Encouraging the growing momentum around staff wellbeing in the humanitarian and human rights sectors19/7/2020 Throughout July FD Consultants want to highlight the diverse expertise and professionalism amongst its associates. Arianna Rondos is a UKCP accredited psychotherapist. She specialises in refugees, trauma and psychological wellbeing of humanitarian and human rights workers. In addition to her psychological training she has an MA in Human Rights Law and has worked and lived internationally. Arianna offers psychological and research services for FD Consultants. “I found our session incredibly helpful! I had a post deployment assessment with another service provider back in 2015, and the person I spoke to then had almost no understanding of the type of work I did, and the unique stresses of the humanitarian environment. Your experience and deep engagement with the humanitarian sector is evident and really made the session meaningful to me.” (Humanitarian staff feedback) I joined FD Consultants at the start of 2019 with an academic and professional background in the fields of human rights, international development and gender-based violence (GBV) and with a clinical focus on refugees and trauma. Having lived internationally, in the Middle East, Balkans and in Europe during these years, I also had some knowledge of the aid sector field context. It was this experience which motivated me to broaden my clinical focus to include those who provide support to vulnerable communities and which led me to join FD Consultants as an Associate. I wanted to be involved in and to encourage the growing momentum around staff wellbeing in the humanitarian and human rights sectors. And, to acknowledge the value of my own struggle in appreciating how a desire to address the needs of the most vulnerable can lead one to neglect their own self-care. While my particular experience is not a prerequisite for this work, when significant in some way to the experience of the individual being supported, it can elicit what I have understood as a kind of ‘relief’. A relief, as some have described, in not ‘feeling like I have to spend most of the time explaining the way I live and work rather than what is actually going on for me’. At FD Consultants we attend to each of our clients in this way, with trauma specialist expertise and an understanding of the unique contexts in which humanitarian, human rights staff and first responders work. When meeting a person for the first time I will introduce myself with a little information about my background, which I provide as a way of letting them know that I can, in a way, speak the language of their work/life context. With each consultation I draw upon this experience and understanding of the sector to recognise and highlight the unique and meaningful ways a person is supporting their own resilience as well as where they might benefit from attending to themselves with more care. When working with trauma, I seek to convey that, while trained and experienced in this field, I am equally respectful of the uniqueness of their experience. Most recently, as part of the COVID-19 humanitarian response, FD Consultants’ Associates have been carrying out consultations with humanitarian aid staff preparing to deploy, the majority of whom are well seasoned in epidemic emergency settings. Much of their preparation and expectation, which I hear reflected in their calm yet adrenaline infused tone, is relevant to the COVID context. Some have already been on the frontlines at home, ‘facing shortages, infected colleagues, family members and an array of unknowns’, as one staff described. Others are prepared for these realities once on the ground. In support of this, our consultations focus on strengthening innate resilience. And, as I listen and inquire, I encourage the importance of self-care and boundaries by reinforcing responsibility for oneself, including taking breaks, not pushing beyond breaking point, as well as openly voicing concerns with the team leader. Given the global nature of the humanitarian and human rights sectors, our work often involves crossing cultures, ethnicities, religious affiliation, gender, sexuality and, when supporting young volunteers, generations. It also often involves crossing boarders, at the least, and, more often, continents, through video link or audio, and not always with an ideal internet connection. Yet, whether I am asking someone who has never undergone a psychological evaluated to share their experience or I am assessing someone following a traumatic incident, I am regularly struck by the openness with which I am met. And, how, whether speaking to national staff or deployed internationals, they will often describe a sense of personal responsibility, not only towards their work, but towards the wellbeing of their team’s, colleagues, organisations and, most of all, the communities they work in. With each of these interactions, I find myself both exponentially impressed by the work of humanitarian and human rights organisations as well as conscious of the work that still remains in destigmatising and normalising the inherent psychological stresses that accompany their efforts. FD Consultants appreciates the multifaceted nature of this responsibility and understands how organisations, which are increasingly committed to the wellbeing of their staff, can foster healthy working environments, which in turn support the communities they work with. By building relationships with these organisations, providing individual services to their staff and, by providing vital monitoring and evaluation, FD Consultants directly contributes to achieving the goals and objectives of the humanitarian sector through enhancing its duty of care policies. For organisations looking for employee psychological support, FD Consultants are the trauma specialists and well-being service who will best deliver a reliable, quick, and bespoke support system in the workplace. FD Consultant’s team of accredited specialists will offer ongoing support to help manage stress, prevent burnout and provide specialist trauma care where required, enabling your staff with the tools to cope, and recover more quickly.
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So much has happened recently that feels like progress when it comes to ensuring the right of people to live free from abuse. Millions of people across the world have harnessed the power of social media to demand an end to sexual violence and harassment against individuals using hashtags such as #MeToo, #AidToo, #TimesUp, #YouOkSis, #SayHerName, #MosqueMeToo, #23Days, #OneBillionRising and #EverydaySexism. Powerful figures, from Hollywood film producers to senior politicians and humanitarian aid bosses, have been named and shamed for crimes such as sexual misconduct, assault and child abuse. In the United States, more than US$20 million has been raised to establish a Time’s Up legal defence fund for lower-income women seeking justice for workplace sexual harassment and assault. This year should finally see the first steps towards the implementation of an international legal standard to help prevent, identify and remedy violence in the workplace, with a strong focus on the gender. But what is Gender Based Violence (GBV)? This is defined as any harmful act against an individual due to their gender, male or female, often motivated by power or control, all forms of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, domestic violence, honour killings, forced marriage, genital mutilation etc. The majority of perpetrators are male; although research shows male survivors are much less likely to report these crimes. Those who speak out against the physical, sexual, psychological and economic harm they endure often pay a terrible price. Victims face slurs, shame, can be ostracised from the community and education, experience a loss of income, more violence and even loss of life. For every woman or man that has shared her/his story on social media, there are thousands more for whom silence was the only option. In England I have witnessed and supported individuals at the Crown Court, but the percentage of cases that even make it this far is so miniscule we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg. So why is this happening? Any sector which supports vulnerable individuals can become a breeding ground for GBV due to several factors such as an imbalance of power (gender, beneficiaries), an inbred macho culture (risk behaviours - running on adrenaline), and being in confined environments. What can we do to stop GBV? Megan Norbert is at the forefront of creating change. She has recently been presented with the @InterActionOrg's Humanitarian Award for her work to end silence on sexual violence against aid workers. She's a gender-based violence in emergencies specialist with CARE. Megan shared her story with me for my recently published book, Psychosocial Support for Humanitarian Aid Workers: A Roadmap of Trauma and Critical Incident Care, buy your copy today click here One point I make in the book is if you don’t know how to support a colleague who may have just experienced a sexual violent crime you need further training. It is essential for preventing retraumatising individuals, and there is an urgency with much of the support due to timelines of forensic data collection. It is important individuals are well informed as it can make a huge difference to someone’s recovery. The initial stages of support are often the most crucial in someone’s recovery. Organisations need to create a culture of accountability and ensure follow up on reports and care to the trauma survivor is given in a timely and suitable fashion. In-country teams need to receive full training to know how to support each other and the care-givers in their teams. How can we empower people to speak out safely? What do organisations need to do? The only way we are going to change systematic ignorance of GBV is to ensure organisations, companies and NGOs have transparency, working collaboratively so perpetrators cannot be moved from one agency to another; this obviously ties into more stringent vetting and recruitment procedures. All organisations need to ensure they have whistleblowing policies in place, that they are promoted internally and a culture of sharing feelings and cases of GBV so that they are not swept under the carpet. FD consultants are working collaboratively with Care International by offering individual and group support sessions - lets hope more organisations follow their lead. This ties in with continually reviewing safeguarding policies and making them a priority within the organisation. Sadly, I have worked with many organisations where safeguarding is seen as a low priority (RtA found that only 16% of 92 organisations reviewed mentioned sexual violence in their duty of care policies). Organisations need to be aware of local protocols and laws; as well as consider if the survivor needs to be relocated for better care. I am often shocked at how little information organisations have about areas where they are deploying staff. Better support for Survivors Fundamentally our care and support for survivors of GBV needs to improve. Organisations need to have clear policies in place that are implemented as soon as a case of GBV is reported, with immediate medical care for the survivor, as well as providing access to counselling services. After the initial support organisations should offer legal support and follow up with the survivor to ensure they are not retraumatised and are receiving the care they require and have every right to. Here at FD Consultants we are passionate about training the carers and NGOs and have developed a Sexual violence awareness course to enable participants to better protect themselves against the threat of sexual violence and be better placed to respond in the event of an incident occurring. We strive to define sexual violence, challenge myths and build skills to support a colleague after a sexual violent crime. The true power of the #MeToo moment will lie in our ability to harness this rare, sustained global attention on the issue of gender-based violence to support the work of the grassroots activists, community-based organisations, journalists, academics, trade unions, NGOs and social movements who were doing this work well before the hashtags started trending and will continue doing it long after they stop. Their work needs to be well-funded and widely supported but it also requires the proper legal framework. That’s why the proposed International Labour Organization (ILO) instrument on Violence and Harassment against Women and Men in the World of Work is so important. There are currently 189 ILO conventions setting out basic principles and rights at work; not one of them focuses on gender-based violence. It is time to create a culture of zero tolerance, it is time for change. References
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