Trauma, Peacebuilding and Development: An Africa Region Perspective
Armed conflict and its aftermath impose an enormous burden of psychological and social suffering on affected populations. During the 1990s and early in the 21st century, this suffering was conceptualized in terms of a trauma paradigm, which held that life threatening experiences cause individual traumatic reactions such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and also collective maladies such as collective trauma. In many regions, practitioners who adhere to a trauma paradigm assume that unhealed traumas may contribute to ongoing cycles of violence and thwart peacebuilding efforts, and they seek to alleviate trauma through individualized approaches such as trauma counseling .
http://www.incore.ulst.ac.uk/pdfs/IDRCwessels.pdf
Nowhere to turn: failure to protect, support and assure justice for Darfuri women
This report amplifies the voices of some 88 women in the Farchana refugee camp, some of them breaking their silence for the first time. They spoke about the sexual violence visited upon them both in Darfur and in the environs of the refugee camps in Chad, and about their lives and difficulties in the camp. The report reveals the profound stigma and physical violence to which many women have been subjected as a result of sexual assault.
Women, girls, boys and men different needs equal opportunities. Gender Handbook in Humanitarian Action.
This handbook offers practical guidance on identifying and addressing the differing needs and situations of women, girls, boys and men; in other words, being sensitive to gender issues in humanitarian crises. The IASC Guidelines for Gender-based Violence Interventions in Humanitarian Settings serve as a complement to this handbook and should be used in conjunction with it.
http://www.unhcr.org/50f91c999.html
Traumatic events and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder amongst Sudanese nationals, refugees and Ugandans in the West Nile
Symptoms of PTSD in war-affected Sudanese populations can be partly explained by traumatic event exposures. The high prevalence of violence and symptoms of PTSD in refugee populations highlight the need for better protection and security in refugee settlements. Humanitarian agencies must consider the provision of mental health services for populations affected by war and forced migration.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=2141616&blobtype=pdf
UNHCR Handbook for the Protection of Women and Girls
Today, women and girls everywhere still face greater obstacles claiming and enjoying their rights than do men and boys. Displacement generally exacerbates these inequalities, as does a tendency to focus on human rights abuses in public, rather than private, spheres. Gender inequality is at the heart of sexual and gender-based violence. To prevent SGBV we must therefore put an end to such inequalities.
http://www.unhcr.org/protect/PROTECTION/47cfa9fe2.pdf
Children Affected by Armed Conflict in South Asia: A review of trends and issues identified through secondary research
This document is based on research conducted in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka between January and April 2001. (for historical reference)
http://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/files/publications/other/dp-children-armed-conflict-south-asia.pdf
When Forced Migrants Return Home: The Psychosocial Difficulties Returnees Encounter in the Reintegration Process
Since the 1980s onwards, voluntary repatriation has been promoted by governments, NGOs and UN agencies as the ultimate solution to refugees displacement. Policy makers, donor countries, practitioners and researchers have typically disregarded, or at least overlooked, the meaning of repatriation from the returnees point of view. It is assumed that beyond the technical aspects of repatriation, the return of forced migrants to their country of origin does not raise any particular challenge to those concerned. A returnee is perceived as the reverse condition of a refugee. While refugees are seen as uprooted and displaced, returnees are considered to be naturally re-rooted and placed back in the right order of things.
http://repository.forcedmigration.org/pdf/?pid=fmo:4361
Guideline: Health and Migration
Guideline for refugees and asylum seekers in Austria.
Building a Conceptual Framework for Psychosocial Intervention in Complex Emergencies
Reporting on the work of the Psychosocial Working Group. (A Joint Academic-Humanitarian Agency Initiative regarding response to the Psychosocial Needs of Refugees and War-affected Populations)
http://ourmediaourselves.com/archives/13pdf/02-12%20Alison%20Strang.pdf