5 - The Impact of Testifying

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Testifying before a war crimes tribunal can have long-term physical and psychological consequences (Hamber 2009; Stover 2005). The testimonies witnesses give are not just statements about whether there have been violations of international law; typically their evidence pertains to the traumas of war they have experienced, which requires them to recall painful events. One cannot overstate the impact of this trauma in terms of the physiological and psychological health of those persons who are responsible for “bearing witness.” It means that not only did they endure significant levels of trauma during the Balkan wars, with which they still need to cope on a daily basis, but the very process of having to testify in one or more trials forces them to recall these memories, to cope with waiting periods (which can last years) before being called to testify, and to deal with the residual impact of having testified. This chapter describes the witnesses’ psychological and physical health and how witnesses believe testifying has affected their well-being. There are three key lines of inquiry regarding the factors affecting witness physical and psychological health we explore in this chapter.

First, we examine the central concept of witness well-being through multiple measures evaluating the short- and long-term impact of the wars of the former Yugoslavia on those who have testified, including a battery of questions about their post-traumatic symptoms and perceptions about their health after testifying and today. We will begin by unpacking how well the witnesses are today, which types of post-conflict reactions and psychological concerns they tend to experience, and how the testimonial process has influenced their health.

Second, we examine witnesses’ trauma, its impact, and their health to ascertain which characteristics tend to be most associated with psychological and physical health, especially their emotional states before and after testimony. The short- and long-term impact of testifying on ICTY witnesses has been a subject of interest since the beginning of the Tribunal (Wald 2002). VWS personnel can recount years of experience spent working with a diverse witness population, with some witnesses being more fragile during the testimonial process, while others are incredibly self-sufficient and composed despite having to recount horrific events.