Intergenerational trauma series#

Together with other organisations, in 2005 they set up the women’s forum Abiyubaka (“people who help each other”). Living with the “ children of the perpetrators” usually means being excluded from their society, losing access to social support and increased feelings of isolation, which all exacerbate the impacts of the trauma of being raped.īy carrying out this support work, our Rwandan partner organisation SEVOTA aims to break the silence and taboos between mothers and children, and within families and societies. One of the consequences for many of them was an unwanted pregnancy leading to children who are now referred to as “bad memories”, “hate” or “bad luck”. Hundreds of thousands of women, mainly Tutsi, were systematically subjected to rape. In order to alleviate or even prevent the transgenerational consequences of violence, one of the measures at medica mondiale is to support survivors of sexualised violence and children born out of rapes during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Rwanda and Bosnia: Liberating the “Children of War” and their mothers from stigma This approach helps to give rise to the supportive surroundings and sustainable conditions for prevention. The basic principles of this are stability and security, connection and empowerment, which ensures the strengthening of those affected by sexualised violence. Medica mondiale worked closely with its partner organisations to develop the Stress- and Trauma-sensitive Approach (STA). Work to prevent violence therefore needs to be sensitive to discriminations and to tackle the underlying causes of violence and trauma. For example, women and girls who are already discriminated against for their race or disability are also at higher risk of being subjected to sexualised violence. Sexualised violence often occurs in situations where various discriminations overlap – or intersect, hence the term ‘ intersectionality’. A Stress- and Trauma-sensitive Approach can help to create stabilising surroundings for survivors, empowering them and allowing them to be at ease and open up. If this can occur at the level of relationships and families, then in the long term it will also have an impact on society as a whole. The act of speaking itself can have a healing effect on the survivor’s relationships to other people and to themselves. There is also a need for safe spaces where the issues can be talked about. They need people they can turn to in their immediate surroundings who are capable of a safe and trusting relationship with the survivors. Ideally, they feel supported because their suffering is acknowledged and support is made available to them to process their experiences of violence. A very significant factor here is how the affected person experiences their social and socio-political environment.

It is important to process the trauma as soon as possible. Narrative and historical trauma among Inuit in Nunavut, Canada, Transcultural Psychiatry 51(3): 339–369. The trauma experienced by generations past having an effect in their descendants.Journal of Health & Social Policy 10(4): 1–21. Gender differences in the historical trauma response among the Lakota.H., Chase, J., Elkins, J., & Altschul, D. Historical trauma among indigenous peoples of the Americas: Concepts, research, and clinical considerations.America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing Trauma, Transgenerational Transfer and Effects on Community Wellbeing.Judy Atkinson, Jeff Nelson, Robert Brooks, Caroline Atkinson and Kelleigh Ryan (o.J.) Addressing Individual and Community Transgenerational Trauma.Transmissions and Chosen Traumas: An Aspect of Large-Group Identity.

Intergenerational trauma series#

Key Concepts in Transforming War-Related Identities., Berghof Handbook Dialogue Series No. In the field of research, the intergenerational inheritance of trauma is called epigenetics. In this way, traumata do not just affect the life of the persons directly affected, but even in times of peace it continues to have impacts on their families and whole societies, often for generations. Rape myths, stigmatisation, and the taboos surrounding violence within our families and society all make it more difficult for many survivors of sexualised (wartime) violence to speak about their experience of violence and find appropriate support support to overcome their war trauma.

This damages physical and psychological integrity, destroys trust and confidence, and reduces the capacity to form relationships.

Wartime rapes and other forms of sexualised violence often have have war trauma or some other form of traumatisation as a consequence. If they are not dealt with and processed, they can be passed down as transgenerational trauma to our children, grandchildren and society. Traumatic experiences have far-reaching consequences.