close to a survivor.
Information about how the brain works and why we as human beings react the way we do in traumatic events can be useful. This may provide the survivor with the knowledge and ability to deal with her/his problems in alternative ways. Knowledge means that the survivor understands what traumatic events may do to a person, what she/he may expect and is aware of the reactions she/he may have. We believe that the more a person is aware and knowledgeable about her/his problem and how it affects her/his life and the lives of others, the more control she/he can have over her/his life and the better the person can deal with and live with the reactions. In this way, information about trauma may empower both the survivor and you as a person who is close to a survivor.
‘Trauma’ means wound. In both medicine and psychology, it refers to major physical or mental injuries, including threats to life or physical integrity.
Some key things to know about trauma:
-The situation is overwhelming, inescapable and very frightening
-Threaten life and integrity
-Loss of control and beyond what we are prepared to deal with
-Most people will struggle with serious reactions such as intrusive memories, re-experiences, flashbacks and sleeping problems afterward
-Suffering can be recognized in thoughts, feelings, breathing, heart and body
A ‘traumatic event’ is one that has the capacity to cause mental or physical trauma. Faced by such an event, the immediate response of the body and the mind is to struggle for survival. Behaviorally this is expressed by ‘fight, flight or freeze responses, submission or ‘playing dead’. A severe traumatic event often changes the way in which survivors understand the world around them. They may lose their sense of safety and feel vulnerable and helpless. If the event involves acts of violence and the intention to hurt, trust in other people may be lost and the survivor’s relationships with others seriously disturbed. Personal encounters with human or man-made violence are considered the most disturbing forms of trauma, likely to have the most lasting impact.
Loss of safety, control and trust commonly leads to depression (deep sadness, loss of the will to live, etc.) or anxiety. It is important to emphasize that the reactions that survivors experience are “normal” reactions to an abnormal event. The survivor is not crazy!
Some important things to know about acute trauma:
- When a person is traumatized, her/his feelings are intense and chaotic
- Fear and shame may cause a survivor to withdraw and refuse social contact
- Trauma cases a survivor’s confidence to collapse
- It is important to act but, at the same time, you as someone who can support the survivor must allow the survivor to decide at what point she/he is ready to make contact and open a conversation
Flashbacks are sudden, often strong, and uncontrollable re-experiences of a traumatic event or elements of that event. Survivors may feel disconnected from their bodily sensations and feel numb or may be unable to recall traumatic memories. A state of heightened arousal is also quite usual. Survivors may be on their guard all the time, startle easily, sleep poorly, be irritable, or find it difficult to remember and concentrate. A personal encounter with violence and death may also haunt the survivor, who may painfully re-experience the event in dreams or daily life (also called intrusion). We call the reminders that cause intrusion ‘triggers’.
Triggers, or trauma-reminders, are events, objects or situations that remind survivors of their painful experiences and memories. Such reminders may elicit trauma reactions over and over again. They can be extremely distressing and create such anxiety that people are afraid to go out, see people, hear certain sounds, or do many ordinary usual things.
Some key points to know about triggers:
- Unexpected situations can suddenly trigger trauma reactions
- It is possible to prepare against these, by using the senses to feel more present
Calming a survivor who has been triggered:
In order to help a survivor, it is useful to assist her/him in coming back to the here and now. You may say things like this to the survivor:
- “You are at home/a café/in a park (or where you are at the present moment) now”
- “You are safe here in this room”
- “You are here now and not where the traumatic event happened”
- “You are strong and courageous”
- “Remember to breathe”
- “Look around, try to be present here and now” (for example, you can point at different objects in the room and say things like “Do you see the white table over there? Do you see the green carpet? The yellow chair?”)
You may also practice grounding exercises together and try to use them if/when the survivor is being triggered.
We have now provided you with information about how trauma and traumatic events may affect the body and the mind. We hope that this information will be helpful in understanding your/the survivor’s reactions better. We have also given some information about how to calm a survivor who has been triggered.
The grounding exercises that we have described under the heading Self-care: grounding exercises explain how practicing grounding exercises regularly, either alone or together, may help the survivor to deal with traumatic memories, triggers, flashbacks and nightmares if they occur. We, therefore, recommend that you have a look at the page with grounding exercises and try some of them. Maybe this can be helpful in handling the trauma reactions, making good decisions for oneself and others, and take some control back in life.
Remember that, with time, most survivors will get better. Also, remember that nobody can take your dignity away from you. You are you.
Mental Health and Human Rights Info (MHHRI) Newsletter June 2021
MHHRI provides information about mental health and human rights violations
Newsletter No 3 2021
The invisible problem:
What do we know about sexual violence against boys and men?
Overview of content:
The invisible problem:
What do we know about sexual violence against boys and men?
Download the MHHRI GBV manual
Upcoming Events
—————
Living with trauma in the country of arrival
Many male refugees who arrive or live in the country of refugee, live with the trauma that is too difficult for most people to understand. Some have even experienced sexual abuse on their travel to a safe haven.
Abuse is a heavy and brutal topic that often can be difficult to talk about. But the precondition for the survivors to be heard, seen, and helped is that we, as a society, are aware of the problem. How did the abuse take place, and what are the short as well as long term consequences? Knowledge about how the problem can be met must be strengthened and made available, especially among those who in their daily work meet with boys and men that might have been abused.
Invisible problem
Sexual abuse of men breaks with the traditional image of a man who can both defend himself and retaliate and has therefore often not been taken seriously. In addition, shame and guilt contribute to men failing to report sexual violence in captivity, in connection with acts of war, or in connection with flight. This causes the problem to remain invisible and that help becomes difficult to seek and find.
Society owes vulnerable boys and men to acknowledge the problem and take it seriously. Space must be opened to take the difficult conversation. The fact that men do not ask for help, and that helpers may rarely encounter stories of this type of abuse, does not mean that the problem doesn’t exist.
Research in conflict-affected areas in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) found that almost a quarter of the men had experienced sexual violence. Another survey showed that almost half of the men living in a conflict-affected part of Sudan had experienced or witnessed sexual abuse. In Liberia, one-third of former male soldiers reported that they had experienced sexual violence in various contexts, another survey reports.
Video: click and watch the video
Disabled and LGBTQ people
Furthermore, in addition to women and girls, also male refugees alongside vulnerable groups such as LGBTQ + and people with disabilities experience sexual violence in the migration process. Twenty percent of rapes reported to the Gender-based Violence Information Management System (GBV IMS) in Lebanon from January to May 2016 were from boys and men. A study among refugees and asylum seekers in Morocco shows that men were victims in 53 of 142 reported rape incidents. A survey by Médecins Sans Frontières found that 17.2% of the 429 refugees who reported sexual abuse while in transit through Mexico fleeing violence in Central America were men.
We need to strengthen the focus and knowledge about this topic. As a society that receives refugees and others with such experiences, it is vital that we have a support system that is prepared and available. It is an important goal that survivors know where they can seek help, both in the health service system and in asylum reception centers. The helper should be prepared and able to meet the person in the best possible way, past attitudes of taboo and shame.
Sexual violence as a weapon
Not all countries have criminalized rape or sexual abuse of men. At the same time, there is little doubt that all forms of sexual violence in conflict must be considered a violation of international human rights and therefore considered illegal.
Sexual violence in war and conflict is often referred to as “weapons in war” and can in many contexts also be described as torture or inhuman treatment. The intention is to humiliate, control and intimidate a population by breaking down social ties and dignity.
In many societies, it will be taboo for men to talk openly about torture, and in particular about sexual abuse. This makes the topic extra painful and difficult to deal with. A stronger effort to shed light on this in the public debate is needed. At the same time, there will always be a difficult balance with regard to what kind of information is presented, and the possibility that it may also be misused in an ongoing conflict.
More awareness and knowledge about the problem
The first step is to recognize and raise awareness of the problem. We cannot fight a problem that we do not know exists.
Everyone’s voice is important and necessary to prevent sexual violence. By spreading more awareness and knowledge about the problem, we are increasing the number of allies who can support survivors and prevent sexual violence. We need to know where, when and how abuse occurs, to be able to do something about the problem, and to know where to use our resources. We need to know about the problem in order to do something about it. Change starts with awareness.
Working for a society without sexual violence means that we as a community take into account the needs of the most marginalised and invisible survivors.
In 2021 MHHRI in collaboration with The Norwegian Council for Mental Health (NCMH) have received funding from Dam Foundation and Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) to develop a handbook for helpers working with boys and men exposed to sexual violence in war and conflict situations and to share information related to the topic.
Download the manual Mental health and gender-based violence: Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict for free from our GBV web page. The manual is also available in Arabic, Russian, Spanish, Nepalese, Ukrainian, and Portuguese. We have also created an online training on gender-based violence manual. This training material has been written for those who provide assistance and support to women who survive gender-based violence and sexual trauma during disasters, wars, and conflicts. Furthermore, we hope it may be helpful as well to those who work with gender-based violence survivors in other settings. Please share the manual and spread it among your colleagues, organizations, or in your community.
Facebook and Instagram
On our MHHRI Facebook page, and on Instagram we are continuously posting new and relevant articles that we add to our website, as well as events and videos.
Upcoming Events
IRCT symposium in Georgia
Postponed
2021 IRCT Scientific Symposium & General Assembly
Overcoming the Extreme: Life after Torture
2021 in Tbilisi, Georgia (more information will follow)
Cinema Human Rights and Advocacy
16th edition of the Summer School
in Cinema Human Rights and Advocacy
30 August – 8 September 2021
4th European Conference on Domestic Violence
September 13th – 15th 2021 | online from Slovenia
Global challenges in health, migration, and equity
ECTMIH 2021
28. September – 1. October Bergen | Norway
ICP2021-Virtual
Psychology in Action –
Promoting Equity and Justice in an Age of Uncertainty
22-24. October
22nd Nordic Conference For Professionals
Working With Traumatised Refugees
Rescheduled 9-10.12.2021 | Helsinki, Finland
The 11th International Society for Health and Human Rights (ISHHR) Conference
All being well, the International Society for Health and Human Rights looks forward to welcoming you to the 11th ISHHR conference and program of capacity building in Medellin, Colombia 2021/2022 (tentative dates).
The ISHHR Conference and Capacity-Building Workshops will focus on themes relevant in a Colombian context, for both local and international participants, in cooperation with Región and Reconectando.
- Strengthening Women’s Rights to Mental Health and Freedom from Violence – by changing behavior, practices and attitudes and facilitating safe and adequate care.
- Supporting Human Rights Defenders who risk their lives in difficult and dangerous situations, side by side with families of victims of enforced disappearance and internally displaced (IDPs).
- Treatment methods after traumatic human rights abuse. Remembering the body, promoting resilience; arts and culture, traditional and indigenous approaches.
- Post-conflict reconciliation, reconstruction and re-socialisation Community mental health, justice human ecology, ethnic approaches to social action, empowerment and reconciliation.
We appreciate feedback and comments
The Mental Health and Human Rights Info Newsletter is a newsletter with the aim to provide insight on a certain subject across the scope of our work; human rights violations in war and conflict areas and mental health. Our intention is to deliver a newsletter as a short “lecture” where you can find relevant information regarding a specific subject with a mental health perspective.
We would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions on other issues you would like to see in this newsletter or if you are planning an event on related issues, please let us know so we can include your event in our newsletter.
If you know anyone who would be interested in receiving this e-newsletter, please forward it, and encourage them to sign up.
Take care – and wishing you all the best.
Sincerely yours,
Elisabeth Langdal, Sara Skilbred, Mónica Orjuela, the MHHRI team
Mental Health and Human Rights Info
post@hhri.org
www.hhri.org
Mental Health and Human Rights Info (MHHRI) Newsletter April 2021
MHHRI provides information about mental health and human rights violations View this email in your browser
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Overview of content:
Sexual Assault Awareness Month
What do we know about the issue?
How can we all contribute to change?
Download the MHHRI GBV manual
Upcoming Event
Sexual Assault Awareness Month is an annual campaign with the aim to raise awareness about the issue and to educate people around the world about preventing sexual assault.
“Systems of oppression give greater social power to some people over others based on race, gender, sexual orientation, ability, and other aspects of identity. Working towards a future without sexual violence means that advocates, survivors, and communities need to respond to a complex and layered reality that centers the needs of those survivors most marginalized, silenced, and unseen”.
California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA)
Video: Male Survivors of Sexual Violence in War
MHHRI’s focus is on people of all sexual orientations, women, men and children who are exposed to human rights violations such as sexual violence in war and conflict. It can happen to anyone of any race, gender, economic status, ability, or age. All forms of sexual assault are violations of human rights and therefore illegal.
What do we know about the issue?
By sexual assault we mean any sexual act that survivors have been exposed to without their consent. Also, taking advantage of a victim’s incapacity to give genuine consent is considered abuse. An example is trading food for sex, which can be a form of coercion. Sexual violence in war and conflict is often considered a “weapon of war” and could classify as an act of torture. The overall aim of sexual violence is to humiliate, control and intimidate a person or a population to disrupt social ties.
It is difficult to estimate the prevalence of conflict-related sexual violence. An important reason is underreporting, which results from the intimidation and stigmatization of survivors. Females are more likely to be victims of sexual and gender-based violence, as well as LGBTQ+ and people with disability, but also a high number of men and boys are violated during war and conflict.
In order to create societal change, we need to break down taboos and shame around the topic, so it becomes less taboo to talk about it. We need to recognize the problem, dare to address it and require zero tolerance for sexual violence. Fortunately, based on the hard work of advocates and local organizations in the past decade, global understanding of the horrific impacts of conflict-related sexual violence has increased.
How can we all contribute to change?
We at MHHRI provide a resource database with free information about the consequences of human rights violations on mental health in contexts of disaster, conflict, and war. We wish to give necessary support and resources to survivors of sexual assault, their families, and helpers.
Everyone’s voice is important and necessary in preventing sexual violence. By spreading more awareness and educating people on the issue, we increase our number of allies to support survivors and prevent sexual violence before it happens.
We need to know where, when and how it happens to be able to do something about the problem, to know where to use our resources. Put simply: We need to know about the problem to be able to do something about it.
Change starts with awareness.
Further resources:
Resources for male survivors (in Norwegian)
Gender-based violence
Violence against women, girls, men, and boys manifests itself in physical, sexual, and psychological forms. Even so, during times of instability, women and girls are disproportionately impacted by sexual and gender-based violence.
Are you a survivor?
Dear survivor and those of you who are close to a survivor. Having one’s human rights violated can lead to painful short and/or long-term physical and/or psychological consequences. In the following, you can find information and resources that we hope will be of help to take the first steps to move on in life.
Online training course about gender-based violence
If you are working with or assisting survivors of gender-based violence or involved in training of helpers working directly with survivors, this is a good resource for you.
Q&A: sexual violence in armed conflict
International committee of the red cross, 2016
The ICRC firmly believes that sexual violence in armed conflicts can be stopped. Through a comprehensive response including assistance, protection and prevention it seeks to ensure that the needs of victims are met and that activities to prevent these crimes are undertaken. The ICRC has committed to improving its response over the next four years, by enhancing and expanding its programs and strengthening its capacity to address this.
Download the manual Mental health and gender-based violence: Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict for free from our GBV web page. The manual is also available in Arabic, Russian, Spanish, Nepalese, Ukrainian, and Portuguese. We have also created an online training on gender-based violence manual. This training material has been written for those who provide assistance and support to women who survive gender-based violence and sexual trauma during disasters, wars, and conflicts. Furthermore, we hope it may be helpful as well to those who work with gender-based violence survivors in other settings. Please share the manual and spread it among your colleagues, organizations, or in your community.
Facebook and Instagram
On our MHHRI Facebook page, and on Instagram we are continuously posting new and relevant articles that we add to our website, as well as events and videos.
Upcoming Events
Free online global health research in the last decades
Parallel session 1: Symposium 1 is focusing on Mental health
Online 20 – 21 April 2021
IRCT symposium in Georgia – postponed
2021 IRCT Scientific Symposium & General Assembly
Overcoming the Extreme: Life after Torture
2021 in Tbilisi, Georgia (more information will follow)
17th biennial conference of the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
Trauma and resilience through the ages: A life course perspective.
01- 04 June 2022
Northern Ireland.
Cinema Human Rights and Advocacy
16th edition of the Summer School
in Cinema Human Rights and Advocacy
30 August – 8 September 2021
4th European Conference on Domestic Violence
September 13th – 15th 2021 | online from Slovenia
Global challenges in health, migration, and equity
ECTMIH 2021
28. September – 1. October Bergen | Norway
22nd Nordic Conference For Professionals
Working With Traumatised Refugees
Rescheduled 9-10.12.2021 | Helsinki, Finland
The 11th International Society for Health and Human Rights (ISHHR) Conference
All being well, the International Society for Health and Human Rights looks forward to welcoming you to the 11th ISHHR conference and programme of capacity building in Medellin, Colombia 2021/2022 (tentative dates).
The ISHHR Conference and Capacity-Building Workshops will focus on themes relevant in a Colombian context, for both local and international participants, in cooperation with Región and Reconectando.
- Strengthening Women’s Rights to Mental Health and Freedom from Violence – by changing behavior, practices and attitudes and facilitating safe and adequate care.
- Supporting Human Rights Defenders who risk their lives in difficult and dangerous situations, side by side with families of victims of enforced disappearance and internally displaced (IDPs).
- Treatment methods after traumatic human rights abuse. Remembering the body, promoting resilience; arts and culture, traditional and indigenous approaches.
- Post-conflict reconciliation, reconstruction and re-socialisation Community mental health, justice human ecology, ethnic approaches to social action, empowerment and reconciliation.
We appreciate feedback and comments
The Mental Health and Human Rights Info Newsletter is a newsletter with the aim to provide insight on a certain subject across the scope of our work; human rights violations in war and conflict areas and mental health. Our intention is to deliver a newsletter as a short “lecture” where you can find relevant information regarding a specific subject with a mental health perspective.
We would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions on other issues you would like to see in this newsletter or if you are planning an event on related issues, please let us know so we can include your event in our newsletter.
If you know anyone who would be interested in receiving this e-newsletter, please forward it, and encourage them to sign up.
Take care – and wishing you all the best.
Sincerely yours,
Elisabeth Langdal, Sara Skilbred, Mónica Orjuela, the MHHRI team
Mental Health and Human Rights Info
post@hhri.org
www.hhri.org
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Mental Health and Human Rights Info (MHHRI) Newsletter March 2021
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Boletín en español
NEWSLETTER NO. 1 March 2021
Are you a survivor?
A new page on the MHHRI website
Overview of content:
For survivors: A new page on the MHHRI website
Meet a new friend: Global Network of Psychologists for Human Rights
Download the MHHRI GBV manual
Upcoming Events
Dear friends and colleagues
Our colleague Anne Margrethe Sønneland was interviewing survivors of human rights violations and observing court cases in Peru and Argentina for her PhD dissertation. In this process, Sønneland realized that many survivors had a lack of knowledge and information about their trauma reactions. Some suffered from a range of symptoms even decades after the traumatic event(s) took place and received no or very little professional help and support. Based on this experience, Anne Margrethe understood that the lack of information had serious consequences for these individuals, their families, and their communities. Also, from a human rights perspective, the lack of information and support is something that should be taken very seriously and needs to be changed. Therefore, Anne Margrethe contacted MHHRI and encouraged us to create a page with information for survivors.
We are very pleased to share this new page that is written for survivors of serious human rights violations. On the new For Survivors page, we start with two letters, one written to survivors and one written to people who are close to survivors. In these letters, we discuss the things that we consider to be the most important things that survivors and the people that are close to them should know. We also provide more information about human rights and the specific rights of survivors, human rights violations, concepts and words that are being used, rehabilitation and healing, self-care through grounding exercises, examples from different countries, the Butterfly Woman story as well as a collection of organizations and web pages that may be useful for further support.
We hope that the information on the new Are you a Survivor page will provide some help to the many survivors who might lack some form of support. The page can also be a supplement to support from local support groups, specialized care, or others.
We hope that the page will be widely known and used. Therefore, we kindly ask you to share this newsletter and the information about the page with any person or organisation for whom you believe it may be of interest.
Please do not hesitate to contact us with tips, ideas, reactions, and questions about the new Survivors page. We would truly appreciate all the feedback we can get from you.
If you want further information on how to support survivors of human rights violations, we have made a thematic page for helpers, teachers, families, and friends that need more information and relevant links.
Meet a new friend of ours
Global Network of Psychologists for
Human Rights (GNPHR),
The GNPHR provides an independent global platform for psychologists concerned about human rights, by
- providing a global platform to promoting knowledge and discussion about the intersection of human rights and psychology among psychologists and psychology students; in their research, practice, application, and consultation;
- providing a bridge between the global community of psychologists and international human rights initiatives, practices and knowledge;
- supporting psychologists confronted with human rights violations;
- advocating for the improvement of human rights application, and for the support of victims of violations;
- highlighting human rights activities, scholarship, and achievements of psychologists from all parts of the world.
Please get acquainted with their website
Download the manual Mental health and gender-based violence: Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict for free. The manual is also available in Arabic, Russian, Spanish, Nepalese, Ukrainian and Portuguese. This training material has been written for those who provide assistance and support to women who survive gender-based violence and sexual trauma during disasters, wars and conflicts. Furthermore, we hope it may be helpful as well to those who work with gender-based violence survivors in other settings. Please share the manual and spread it among your colleagues, organizations or in your community.
Facebook
On our MHHRI Facebook page, we are continuously posting new and relevant articles that we add to our web site, as well as events and videos.
Upcoming Events
IRCT symposium in Georgia – postponed
2021 IRCT Scientific Symposium & General Assembly
Overcoming the Extreme: Life after Torture
2021 in Tbilisi, Georgia (more information will follow)
17th biennial conference of the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
Trauma and resilience through the ages: A life course perspective.
01- 04 June 2022
Northern Ireland.
4th European Conference on Domestic Violence
September 13th – 15th 2021 | online from Slovenia
22nd Nordic Conference For Professionals
Working With Traumatised Refugees
Rescheduled 9-10.12.2021 | Helsinki, Finland
The 11th International Society for Health and Human Rights (ISHHR) Conference
All being well, the International Society for Health and Human Rights looks forward to welcoming you to the 11th ISHHR conference and program of capacity building in Medellin, Colombia February 2021 (tentative dates).
The ISHHR Conference and Capacity-Building Workshops will focus on themes relevant in a Colombian context, for both local and international participants, in cooperation with Región and Reconectando.
- Strengthening Women’s Rights to Mental Health and Freedom from Violence – by changing behaviour, practices and attitudes and facilitating safe and adequate care.
- Supporting Human Rights Defenders who risk their lives in difficult and dangerous situations, side by side with families of victims of enforced disappearance and internally displaced (IDPs).
- Treatment methods after traumatic human rights abuse. Remembering the body, promoting resilience; arts and culture, traditional and indigenous approaches.
- Post-conflict reconciliation, reconstruction and re-socialisation Community mental health, justice human ecology, ethnic approaches to social action, empowerment and reconciliation.
We appreciate feedback and comments The Mental Health and Human Rights Info Newsletter is a newsletter with the aim to provide insight on a certain subject across the scope of our work; human rights violations in war and conflict areas and mental health. Our intention is to deliver a newsletter as a short “lecture” where you can find relevant information regarding a specific subject with a mental health perspective.We would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions on other issues you would like to see in this newsletter or if you are planning an event on related issues, please let us know so we can include your event in our newsletter.If you know anyone who would be interested in receiving this e-newsletter, please forward it, and encourage them to sign up.
Take care – and wishing you all the best.
Sincerely yours,
the MHHRI team
Elin Doeland, Elisabeth Langdal, Sara Skilbred Fjeld, Mónica Orjuela,
Mental Health and Human Rights Info
post@hhri.org
www.hhri.org
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2020
View the original newsletter in your browser.
Boletín en español
Newsletter No. 5 November 2020
Overview of content:
- Psychological first aid tools for working in areas with little access to mental health care
- Providing psychological first aid
- Further reading and resources
- Download the MHHRI GBV manual
- Upcoming Events
Dear friends and colleagues
Psychological support tools for working in areas with little access to mental health care
Article 12 in the UN Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
Nevertheless, in many countries people lack access to mental health care. Refugees and displaced populations are among those who often face barriers in accessing professional mental health services.
Mental health problems such as depression can be a strain for oneself and for the surrounding family and may in some cases even lead to suicide. Especially low-income countries struggle to keep up with the demand for psychological care due to lack of funding and facilities. Therefore, a lack of (and access to) professionals arises.
On a global basis, researchers believe that the loss of health due to mental illness is greater than with all other illnesses. Mental illness tops the list of causes of excess morbidity. It is therefore important to raise awareness about this issue and to advocate for better access to mental health care. Our team at MHHRI provides useful resources about mental health and human rights on our website.
A wide gap in mental health support in areas where humanitarian access is difficult, calls for innovative measures. WHO developed Self-Help Plus (SH+) to meet the challenges of delivering evidence-based mental health support to large numbers of people in conflict- or disaster-affected areas.
SH+ is a group-based self-help intervention guided by non-specialist facilitators with minimal training. It consists of a five-session pre-recorded audio course and an illustrated self-help book designed for low literacy populations.
Guided self-help is a promising intervention and has potential to improve reach and access to psychological support. So far research findings indicate that SH+ has great effect on reductions in psychological distress.
Here, we also want to mention some other initiatives aiming to make mental health care more available. One example is the manual “Where there is no psychiatrist – A Mental Health Care Manual”, which gives the reader a basic understanding of mental illness. It also provides training for general health workers to treat illnesses such as depression.
Another example is psychiatrist Dixon Chibanda, who had an innovative idea on how to provide mental health care in Zimbabwe, where there is a lack of psychiatrists. He started training grandmothers in evidence-based talk therapy, which equipped them with tools to treat depression among people in their community. This approach showed great results, reducing both depression and thoughts of suicide.
In these times of COVID-19 we should remember the words of WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: “The right to health means that everyone should have access to the health services they need, when and where they need them, without suffering financial hardship. No one should get sick and die just because they are poor, or because they cannot access the health services they need”.
During the Coronavirus outbreak, it is especially important that we are reminded of this fundamental right. Key aspects of the right to health that are particularly important during the Coronavirus outbreak included. For more information related to COVID-19 and mental health, go back to our newsletter no 1 of March 2020.
Further reading and resources:
Where There Is No Psychiatrist – A Mental Health Care Manual.
Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2018
“This practical manual of mental health care is vital for community health workers, primary care nurses, social workers and primary care doctors, particularly in low-resource settings. This guide gives the reader a basic understanding of mental illness by describing more than thirty clinical problems associated with mental illness and uses a problem-solving approach to guide the reader through their assessment and management. Mental health issues as they arise in specific contexts are described – in refugee camps, in school health programmes, as well as in mental health promotion.”
Guided self-help intervention reduces refugees’ psychological distress and improves wellbeing in humanitarian crises
WHO 2020
“First randomised trial of its kind finds multimedia guided self-help intervention can be delivered rapidly to large numbers of people in low-resource humanitarian settings by non-specialists with minimal training. […] The study is the first randomised trial of a guided self-help group intervention in a low-resource humanitarian setting. Although longer follow-up is needed to determine the long-term effects of the intervention, the authors say that guided self-help could be a promising first-line strategy to address the vast gap in mental health support in areas where humanitarian access is difficult, such as South Sudan and Syria.”
Guided self-help intervention reduces refugees’ psychological distress and improves wellbeing in humanitarian crises.
TED Talk: Why I train grandmothers to treat depression
Dixon Chibanda, 2017
“Dixon Chibanda is one of 12 psychiatrists in Zimbabwe – for a population of more than 16 million. Realizing that his country would never be able to scale traditional methods of treating those with mental health issues, Chibanda helped to develop a beautiful solution powered by a limitless resource: grandmothers. In this extraordinary, inspirational talk, learn more about the friendship bench program, which trains grandmothers in evidence-based talk therapy and brings care, and hope, to those in need.”
Effect of a Primary Care–Based Psychological Intervention on Symptoms of Common Mental Disorders in Zimbabwe. A Randomized Clinical Trial.
Dixon Chibanda, Helen A. Weiss, Ruth Verhey et. al, 2016
“Zimbabwe has a large treatment gap for common mental disorders, with only 10 psychiatrists serving a population of 13 million. Prevalence of common mental disorders above 25% has been reported among adult primary care attendees,5-8 but there are no psychological services in primary health care. A potentially feasible approach to improve this situation would require task shifting, allowing properly trained and supervised lay health workers (LHWs) in primary care to contribute to the treatment of common mental disorders. […] Problem-solving therapy is an attractive option in a low-resource context because, unlike cognitive behavior therapy, it does not require extensive training or complex skills.”
Mental Health Among Displaced People and Refugees: Making the Case for Action at The World Bank Group
World Bank Group, 2017
“Forcibly displaced people’s mental health needs have often been neglected in response plans. Yet meeting these needs is critical to help displaced persons overcome trauma and rebuild their lives. Without appropriate mental health care, forcibly displaced people will often be unable to benefit fully from other forms of support that are provided to them. […] A shared commitment is needed from national and international actors to champion mental health parity in the provision of health and social services, including in humanitarian emergencies. High priority should go to identifying alternative sources of financing for mental health parity in health systems.”
Digital technology for treating and preventing mental disorders in low-income and middle-income countries: a narrative review of the literature
Naslund, Aschbrenner, Bartels et.al, 2017
“Few individuals living with mental disorders around the globe have access to mental health care, yet most have access to a mobile phone. Digital technology holds promise for improving access to, and quality of, mental health care.
We reviewed evidence on the use of mobile, online, and other remote technologies for treatment and prevention of mental disorders in low-income and middle-income countries. Of the 49 studies identified, most were preliminary evaluations of feasibility and acceptability. The findings were promising, showing the potential effectiveness of online, text-messaging, and telephone support interventions.”
Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP)
WHO launched the mental health gap action programme (mhGAP) in response to the wide gap between the resources available and the resources urgently needed to address the large burden of mental, neurological, and substance use disorders globally. Through mhGAP, WHO aims to provide health planners, policy-makers, and donors with a set of clear and coherent activities and programmes for scaling up care for mental, neurological and substance use disorders.
Digital Technology for Building Capacity of Non-specialist Health Workers for Task-Sharing and Scaling Up Mental Health Care Globally
Naslund, Shidhaye & Patel, 2019
“In this perspectives article, we consider the potential that digital technology holds for supporting non-specialist health workers in delivering evidence-based mental health care. Specifically, from our search of the academic literature, we identified seven promising examples from primary care settings in different low-income and middle-income countries (including India, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Peru, China, and Nigeria) where digital platforms are being used to support delivery of mental health care from a variety of non-specialist providers by offering training, digital tools for diagnosis, guiding treatment, facilitating supervision, and integrating services.”
Achieving universal health coverage for mental disorders
Patel & Saxena, 2019
“A key element of the field of global mental health is the design and evaluation of innovative strategies for integrating cost effective pharmacological and psychosocial interventions in primary healthcare. The evidence from this work, from a range of contexts including high income countries, is showing the way to integration. A theme across this evidence is the placement of non-specialised providers (including peers, community health workers, and nurses) in primary healthcare and community settings.”
Download the manual Mental health and gender-based violence: Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict for free. The manual is also available in Arabic, Russian, Spanish, Nepalese, Ukrainian and Portuguese. This training material has been written for those who provide assistance and support to women who survive gender-based violence and sexual trauma during disasters, wars and conflicts. Furthermore, we hope it may be helpful as well to those who work with gender-based violence survivors in other settings. Please share the manual and spread it among your colleagues, organizations or in your community.
Facebook
On our MHHRI Facebook page, we are continuously posting new and relevant articles that we add to our web site, as well as events and videos.
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Upcoming Events IRCT symposium in Georgia – postponed 17th biennial conference of the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies |
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The 11th International Society for Health and Human Rights (ISHHR) Conference
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| We appreciate feedback and comments The Mental Health and Human Rights Info Newsletter is a newsletter with the aim to provide insight on a certain subject across the scope of our work; human rights violations in war and conflict areas and mental health. Our intention is to deliver a newsletter as a short “lecture” where you can find relevant information regarding a specific subject with a mental health perspective.
We would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions on other issues you would like to see in this newsletter or if you are planning an event on related issues, please let us know so we can include your event in our newsletter. If you know anyone who would be interested in receiving this e-newsletter, please forward it, and encourage them to sign up. |
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Boletín en español
Newsletter No. 4 November 2020
Overview of content:
- UNSCR 1325 a catalyst for ways forward for Okinawan and Japanese comfort women
- More information and Further reading
- Download the MHHRI GBV manual
- Events
Copyright click here
About the photo
UNSCR 1325 a catalyst for ways forward for Okinawan and Japanese comfort women
This year marks 20 years of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325), on women, peace, and security. This resolution reaffirms 1) the excessive impact of violent conflict and war on women and girls and 2) that conflict prevention and peacebuilding are more sustainable when women are involved.
We still have a long way to go and it is crucial to listen to what survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) have to say. In this newsletter, we give voice to Betsy Kawamura who is a survivor of GBV herself. She is an initiator for the women4nonviolence-website that was created in response to survivor-groups who wished to ‘catch up’ on the latest news and developments regarding UNSCR 1325 and allied resolutions. As Betsy Kawamura also emphasizes: “It is important to acknowledge what we have already achieved, but we are far from done. Survivors of gender-based violence still don’t receive full recognition for their suffering.” Hence, we encourage further implementation of UNSCR 1325. It is possible that UNSCR 1325 may have been a catalyst for this issue to be raised.
An excerpt of Betsy’s letter
I am engaging with the United Nations (UN) in NYC to encourage the Republic of Korea (ROK) comfort women to join forces with remaining Okinawan and Japanese comfort women to rally international recognition and support. We realize that time is running out for remaining Okinawan/Japanese women who sexually served the Allied Forces post WWII; and that they need support and a platform as they are mostly octogenarians. In great contrast to the ROK comfort women, those of Okinawa and Japan have hardly received any recognition, not to mention even any state funded trauma care or rehabilitation.
We are hoping ultimately that the voices of Korean, Okinawan and Japanese comfort women and refugees will be supported.
Given the current international focus on peace-making initiatives in North Asia, and the emergence of UNSCR resolutions of 1325 and allied ones, I feel it is of timely and critical value for the international community and Asia Pacific states to be better informed of historic and current Women Peace and Security issues. This is to provide an intelligent basis of information from which forthcoming authentic and transparent strategies for healing of survivors and peace negotiations can be achieved, with positive global impact. Such discussions could further catalyze the inclusion of women, especially survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, in high-level, peace-negotiations through-out Asia Pacific.
These women should be taught of UNSCR 1325 and allied resolutions designed to amplify their voices.
I reviewed the ROK National Action Plan on UNSCR 1325 and was hoping for stronger wording of protection of North Korean refugee women in China. I have not seen as of yet, any mention of protecting North Korean refugee women in the Japanese National Action Plan (NAP), nor of other countries who expressed ‘grave concern’ over North Korean human rights, with the exception of ROK’s NAP.
I had hoped that the 2018 Women Peace and Security meeting in Beijing would provide opportune timing for participants to discuss Secrecy issues clearly and in the open; and discuss why the USA and Japanese governments are reluctant to take actions that will enable swift, efficient redress and prosecution of sexual and gender-based violence in Far East Asia and Asia Pacific. This lack of will does nothing to empower or heal victims and prevent of sexual and gender-based violence. It is the anti-thesis of the heart of UNSCR 1325 and allied resolutions to protect women.
I had also corresponded with UN desk officers for North Asia in NYC about investigating the plight of Japanese women and girl-children who were recruited by the Japanese government post WWII as ‘comfort women’ to sexually serve Allied forces shortly after Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. Apparently about 55,000 Japanese women including teenaged girls were recruited by the Japanese government under the “Recreation and Amusement Association” in 1945 to sexually serve the occupying forces as a means to ‘appease’ them. The ‘comfort stations’ were financed by Japanese banks and operated under the knowledge of General Douglas MacArthur, who was the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) during the Allied occupation of Japan and Okinawa following World War II.
I solemnly believe that the dignity of the Japanese and Okinawan women, their families and others affected by sexual slavery are owed reverent acknowledgement, apologies and remuneration.
In all, I do have hope that open, collective discussions at international State levels could pave the way for enlightenment, healing and future improvements, with the passionate support of the international community.
You can read the whole letter here
More information and further reading
Formulating Japan’s UNSCR 1325 national action plan and forgetting the “comfort women”
Hisako Motoyama 2018
This paper examines the formulation process of Japan’s National Action, focusing on the gendered struggle over remilitarization and war memory, especially that of the “comfort women,” or Japanese imperial military sexual slavery during World War II.
Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
The United Nations Human Rights Council 2013
On 21 March 2013, at its 22nd session, the United Nations Human Rights Council established the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Resolution A/HRC/RES/22/13 mandates the body to investigate the systematic, widespread and grave violations of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, with a view to ensuring full accountability, in particular for violations which may amount to crimes against humanity.
Us Too – Sexual Violence Against North Korean Women & Girls
Korea Future Initiative, James Burt 2018
In the face of extreme brutality, many North Koreans have escaped their homeland. In the first great exodus of 1998, nearly one-thousand refugees arrived in South Korea bringing news of a famine that had decimated towns and cities and a government apparatus that had violated human rights on a nationwide scale. The damage caused to survivors can last a lifetime and impact their physical, psychological, and behavioural wellbeing. In 2002, exile testimonies adopted an increasingly gendered aspect when, for the first time, more women than men reached freedom, harbouring experiences of rape, human trafficking, forced abortions, and sexual slavery.
Recreation and Amusement Association
New York Times 1995
For more information related to the situation portrayed in the first picture in the newsletter.
Upcoming Events
IRCT symposium in Georgia – postponed
2021 IRCT Scientific Symposium & General Assembly
Overcoming the Extreme: Life after Torture
2021 in Tbilisi, Georgia (more information will follow)
17th biennial conference of the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
Trauma and resilience through the ages: A life course perspective.
01- 04 June 2022Northern Ireland.
The 11th International Society for Health and Human Rights (ISHHR) Conference
All being well, the International Society for Health and Human Rights looks forward to welcoming you to the 11th ISHHR Conference and programme of capacity building in Medellin, Colombia Winter 2021/22
The ISHHR Conference and Capacity-Building Workshops will focus on themes relevant in a Colombian and Peruvian context, for both local and international participants, in cooperation with Región and Reconectando and CAPS Peru (Centro de Atención Psicosocial).
- Strengthening Women’s Rights to Mental Health and Freedom from Violence – by changing behaviour, practices and attitudes and facilitating safe and adequate care.
- Supporting Human Rights Defenders who risk their lives in difficult and dangerous situations, side by side with families of victims of enforced disappearance and internally displaced (IDPs).
- Treatment methods after traumatic human rights abuse. Remembering the body, promoting resilience; arts and culture, traditional and indigenous approaches.
- Post-conflict reconciliation, reconstruction and re-socialisation Community mental health, justice human ecology, ethnic approaches to social action, empowerment and reconciliation.
We appreciate feedback and comments
The Mental Health and Human Rights Info Newsletter is a newsletter with the aim to provide insight on a certain subject across the scope of our work; human rights violations in war and conflict areas and mental health. Our intention is to deliver a newsletter as a short “lecture” where you can find relevant information regarding a specific subject with a mental health perspective.
We would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions on other issues you would like to see in this newsletter or if you are planning an event on related issues, please let us know so we can include your event in our newsletter.
If you know anyone who would be interested in receiving this e-newsletter, please forward it, and encourage them to sign up.
Stay well – and wishing you all the best.
Sincerely yours
Betsy Kawamura and the MHHRI team
Mental Health and Human Rights Info
post@hhri.org
www.hhri.org
View the original newsletter in your browser.
Boletín en español
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LGBTQ and migration: Human rights violations,mental health and COVID-19 risks Dear friends and colleaguesRecently we have received letters from LGBTQ people being persecuted by the police or other public officers in countries where their rights have been violated. Unfortunately, because of COVID-19 there has been even more severe violations during these last months.The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights) claims that protecting LGBT people from violence and discrimination does not require the creation of a new set of LGBT-specific rights, nor does it require the establishment of new international human rights standards. The legal obligations of States to safeguard the human rights of LGBT people are well established in international human rights law on the basis of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequently agreed on international human rights treaties. All people, irrespective of sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, are entitled to enjoy the protections provided for by international human rights law.Unfortunately, LGBTQ people’s rights are not always being asserted. According to the American Psychological Association (APP) several studies suggest that LGTBQ persons appear to have higher rates of some mental disorders compared to heterosexuals. Discrimination, also in the area of the health system, may help fuel these higher rates. These are serious consequences of human rights violations on LBTQ people’s (mental) health, well-being and possibility to live according to their own choices and preferences.LGBTQ people often experience a lack of protection from their family or community members. Once their sexual orientation or gender identity is exposed, family and community members may reject them and even abuse them alongside with the authorities. In other cases, LGBTQ people might remain silent about their identity to protect friends and family from being discriminated for knowing them.LGBTQ people might get excluded from work, which makes it difficult to get by financially. In some countries, LGBTQ people are being discriminated, harassed and abused to the degree that they don’t feel safe. Some even receive death threats. Understandably, they wish to migrate to countries where they are somewhat safe and respected for who they are. Migration and COVID-19 risks They also experience violent attacks and/or fines in countries with gender-based lockdown measures (meaning that men and women are allowed out on alternating days of the week). If transgender people are out on days which don’t match with the gender on their ID, they are in danger of discrimination and mistreatment. |
Positive developments
To this day there is no country that is completely free from trans- and homophobia. But it is important to note that there has also been great progress in the field of LGBTQ people’s rights, due to the effort of human rights bodies. In the last decade, there have been several legal triumphs for LGBTQ people, including allowing intersex people to legally identify as ‘diverse’ on official documents, legalizing gay sex and marriage equality. Greater awareness about the issue keeps the fight for equality going and contributes to progress.
Several organisations work for LGBTQ people’s human rights. One of them is OutRight Action International. They provide human rights training, training on safety and security for LGBTQ people, capacity building and political space for strategizing.
Ultimately, human rights must have priority over cultural attitudes to battle violations against LBGTQ people, such as arrest, detainment, imprisonment, harassment or torture.
Below we have gathered some useful links that highlight these issues further.
Why LGBTQ+ Migrants on ‘the Caravan’ Face Unique Struggles
Seeking Asylum in the US to Escape Trans Discrimination
“When you’re transgender and latinx, life as a double minority often means living with a target on your back. For many facing extreme violence and discrimination in their home countries, migration to the United States represents a chance to redeem their identity and live a life free from persecution. But upon arriving in the US, instead, trans migrants often find a dangerous life plagued by the threat of detention and continued discrimination. Broadly goes to Arizona and Los Angeles to meet one of the most vulnerable populations in America, and the trans women already living in the US working hard to create a sanctuary for them.”
More information and further reading
Still a blind spot: The protection of LGBT persons during armed conflict and other situations of violence
International Review of the Red Cross, author Alon Margalit (PhD) 2018
“This article draws attention to the situation of LGBT persons during armed conflict. Subjected to violence and discrimination outside the context of armed conflict, the latter aggravates their vulnerability and exposure to various abuses. Despite important progress made with respect to their protection under human rights law, a similar effort is largely absent from the international humanitarian law discourse. This article accordingly highlights some of the norms and challenges pertaining to the protection of LGBT persons in time of war.”
Majority have their way but minority have their say
The Gay And Lesbian Coalition Of Kenya (GALCK) 2016
“LGBQ rights are human rights that are meant to promote a position of social and legal equality of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and queer (LGBQ) people in society. LGBQ rights address injustices against members of the LGBQ community by outlawing discrimination and violence, requiring changes in law in areas such as access to health, education, public benefits, and by recognising different types of relationships and families.”
Protection manual for LGBTI defenders
Protection International 2010
“In this manual, we give more space than other security manuals for defenders on the specific issues and obstacles that prevailing societal values and legal systems present to LGBTI defenders. We aim at addressing not only the affect of wider societal value systems on defenders protection but also to address how the internalisation of these value systems and the consequences of them can often have detrimental effects on the defenders capacity to manage their own security.”
Vulnerability Amplified: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on LGBTIQ people
OutRight Action International 2020
“The background literature review confirms that emergencies tend to exacerbate vulnerability for those already struggling against inequality in its many forms. The challenges in accessing justice, health, education, employment, housing, and other services due to discrimination and exclusion are amplified during times of crisis. In countries that criminalize same-sex relations or transgender lives, the risk of detainment and imprisonment may be a continuous threat.”
Criminalising Homosexuality and LGBT Rights in Times of Conflict, Violence and Natural Disasters
Human Dignity Trust 2015
“Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are a vulnerable group at the best of times. During times of turmoil (conflict, natural disasters or widespread violence) this vulnerability is exacerbated, often leaving LGBT people to experience a level of violence and exclusion beyond that borne by others.”
LGBT+ rights
MHHRI 2020
“Despite some important step forward, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBT+) people still experience discrimination, harassment and hostility in many parts of the world. Many LGBT+ experience poorer mental health outcomes that are directly related to experiences of stigma, prejudice, discrimination and abuse on the basis of being LGBT+.”
‘Separation by sex’: gendered lockdown fuelling hate crime on streets of Bogotá
The Guardian 2020
A policy of making men and women leave their homes on alternate days during lockdown in Bogotá is fuelling violence towards the transgender community by the police and the public, activists say. […] the Colombian organisation Red Comunitaria Trans recorded 20 violent incidents against trans people in supermarkets during lockdown, including a trans woman who was beaten by a man who said she was not allowed out on the women’s day.
Rethinking COVID-19 Vulnerability: A Call for LGBTQ+ Im/migrant Health Equity in the United States During and After a Pandemic
Health EquityVol. 4, No. 1, author Nolan S. Kline 2020
“Public health responses to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have emphasized older adults’ vulnerability, but this obfuscates the social and political root causes of health inequity. To advance health equity during a novel communicable disease outbreak, public health practitioners must continue to be attentive to social and political circumstances that inform poor health. Such efforts are especially needed for populations who are exposed to numerous social and political factors that structure health inequity, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or otherwise-queer identifying (LGBTQ+) populations and im/migrant populations. The COVID-19 outbreak is, therefore, a critical time to emphasize root causes of health inequity.”
IOM Experts’ Voice on Inclusive COVID-19 Response for Migrants in Vulnerable Situations
International Organization for Migration 2020
“While measures to combat the virus apply to all, not all migrant groups have the same set of resources and capacities to comply with the rules. In the following pages, contributions from key IOM experts are featured to shed light on crosscutting issues and vulnerabilities that various migrant groups face, as well as complementary resources for developing a more differentiated, appropriate and migrant-friendly response to the pandemic.”
Download the manual Mental health and gender-based violence: Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict for free. The manual is also available in Arabic, Russian, Spanish, Nepalese, Ukrainian and Portuguese. This training material has been written for those who provide assistance and support to women who survive gender-based violence and sexual trauma during disasters, wars and conflicts. Furthermore, we hope it may be helpful as well to those who work with gender-based violence survivors in other settings. Please share the manual and spread it among your colleagues, organizations or in your community.
Facebook
On our MHHRI Facebook page, we are continuously posting new and relevant articles that we add to our web site, as well as events and videos.
Download the manual Mental health and gender-based violence: Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict for free. The manual is also available in Arabic, Russian, Spanish, Nepalese, Ukrainian and Portuguese. This training material has been written for those who provide assistance and support to women who survive gender-based violence and sexual trauma during disasters, wars and conflicts. Furthermore, we hope it may be helpful as well to those who work with gender-based violence survivors in other settings. Please share the manual and spread it among your colleagues, organizations or in your community.
Facebook
On our MHHRI Facebook page, we are continuously posting new and relevant articles that we add to our web site, as well as events and videos.
Upcoming events
IRCT symposium in Georgia October 2020
2021 IRCT Scientific Symposium & General Assembly
Overcoming the Extreme: Life after Torture
2021 in Tbilisi, Georgia (more information will follow)
17th biennial conference of the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
Trauma and resilience through the ages: A life course perspective.
01- 04 June 2022
Northern Ireland.
The 11th International Society for Health and Human Rights (ISHHR) Conference
All being well, the International Society for Health and Human Rights looks forward to welcoming you to the 11th ISHHR conference and programme of capacity building in Medellin, Colombia Winter 2021-22 (tentative dates).
The ISHHR Conference and Capacity-Building Workshops will focus on themes relevant in a Colombian context, for both local and international participants, in cooperation with Región and Reconectando.
- Strengthening Women’s Rights to Mental Health and Freedom from Violence – by changing behaviour, practices and attitudes and facilitating safe and adequate care.
- Supporting Human Rights Defenders who risk their lives in difficult and dangerous situations, side by side with families of victims of enforced disappearance and internally displaced (IDPs).
- Treatment methods after traumatic human rights abuse. Remembering the body, promoting resilience; arts and culture, traditional and indigenous approaches.
- Post-conflict reconciliation, reconstruction and re-socialisation Community mental health, justice human ecology, ethnic approaches to social action, empowerment and reconciliation.
We appreciate feedback and comments
The Mental Health and Human Rights Info Newsletter is a newsletter with the aim to provide insight on a certain subject across the scope of our work; human rights violations in war and conflict areas and mental health. Our intention is to deliver a newsletter as a short “lecture” where you can find relevant information regarding a specific subject with a mental health perspective.
We would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions on other issues you would like to see in this newsletter or if you are planning an event on related issues, please let us know so we can include your event in our newsletter.
If you know anyone who would be interested in receiving this e-newsletter, please forward it, and encourage them to sign up.
Stay well – and wishing you all the best.
Sincerely yours
Sara Skilbred-Fjeld and the MHHRI team
Mental Health and Human Rights Info
post@hhri.org
www.hhri.org
To the top
View the original newsletter here.
Boletín en español
Newsletter No. 2 May 2020
Overview of content:
- UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
- As COVID-19 pandemic continues, forcibly displaced children need more support than ever
- The Resilience Guide: Strategies for Responding to Trauma in Refugee Children
- MANUAL for promoting mental health of affected children: With accent on refugees’/migrants’ children
- Improving children’s well being: An evaluation of NRC’s Better Learning Programme in Palestine
- Health of refugee and migrant children: Technical guidance
- Action for refugee children: Good practices that bring the Global Refugee Compact to life
- UNICEF calls for six actions to protect all refugee and migrant children
- Brain Builders: How a child’s brain develops through early experiences (YouTube video)
- Storytellers brighten lives of refugee children on corona virus lockdown
- Download the HHRI GBV manual
- Upcoming Events
Dear friends and colleagues,
Around the world, millions of children and families have had to flee their homes from conflict, persecution, disaster and extreme poverty. According to UNHCR, over half of the world’s refugees are children, or minors below the age of 18, and UNICEF states that 31 million children worldwide were displaced by the end of 2018. Moreover, refugee children are 5 times more likely not to have access to school than other children, and many lack access to essential health care. Children in refugee camps often live in dire conditions, lacking basic needs such as hygiene, sanitation, safety, food and clean drinking water. Many may have witnessed, or experienced, severe violence and they may be at risk of neglect, abuse, exploitation, trafficking or military recruitment. Some children do not have adults they can trust alongside themselves and they flee and seek protection elsewhere as unaccompanied minors.
Many children and their families live with a range of different reactions that may be consequences of traumatic experiences. Such reactions or symptoms can be nightmares, feeling anxious or depressed, feeling agitated and restless, physical pain, an inability to focus and concentrate, or losing hope for the future, among others. The lack of stability and routine in daily life that many refugee and migrant children face make it even more difficult to cope and recover from trauma. Often there is no psycho social support available to them due to the situation that these children and their families find themselves in.
Despite all these challenges, children are resilient. Not all children exposed to potentially traumatic events will develop serious mental health conditions. Knowing about protective factors that can help children recover and cope is important. Being able to mobilize such factors represents a hopeful approach, that may open for practical and adequate support.
We can divide protective factors into two groups: 1) those related to characteristics of the child and 2) those related to characteristics of the environment. Children can draw strength from protective factors within themselves as well as from their families and the community within which they live. Important protective factors that caregivers and helpers can influence include:
- Help the child to feel like a worthy person
- Allow the child to express itself creatively and through play
- Allow the child to learn new things and explore his or her skills, thereby providing the child with a sense of mastery
- Provide the child with an experience of having an influence in their own lives
- Provide the child with a feeling of meaning and a sense of coherence in his or her daily life
- Make sure that there are some routines, structure and boundaries in the daily life of the child
- Make sure that there is at least one adult person that the child can trust and feel that she or he really cares about the child
- Respect the child and his or her physical and psychological integrity
Children need stability, security and the possibility to learn, play and explore their skills for their cognitive, emotional and social development. Children need to be loved and cared for.
In Health and Human Rights Info (HHRI) we are currently working on responding to the need for more specific information on children exposed to sexual violence in contexts of instability and how we can provide psychosocial support to these children and their caregivers. The new project has been developed together with experts in the field of child psychology, trauma and humanitarian work. Clinical psychologist and expert in the field of resilience in children, Helen Christie, was initiative-taker to the project and is leading it together with HHRI’s Executive Director, Elisabeth Ng Langdal. Further update on this project will be provided.
Below we have gathered publications and information in English about refugee children focusing on the following:
- The rights of the child as these are laid out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child;
- The urgent need to protect refugee children during the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic;
- The importance of a strong awareness on refugee children’s mental health and well-being including interventions and strategies to provide psychosocial support and promoting resilience.
We have also included information from UNHCR and UNICEF on their work with refugee children, as well as a positive story from Madrid, Spain, where volunteers record bedtime stories that are sent to Spanish speaking refugee children, by UNHCR.
Further reading
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
United Nations 1989
First, we believe it is highly valuable to remind ourselves of articles 9, 22, 24, 28 and 39 in the Convention on the Rights of the Child which state the following:
Article 9 The right not to be separated from the parents
Article 22 The right to seek asylum and to receive appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance as a refugee
Article 24 The right of access to health care
Article 28 The right to education
Article 39 The right to physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of child victims of any form of neglect, exploitation or abuse: torture or any other form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; or armed conflict, which should take place in an environment which fosters the health, self-respect and dignity of the child.
Image from Pixabay
As COVID-19 pandemic continues, forcibly displaced children need more support than ever
UNHCR 20 April 2020
Joint statement by Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director, and Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
“Millions of children around the world have been driven from their homes and across borders by conflict, violence and other forms of harm – including 12.7 million refugees and 1.1 million asylum seekers. With the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the needs of refugee children have become even more acute. Meeting those needs is key to safeguarding both their wellbeing today and future potential. Displaced children are among those with the most limited access to prevention services, testing, treatment and other essential support. In addition, the pandemic and containment measures are likely to have negative consequences for their safety and education, which were precarious even before the outbreak of the disease.”
The Resilience Guide: Strategies for Responding to Trauma in Refugee Children
Supporting Child Care in the Settlement Community, CMAS
2018, author Heather Savazzi
“This practical guide is developed for practitioners and professionals working directly with families and children who have experienced forced migration. The guide focuses on the Canadian context, but much of the theory, principles and methods can be applied in work with children with a refugee experience in other countries and contexts. The guide includes information about refugee trauma, potential developmental effects, and key strategies that foster the resilience of children and families. The guide also includes tip sheets filled with practical strategies that are designed to be taken straight off the page and put into practice.”
MANUAL for promoting mental health of affected children: With accent on refugees’/migrants’ children
UNICEF 2017, author Chamber of Psychologists by Marijana Markovikj and Eleonora Serafimovska
“This manual is aimed at promoting the mental health of children under risk and providing psychosocial care in facilities accommodating persons under risk. It was developed from the project entitled: “Capacity building for providing psychological interventions and resilience of professional staff in Transit Centres to refugees and migrant children.” The project was funded and supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (“UNICEF”) and implemented by the Chamber of Psychologists of the Republic of Macedonia. The main objective of the project was: “to equip front line workers, including psychologists and social workers working in Transit Centres, with tools and skills how to provide targeted psychological interventions through group and/or individual work”. This manual is intended to serve as a guide for psychologists and/or psychotherapists engaged as helpers who (will) work with affected people1 in relief assistance facilities. The manual can also be useful for social workers, teachers and health workers.”
Improving children’s wellbeing: An evaluation of NRC’s Better Learning Programme in Palestine
Norwegian Refugee Council, NRC January 2017
“The Better Learning Programme (BLP) aims to improve learning conditions for children and adolescents exposed to war and conflict in Palestine. The Better Learning Programme consists of two components: BLP 1 reaches out to all pupils and provides psycho-education and coping skills, while BLP 2 is a specialised intervention for those with chronic symptoms of traumatic stress. Both components combine a psychosocial and trauma-focused approach. The psychosocial support offered in both components aims: (1) to establish a sense of stability and safety; (2) to promote calming and a capacity for self-regulation; (3) to increase community and self-efficacy, including where to find support and how to give and receive support; and (4) to promote mastery and hope.”
In addition to the evaluation report, an interview with Professor Jon-Håkon Schultz who led the development of NRC’s work for children with trauma can be read here.
it’s easier to ask ‘How are you doing?Have you had a nightmare?
Do you do the exercises?’”
(Professor Jon-Håkon Schultz)
WHO Regional Office for Europe 2018
“The objective of this technical guidance is to inform national and local health policy regarding health care for newly arrived refugee and migrant children. This grouping encompasses children aged 0–18 years who are asylum seekers, in an irregular situation or in the first two years after obtaining residency in the country of reception. The guidance, therefore, focuses on the initial health care response to the needs of these children.
The guidance includes information on mental health and psychological well-being and describes different areas for intervention and as well as policy considerations focusing on health promotion strategies and public health strategies.”
UNICEF December 2019
“Every refugee crisis is a children’s crisis. More than half of the 25.9 million refugees worldwide are under the age of 18. Refugee boys and girls are uniquely vulnerable: because they are children, because they are uprooted, because they have experienced or witnessed violence. These vulnerabilities put them at risk of more violence, abuse, exploitation and discrimination. However, refugee children should not only be defined by their vulnerabilities. They are strong and resilient. They are determined to thrive, and their potential is limitless. They are not alone. In the Global Compact on Refugees, governments and stakeholders around the world have committed to make sure no refugee girl or boy is left behind.
The brochure includes information on education and learning, the importance of early childhood development, and protection of refugee children from violence, exploitation and abuse, among others.”
UNICEF
As part of the UNICEF ‘s Agenda for Action and the Children uprooted campaign, UNICEF calls for six actions to protect all refugee and migrant children. These six action points are:
1. Press for action on the causes that uproot children from their homes
2. Help uprooted children to stay in school and stay healthy
3. Keep families together and give children legal status
4. End the detention of refugee and migrant children by creating practical alternatives
5. Combat xenophobia and discrimination
6. Protect uprooted children from exploitation and violence
“This ‘Brain Builders’ video explains how experiences in the first years of our lives affect how our brains form. Science tells us that the stress of abuse or neglect can damage the basic structures of a child’s developing brain. Without the right help, it can put them at risk of a lifetime of health problems, developmental issues and addiction. It’s up to us to make sure that children overcome these stresses and have the nurturing experiences they need for positive development.”
UNHCR 23 April 2020
“Volunteers in Spain are recording bedtime stories to share with children in reception centres via WhatsApp in a UNHCR-backed project. Life in lockdown for COVID-19 is tough, but for Rosalina, an asylum-seeker from Venezuela, it is particularly hard. She and her three children – 8, 12 and 14 years old – share a single room at a reception centre in Madrid. She finds it difficult to keep them occupied and entertained.”
Image by Mystic Art design from Pixabay
Download the HHRI GBV manual
Download the manual Mental health and gender-based violence: Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict from our website for free. The manual is available in English, Arabic, Russian, Spanish and Portuguese. This training material has been written for those who provide assistance and support to women who survive gender-based violence and sexual trauma during disasters, wars and conflicts. Furthermore, we hope it may be helpful as well to those who work with gender-based violence survivors in other settings. Please share the manual and spread it among your colleagues, organizations or in your community.
Facebook and Twitter
On our HHRI Facebook page and Twitter account, we are continuously posting new and relevant articles that we add to our web site, as well as events and videos.
Upcoming Events
Due to the COVID-19 situation, many of these events will be postponed. Check out each specific event for further information.
Dubrovnik summer school
In the shadow of PTSD:
The heterogeneity of responses to psychological trauma in individuals, families and communities across cultures
25th- 28th May 2020
in Dubrovnik, Croatia
Summer school Ghent
Health & Migration’ and ‘Sexual & Reproductive Health & Rights’
For medical students
5th until the 16th of July 2020
Ghent, Belgium
IRCT symposium in Georgia 2021
2021 IRCT Scientific Symposium & General Assembly
Overcoming the Extreme: Life after Torture
5-7 October 2020 in Tbilisi, Georgia
17th biennial conference of the European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
Trauma and resilience through the ages: A life course perspective.
16-19 June 2021
Northern Ireland.
The 11th International Society for Health and Human Rights (ISHHR) Conference
The ISHHR Conference will take place in Medellín, Colombia, late 2021. More information will follow.
The ISHHR Conference and Capacity-Building Workshops will focus on themes relevant in a Colombian context, for both local and international participants, in cooperation with Región and Reconectando.
The Call for Papers, to be published in autumn 2020, is based on four principle thematic streams for papers, parallel sessions and workshops:
- Strengthening Women’s Rights to Mental Health and Freedom from Violence – by changing behaviour, practices and attitudes and facilitating safe and adequate care.
- Supporting Human Rights Defenders who risk their lives in difficult and dangerous situations, side by side with families of victims of enforced disappearance and internally displaced (IDPs).
- Treatment methods after traumatic human rights abuse. Remembering the body, promoting resilience; arts and culture, traditional and indigenous approaches.
- Post-conflict reconciliation, reconstruction and re-socialisation Community mental health, justice human ecology, ethnic approaches to social action, empowerment and reconciliation.
To receive updates, become an ISHHR member or contact coordinator@ishhr.com for more information.
We appreciate feedback and comments
The Health and Human Rights Info Newsletter is a newsletter with the aim to provide insight on a certain subject across the scope of our work; human rights violations in disaster, war and conflict areas and mental health. Our intention is to deliver a newsletter as a short “lecture” where you can find relevant information regarding a specific subject with a mental health perspective. We would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions on other issues you would like to see in this newsletter or if you are planning an event on related issues, please let us know so we can include your event in our newsletter.If you know anyone who would be interested in receiving this e-newsletter, please forward it, and encourage them to sign up.
Stay well – and wishing you all the best.
Sincerely yours
The HHRI team
Health and Human Rights Info
post@hhri.org
www.hhri.org
View the original newsletter here.
Boletín en español
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| We appreciate feedback and comments The Health and Human Rights Info Newsletter is a newsletter with the aim to provide insight on a certain subject across the scope of our work; human rights violations in war and conflict areas and mental health. Our intention is to deliver a newsletter as a short “lecture” where you can find relevant information regarding a specific subject with a mental health perspective.We would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions on other issues you would like to see in this newsletter or if you are planning an event on related issues, please let us know so we can include your event in our newsletter.
If you know anyone who would be interested in receiving this e-newsletter, please forward it, and encourage them to sign up. The HHRI team |
2019
View the original newsletter here.
Boletín en español
Newsletter No. 5 Desember 2019
Overview of content:
- Human rights defenders and torture
- Video tutorials
- New video tutorial with Nora Sveaass
- Download the HHRI GBV manual
- The woman butterfly animation
- Upcoming Events
Human rights defenders and torture
Dear friends and colleagues.
Whether you call yourself a solidarity worker, an activist, an advocate, a human rights campaigner or refer to yourself by your profession, you may fall under the OHCHR definition of a human rights defender. This term is used to describe people who, individually or with others, act to promote and/or to protect human rights. Human rights defenders are identified above all by what they do, through a description of their actions and of some of the contexts within which they work. The actions taken by human rights defenders must be peaceful in order to comply with the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.
Defending human rights is often challenging and at times dangerous. Reprisals are frequently experienced by human rights defenders. Many receive life threats for themselves, their families or their colleagues. Moreover, women human rights defenders are frequent targets of gender-based violence, including rape.
State authorities are often common perpetrators of violations against human rights defenders, despite the fact that they should undertake the primary responsibility of assuring their protection.
Torture is very far from eradicated, and human rights defenders who are fighting torture are also exposed to danger and violations. As we see in Syria, in Iraq, in Belarus and other places the legal framework and judicial practice supposed to protect people’s rights may be turned against them, and lead to violations rather than protection. And in many countries, we see today that the law is used by those in power to hold back, control and suppress human rights defenders, even expose them to severe threat and danger, as in the case too many places in the world. With legal tools the scope of operation of human rights defenders are restricted and there is a constant failure to offer protection and possibilities to act in defense of basic human rights.
The result has too often been large-scale detentions, in some cases in non-authorized or secret detention facilities, where those arrested run the risk of being subjected to torture, beatings, death threats, harassment and defamation, even executions. And we are talking about targeted detentions as well as the arbitrary arrests, where no legal safeguards exist. The severity and scale of reprisals committed against human rights defenders has been one of the primary motivations behind the adoption of the Declaration on human rights defenders and the establishment of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders.
For further information on torture and Human rights defenders HHRI have thematic pages on the subject. In order to strengthen the awareness of the serious challenges and dangers faced by human rights defender, we have provided information that represents valuable resources and professional
New video tutorials based on the GBV training manual.
Welcome to our tutorial videos based on the training manual Mental Health and Gender-Based Violence, Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict. If you are working with or assisting survivors of gender-based violence or involved in the training of helpers working directly with survivors, this is the right place for you.
These video tutorials seek to reach people around the world and have been developed to be used in situations where helpers have limited or no access to specialised health services, and where humanitarian workers must deal with severe human loss, sorrow and distress in the midst of insecurity, conflict and war.input in relation to the protection of human rights defenders from torture and other severe human rights violations.
New Tutorial with Nora Sveaass Awareness of human rights, and their great importance for everyone, can be a valuable resource when working with people whose rights have been brutally disrespected. Human rights values may assist us both to understand the suffering we encounter and find ways to respond to it in a respectful and helpful way.
Download the HHRI GBV manualDownload the manual Mental health and gender-based violence: Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict for free. The manual is also available in Arabic, Russian Spanish and Portuguese. This training material has been written for those who provide assistance and support to women who survive gender-based violence and sexual trauma during disasters, wars and conflicts. Furthermore, we hope it may be helpful as well to those who work with gender-based violence survivors in other settings. Please share the manual and spread it among your colleagues, organizations or in your community.Facebook
On our HHRI Facebook page, we are continuously posting new and relevant articles that we add to our web site, as well as events and videos.
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Boletín en Español
Newsletter No. 4 October 2019
- Overview of content:
- Cultural Aspects of Trauma
- Recommendations
- New video tutorials
- Download the HHRI GBV manual
- The woman butterfly animation
- Upcoming Events
Cultural Aspects of Trauma
Dear friends and colleagues.
According to Anthony J. Marsella “All cultures have different patterns, rituals, and treatment protocols for dealing with survivors of disaster, trauma, and extreme stress. Depending on the culture, these mechanisms may include what Western health and medical professionals— psychological experts would classify as, nontraditional or alternative modalities of treatment or assistance. ”The increased attention to cultural differences within trauma treatment is related to the need to provide culturally suitable assistance to an increasing population of immigrants and refugees forced by the global situation of wars and armed conflict, natural disaster or for other reasons to leave their place of origin and find refuge and protection elsewhere. This is also a highly relevant issue for helpers arriving at the different places where violence and/or disaster have happened, with the aim of collaborating with local
helpers to provide suitable help. Even when people have similar origins, and also have lived through the same events, it does not mean that they have gone through the same trauma. We know that trauma and culture shape our experiences, but this does not mean that everyone from the same culture or place of origin will have the same kinds of reactions to the same events. Therefore, being attentive to the complexities and to the differences related to needs and traditions is of issue here.
John P. Wilson argues that Culture enables people with the capacity to bond, to relate with each other, to form communities, as well as transferring ideas, values, and way of living through generations. Knowing this; it is necessary that the knowledge and skills the community needs to exist and survive are passed through generations. Within our own culture and the cultural language, we «learn» how to interpret different social settings. This includes also the reactions to traumatic events, the way we cope with these, the way we interpret the traumatic events. In situations of protracted conflict, the mental health effects of violence and social struggle are not primarily due to isolated traumatic events, but also to more extensive losses of meaning, order, relationships, community and the sense of a just social world. Providers of psychological services need a sociocultural framework to enable them to
reflect upon their own values, upon how to interact and upon cultural expectations for the help they are offering. The helpers need knowledge and skills for multicultural assessment and intervention. In order to stimulate this important discussion further we are listing some articles that will elaborate on the issue. (This is a reprint of a newsletter from 2012 but with updated articles)
Recommendations
Challenges in treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in refugees: towards integration of evidence-based treatments with contextual and culture-sensitive perspectives
2015, Boris Drožđek
The field of refugee mental health intervention and clinical practice with traumatized refugees may be enriched with the use of contextual and developmental models for assessment and conceptualization of posttrauma sequelae. Multimodal and trauma-focused interventions may be applied sequentially in a course of the treatment trajectory.
Culture-sensitive Psychotraumatology
2016, Ulrich Schnyder
Although there is some evidence of the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) construct’s cross cultural validity, trauma-related disorders may vary across cultures, and the same may be true for treatments that address such conditions. Experienced therapists tailor psychotherapy to each patient’s particular situation, to the nature of the patient’s psychopathology, to the stage of therapy, and so on. In addition, culture-sensitive psychotherapists try to understand how culture enhances the meaning of their patient’s life history, the cultural components of their illness and help-seeking behaviors, as well as their expectations with regard to treatment. We cannot take for granted that all treatment-seeking trauma survivors speak our language or share our cultural values. Therefore, we need to increase our cultural competencies.
Culture And Trauma Cultural factors in mental health, psychotherapy and help-seeking
2018, Carla Schubert
The purpose of this dissertation is to deepen the understanding of the crucial role of cultural factors in the symptom representation after complex trauma (study I), in the rehabilitation (study II), and in the help-seeking paths of refugees settled in Finland (study III). A distinct trauma connected to the lives of many involuntary immigrants is torture, a human rights violation which has a substantial effect on mental health and life far from home. While torture and refugee trauma does not halt at women, they represent a minority in rehabilitation facilities in Finland and elsewhere. Another aim of this dissertation therefore is to provide information on gender differences and increase the knowledge concerning the symptomatology.
Chapter 3 Understanding the Impact of Trauma
2014, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment
This chapter discusses psychological symptoms not represented in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013a), and responses associated with trauma that either fall below the threshold of mental disorders or reflect resilience. It also addresses common disorders associated with traumatic stress. This chapter explores the role of culture in defining mental illness, particularly PTSD, and ends by addressing co-occurring mental and substance-related disorders.The culture, mental health and psychosocial wellbeing of Rohingya refugees: a systematic review
2019, Tay AK
The knowledge about the culture, context, migration history, idioms of distress, help-seeking behaviour and traditional healing methods, obtained from diverse sources can be applied in the design and delivery of culturally appropriate interventions. Attention to past exposure to traumatic events and losses need to be paired with attention for ongoing stressors and issues related to worries about the future. It is important to design MHPSS interventions in ways that mobilise the individual and collective strengths of Rohingya refugees and build on their resilience.
Humanitarian Intervention and Cultural Translation: A Review of the IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings
2008 , Abramowitz & Kleinman
This article place the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings’ within the historical context of trauma healing and humanitarian intervention. The guidelines’ recognition of su¡ering and social repair as a holistic experience is a signi¢cant boon to applied understandings of populations in crisis. This critique of the guidelines addresses some aspects of the practical application of mental health and psychosocial care. We highlight the framing of ‘ culture’ , and the institutional cultures and structural hierarchies of humanitarian intervention.
Understanding and coping with traumatic stress, Part Three: Cultural issues
2007, Headington Institute
Traumatic stress is not just a problem for western humanitarian workers who relocate (usually temporarily) to developing countries and disaster zones for the sake of their job. In fact, the majority of humanitarian workers worldwide are from non-western cultural backgrounds, working in their home country.
Ethnocultural Aspects of PTSD: An Overview of Concepts, Issues, and Treatments
2010, Marcella
The present article offers an overview discussion of ethno cultural aspects of PTSD, with special attention to major conceptual issues, clinical considerations, and therapy practices. The historical circumstances leading to the widespread acceptance of PTSD among conventional mental health professionals, and the subsequent criticisms that emerged from scholars, humanitarian workers, and ethno cultural minorities are presented as an important background to the current controversial status of the concept, especially with regard to arguments regarding the ethno cultural determinants of PTSD.
Trauma and disasters in social and cultural context
Kirmayer et al, 2010
Understanding stories of trauma requires an understanding of the collective dimensions of violence and social suffering. Trauma experience is embedded in and emerges from multiple contexts, including biological processes of learning and memory; embodied experiences of injury, pain and fear; narratives of personal biography; the knowledge and practices of cultural and social systems; and the power and positioning of political struggles enacted on individual, family, community and national levels.
New video tutorials based on the GBV training manual.
Welcome to our tutorial videos based on the training manual Mental Health and Gender-Based Violence, Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict . If you are working with or assisting survivors of gender-based violence or involved in the training of helpers working directly with survivors, this is the right place for you.
These video tutorials seek to reach people around the world and have been developed to be used in situations where helpers have limited or no access to specialised health services, and where humanitarian workers must deal with severe human loss, sorrow and distress in the midst of insecurity, conflict and war.
Download the manual Mental health and gender-based violence: Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict for free.
The manual is also available in Arabic, Russian Spanish and Portuguese. This training material has been written for those who provide assistance and support to women who survive gender-based violence and sexual trauma during disasters, wars and conflicts. Furthermore, we hope it may be helpful as well to those who work with gender-based violence survivors in other settings. Please share the manual and spread it among your colleagues, organizations or in your community.
Facebook
On our HHRI Facebook page, we are continuously posting new and relevant articles that we add to our web site, as well as events and videos.
The woman butterfly animation
View the original newsletter here.
Boletín en Español
Newsletter No. 3 August 2019
Overview of content
- The butterfly woman story
- New video tutorials based on the GBV training manual
- Portuguese version of our Training Manual
- Upcoming Events
The woman butterfly animation, directed by Andrés Pedraza, HHRI
Dear friends and colleagues
As a part of our work with the manual “Mental health and gender-based violence Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict – a training manual”
We are happy to launch the story of the Butterfly Woman, which is a central part of our Gender-based violence (GBV) training manual. This animation tells the story of the Butterfly Women, a metaphorical narrative that is based on women’s encounter of gender-based violence in armed conflicts.
Metaphors are stories or images that convey something that can inspire or open the mind and can be simple and effective tools for teaching and learning.
In this training, we use a single metaphorical narrative to describe the experience and consequences of GBV. We explain the course that trauma takes in generic terms through the story of the Butterfly Woman; it remains a story but at the same time it is clinically accurate.
After being violated by soldiers, the life of the Butterfly Woman is turned into chaos. By the support of the good helper she learns ways to cope in order regain dignity. The story is created from the testimonies of the survivors in various parts of the world. We hope this animation will be a useful tool, for those working with survivors of gender-based violence. This animation should be used as a complement to our GBV-training manual. The complete written Butterfly woman story can be found on our website.
New video tutorials based on the GBV training manual.
Welcome to our tutorial videos based on the training manual Mental Health and Gender-Based Violence, Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict. If you are working with or assisting survivors of gender-based violence or involved in the training of helpers working directly with survivors, this is the right place for you.
These video tutorials seek to reach people around the world and have been developed to be used in situations where helpers have limited or no access to specialised health services, and where humanitarian workers must deal with severe human loss, sorrow and distress in the midst of insecurity, conflict and war.
So far, we have made 4 video tutorials, the first one is a short introduction to the manual. This part gives you a general idea of the intention for making the manual, where to download it, how it is outlined and how to read it. (Page 1-6 in the manual.)
The second one, talks about how to be a good helper, especially what is a good helper in your community? We are focusing on the tools we as helpers already use and what new tools can be acquired from the manual?
In the third one, we explain how and why we use metaphors and in specific the metaphor of the butterfly woman in our manual. The story about a woman who is raped by soldiers is presented.
And the fourth one tutorial is about how to support the helpers. For helpers, empathy is an essential aspect of good assistance. This is also a source for compassion fatigue, vicarious traumatization or secondary traumatic stress. Early recognition and awareness are crucial to be resilient to these symptoms.
All these videos will be part of an online course, which we will launch at the end of 2019.
Portuguese version of our Training Manual
Good news! We are happy to publish the Portuguese version of our Training Manual “Mental Health and Gender Violence, Helping Survivors of Sexual Violence in Conflict Situations”. With this translated version of the manual, we hope we can reach more people and that the manual can be a useful and practical tool for people working in countries where Portuguese is the spoken language. By this, we hope to support more people working with survivors or who are involved in training helpers.
The manual is free of charge, and you can download it from our website. We would appreciate it if you can share this information with your friends, colleagues, and collaborating organisations.
Download the HHRI GBV manual
Download the manual Mental health and gender-based violence: Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict. The manual is also available in Arabic, Russian and Spanish. This training material has been written for those who provide assistance and support to women who survive gender-based violence and sexual trauma during disasters, wars and conflicts. Furthermore, we hope it may be helpful as well to those who work with gender-based violence survivors in other settings. Please share the manual and spread it among your colleagues, organizations or in your community.
View the original newsletter here.
Boletín en Español
Newsletter No. 2 May 2019
Overview of content
- Course on GBV Training Manual
- New video tutorials on GBV Training Manual
- Download the GBV Training Manual
- Upcoming Events
Dear friends and colleagues
The 25th and 26th of April we had a two-day training in the manual ‘Mental health and gender-based violence: A training manual on how to help survivors of sexual violence in conflict’ at HHRI’s office at the Human Rights House in Oslo. In total there were 25 participants with different backgrounds and varying years of professional experience, including students, psychologists, advisors from different organizations, and network leaders, among others. We had an international group with participants from South America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe.
The goal of the training was to allow participants to come together to get to know the content and possible ways of working with the manual, to learn from each other by exchanging experiences and perspectives, and to discuss important issues in this field of work with the trainers and each other. HHRI’s overarching goal is that the training will allow participants to spread the knowledge of the manual and to use it in their work directly with survivors or indirectly by passing the knowledge on to others through trainings and seminars. In this way we hope that more survivors will receive some form of psychological aid. This is of crucial importance both from a human rights perspective as well as for the resilience and future of the societies harmed by conflict and by this type of gross human rights violations.
The trainers were Dr. Nora Sveaass – clinical psychologist, Professor at the University of Oslo, founder of HHRI and member of the UN Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture, Doris Drews – specialist in psychiatry, Ragnhild Dybdahl – Associate Professor of psychology at Oslo Metropolitan University, and Elisabeth Ng Langdal – Director of HHRI.
The training was a big success and HHRI received positive feedback from the participants after the training. We want to thank all of you who took part in the training.
Video Tutorials GBV Training Manual
HHRI has created a series of video tutorials to make easier for you to learn about the content and of the GBV training manual Mental Health and Gender Based Violence, Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict. The manual has been written for the many people who in different ways provide direct assistance to women who survive gender-based violence and trauma during disasters, wars and conflicts, where helpers have limited or no access to specialized health services.
Watch the different tutorials, read the GBV training manual and answer the final paper of reflection to apply for a certificate. Send us an e-mail post@hhri.org with your qualifications and let us know that you have submitted your answer.
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How to be a good helper?
What is a good helper in your community? What are the tools we already use and what are the new tools we can acquire from the manual.
Download the manual Mental health and gender-based violence: Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict for free. The manual is also available inArabic, Russian and Spanish. This training material has been written for those who provide assistance and support to women who survive gender-based violence and sexual trauma during disasters, wars and conflicts. Furthermore, we hope it may be helpful as well to those who work with gender-based violence survivors in other settings. Please share the manual and spread it among your colleagues, organizations or in your community.
View the original newsletter here.
Boletín en Español
Newsletter No. 1 April 2019
Overview of content
- Transitional justice and mental health
- Further reading on transitional justice
- Download the HHRI GBV manual
- Upcoming Events
Dear friends and colleagues
Transitional justice and mental health
“We want to know the truth. Who ordered the killings of my family and the people in my village?” Legitimate questions from Marino Cordoba, a Human rights defender and a social leader from Riosucio in Colombia. These were some of the expectations that the truth commission was met with, when set to work in Colombia in December 2018.
The question is of course – will the people of Colombia be provided with the full truth through the work of the truth commission? Few of us are in doubt as to the importance of transitional processes in situations following a conflict, when peace agreements are signed, and the reconstruction of society is needed. As part of such processes, truth commissions, investigations and legal procedures, as well as different forms of reparations, are vital. In this context, forgiveness, in addition to reconciliation, is often described as important parts of this.
But what does it take for those who have lost and suffered, to forgive, or to reconcile with persons formerly seen as enemies or even oppressors? What role does the truth commission play in this? It is evident that people have the right to know, but it is not always so clear that truth alone provides the sense of restoration that the victims and survivors are looking for and that the peace process requires when a conflict is over.
Examples from different countries that have carried out truth commissions, indicates that the process may be of value, but often not enough to restore the balance and sense of justice. The experiences with truth commissions in South Africa, Uganda, Guatemala, Rwanda and Kenya are evidence of important steps, but more is usually needed. According to Pathak (2017) transitional justice constitutes a five-pillar approach: truth, justice, healing, prosecution and reparation, as ways of confronting and dealing with the authoritarian or violent past. So, one can say that without all the five pillars, and probably, without the clear presence of justice and accountability, the transition of a community from conflict to peace will face difficulties.As a means of supporting victims and as a way for them to move forward, the role of the truth commissions and their effects have been much debated. Pathak also underlines that the budget often allocated to the commissions and the amount defined for reparations to the victims, are usually very inadequate, and the lack of official policies and inadequate legislation and regulations to govern these processes, are factors that can jeopardies these important and needed processes.
Hayes in Hamber (2007) claims that “Revealing is not simply healing; the process of healing depends on how we reveal, the context of the revealing, and what it is that we are revealing”. The truth may be a collection of past events, consisting of different interpretations and recollection of what happened. It is vital that victims, the survivors and those participating in the transitional processes consider these as fair and just, and that those involved are met with respect and in a dignified manner in order for them not to be revictimized in the process. These are some of the important issues that must be taken into consideration when working with victims engaging in truth commissions.
Please have a look at the links below and at our thematic page on transitional justice for more information related to the topic.
Further reading on transitional justice
A Comparative Study of World’s Truth Commissions: From Madness to Hope
Pathak 2017
Truth Commissions have been established, are being established and will be established based primarily on three notions: Let’s forget the victims to forgive the perpetrators; let’s not forget the victims and forgive the perpetrators; and let’s not forget the victims and not forgive the perpetrators, too. These notions apply to both restorative and retributive justices.
To Prosecute or Not to Prosecute: The Need for Justice in Post-Conflict Sri Lanka
Since the mid-1970s, social psychologists and legal scholars have surveyed people around the world who have participated in judicial proceedings involving crimes committed in domestic jurisdictions to understand what it is about such processes that lead participants to consider them fair or unfair, and ultimately to accept or reject the outcome of such proceedings. Almost universally, these procedural justice studies have found that witnesses define a “fair process” as one that is based largely on three criteria described; benevolence, the degree to which they perceive that the court officials, from judges to social workers, care about them and their experiences; neutrality, the extent to which they have been able to talk about their experiences in a neutral and unbiased forum; and respect, the extent to which they have been treated in a professional and dignified manner.
El Espectador 2018
“We hope we can contribute to Colombia seeking the truth in a sincere, transparent way, which is a public good and is the responsibility of all of us in Colombia. We hope to contribute in depth with our communication and pedagogy and with the Casas de la Verdad that we are starting to open in different regions in the form of a mobile team with the communities,” he said in an interview with the Justice for Peace chapter of Colombia 2020.
From a psychological (psychoanalytic) perspective, sleeping dogs do not lie and past traumas do not simply pass or disappear with the passage of time; but testimony and telling (and hearing) the truth will not instantaneously result in healing (Hamber, 1995;1998a). Revealing is not simply healing; the process of healing depends on how we reveal, the context of the revealing, and what it is that we are revealing (Hayes, 1998). In the final report of the TRC, the Commission acknowledges the healing potential of storytelling, whilst noting that it initiated more than it closed when it came to individual healing (TRC, 1998).
For sale Ruthledge
This book addresses current developments in transitional justice in Latin America – effectively the first region to undergo concentrated transitional justice experiences in modern times. Using a comparative approach, it examines trajectories in truth, justice, reparations, and amnesties in countries emerging from periods of massive violations of human rights and humanitarian law. The book examines the cases of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay, developing and applying a common analytical framework to provide a systematic, qualitative and comparative analysis of their transitional justice experiences. More specifically, the book investigates to what extent there has been a shift from impunity towards accountability for past human rights violations in Latin America.
Download the HHRI GBV manual
Download the manual Mental health and gender-based violence: Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict for free. The manual is also available inArabic, Russian and Spanish. This training material has been written for those who provide assistance and support to women who survive gender-based violence and sexual trauma during disasters, wars and conflicts. Furthermore, we hope it may be helpful as well to those who work with gender-based violence survivors in other settings. Please share the manual and spread it among your colleagues, organizations or in your community.
2018
View the original newsletter here.
Newsletter No. 6 December 2018
Overview of content
- Survivors and their right to rehabilitation
- Refurbished HHRI website
- Download the HHRI GBV manual
- Upcoming Events
Nobel Peace Laureates Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad. Illustration- Niklas Elmehed. Copyright- Nobel Media AB 2018.
Dear friends and colleagues,
Survivors and their right to rehabilitation
We congratulate Nadia Murad and Dennis Mukwege warmly as this years’ Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. This great prize was awarded to these brave individuals in Oslo, December 10. Their tireless efforts to put the survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) in war and armed conflict high up on the international agenda, finally succeeded and the world could focus on the hard and brutal reality that women and children in war and conflict face in many places. Both laureates spoke strongly about the atrocities that civilians are exposed to, in particular women and children. They were likewise clear in the claim for justice and reparation for the survivors.
The director of HHRI´s Board, Nora Sveaass, who was awarded ‘s the University of Oslo Human Rights Prize this year, under-lined the importance of this year’s peace prize and that it will, hopefully, bear fruits long into the future:
“The hope is that this year Nobel Peace Prize will strengthen the work of preventing and ending sexual violence against women – both in war and in peacetime. That this prize will contribute so that the responsible perpetrators will be punished, and that the vulnerable women receive the recognition they need as survivors of brutal human rights violations, and that the obligations and promises to provide them the support and assistance they need in terms of rehabilitation, mentally, physically as well as socially, be realised in practice.”
The availability of redress to survivors of GBV after what they have suffered, constitute an important step in re-establishing their dignity and integrity. Recognizing the violations as serious crimes that must be addressed through truth and justice seeking, may form an important platform in the lives of survivors. Both justice and truth must be combined with reparation in form of rehabilitation, such as care and support with regard to physical, psychological or social needs through a wide range of services. The right to a remedy and reparation is articulated as an integrated right that consists of access to justice, reparation, including economic compensation, and rehabilitation.
We have, pursuant to the adoption of General Comment no 3, to article 14 of the Convention Against Torture (https://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/docs/GC/CAT-C-GC-3.pdf), been particularly aware of the importance of ensuring psychological support to survivors of rape and other forms of sexual violence, both immediately after the violence, if possible, and as part of a more long term reparation. On this note we remind our readers of the HHRI -GBV manual developed to assist helpers who meet victims of these crimes in situations where specialized services may be scarce. See more information on our manual below.
Refurbished HHRI website
We are also delighted to introduce to you our refurbished and updated website. Our wish is that you will find the new website more intuitive to use and that you easily will find what you are looking for.
Our site contains of three sections where we share information about human right violations and mental health in war and conflict areas.
The Data base: Here you will be able to search for publications by name of publication, by author, by tags or organisation.
The Thematic pages: cover the core topics of mental health and human rights violations in disaster, war, and conflict areas, under relevant headlines.
Our Newsletters: are written with a thematic focus. You will find links according to the content of our theme.
Please try it out and give us some feedback.
Download the HHRI GBV manual
The training manual Mental health and gender-based violence: Helping survivors of sexual violence in conflict also known as “HHRI GBV Manual” is a tool on approaches and techniques that address the psychological needs of survivors of gender-based violence. It is a tool to approach survivors of rape and other forms of sexual violence in contexts of disasters, conflicts and emergency situations, where access to health professionals with psychological or psychiatric expertise usually is very limited.
The Arabic, Russian, Portuguese and Spanish versions of our training manual is available for free. If you would like a hard copy, please send us an e-mail (post@hhri.org) explaining what kind of work you are doing and why would you need the manual it. Please note that complementary to the GBV Manual, we have developed a tool box which you also can accessed for free in English, Spanish, Korean, Georgian and Romanian if you visit our GBV manual web page.
Human Rights Defender in English and Spanish
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