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23 - Psychosocial Features of Movements That Have Advanced Human Rights

from Part III - Contemporary Issues in Psychology and Human Rights

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 October 2020

By
Daniel J. Christie ,
Diane Bretherton  and
Lucienne Lunn
Edited by
Neal S. Rubin  and
Roseanne L. Flores
Neal S. Rubin
Affiliation:
Adler University
Roseanne L. Flores
Affiliation:
Hunter College, City University of New York
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Summary

This chapter elevates and explores factors that have played a role in the advancement of human rights. The term “psychosocial” is used to mean the reciprocal and iterative relationship between psychological processes and social movements. We illustrate how psychosocial gains can create sociocultural climates and sociopolitical changes conducive to the instantiation of human rights. We begin by identifying some of the psychosocial dynamics that were in play when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted. Subsequently, we focus on psychosocial gains and the advancement of human rights in three case studies involving people with disabilities, women, and people who are most adversely affected by climate change. The centrality of psychosocial processes in the run-up to declarations of human rights is emphasized. While declarations are highly visible outcomes, our research suggests that declarations are often preceded by a diffuse pattern of smaller psychosocial and sociopolitical gains. Given the centrality of psychosocial processes, we discuss emerging roles for psychologists as emancipatory practitioners who accompany marginalized people and assist in cultivating “new power” relationships that establish and promote a digital presence for movements aimed at the advancement of human rights.

Keywords

disability rightswomen’s rightsclimate changesocial movementssociocultural contextpsychosocial gainssocial activismcollective efficacyagencyUDHR
Type
Chapter
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The Cambridge Handbook of Psychology and Human Rights , pp. 346 - 360
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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