Political Emergency and Political Violence

If previous chapter discussed the impact of the disasters caused by acts of nature, this chapter focuses on the MH impact of humanitarian crises exacerbated by political dysfunction and political violence. Examples are fragile or failed states, wars, genocides, and complex political contexts (CPCs) or dictatorships. The war trauma has been comparatively well studied, and there are evidence-based interventions for survivors of different ages and cultures. GMH providers, however, must be aware of the special needs of the survivors of war rape, child soldiers, and former combatants whose community is not always able or willing to support them. In genocides and CPCs, the deliberate victimization is based on religious, racial, ethnic, or gender identity which creates a long-lasting, often transgenerational impact. Political violence is associated with severe trauma and moral injury. This experience alters social cognitions and solidifies social fears and distrust, leading to reluctance to disclose their experience and seek, accept, and offer support to others and inhibits aggregation or sharing the experience and accessing community supports. MH professionals servicing people from countries with CPCs must be aware of how this experience affects survivors’ help-seeking behavior and shapes the attitudes toward health and MH providers who may be perceived as a part of the establishment.