24 - Principles of Care of Survivors of Organized Violence in a Global Society

Summary

The UN Global Agenda in its Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UNSDSN) provides measurable goals that include the enhancement of well-being, health, safety, and justice across international communities. Survivors of organized violence comprise a diverse population that warrants special care and consideration in the achievement and monitoring of these goals. This chapter provides clinical principles, adapted from the mental health field, that are compatible and consistent with the UNSDSN goals and with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which affirms and elucidates the equal and inalienable rights guaranteed to all human beings. Professionals and paraprofessionals – even those who are not medical or mental health care providers – who use trauma-informed principles of engagement can enhance the dignity and even promote the healing of those who have suffered violations of their fundamental rights. Trauma-informed practice includes the assessment and enhancement of individuals’ safety; emphasis on the strength and resilience of survivors; focus on rebuilding community; recognition of the trauma narrative as an act of empowerment; culturally competent engagement; and an embrace of meaning-making as part of rebuilding after trauma. Clinical examples of each principle are provided to illustrate the enactment of these approaches by professionals and paraprofessionals across international disciplines.