The experience of sexual assault cannot be generalized within a western perspective of trauma, or through a scope of gender binaries. Rather, it needs to be viewed with the same flexibility as multicultural counseling theory. One specific identity that tends to struggle to find a foothold within the survivorship community is that of Indigenous women. While we acknowledge that sexual assault is experienced by those of any and all genders, this paper will focus primarily on the Indigenous women who experience sexual assault. If a mental health clinician was to use Social Action with a Native American client who has experience sexual assault, it would be essential know that, according to Sarah Deer; a law professor who focuses on the Indigenous experience, cultural and societal factors all have an impact on sexual violence and the many ways individuals can experience trauma and healing (2015). We will discuss the discrepancy between humanitarian efforts and trauma work, how humanitarian workers have attempted to support the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women concern, and how therapists can use all this knowledge to best support the Indigenous client they might work with. It is pertinent to the survivor that the clinician using the technique of social action within the mental health space, be knowledgeable in the various ways sexual violence and historical trauma plays a role in the healing process and how the humanitarian institution lacks this knowledge. This is both a critique of current humanitarian efforts and provides a new framework for trauma work within this specific community.
Keywords: Sexual assault, Feminist Theory, Social Action, Counseling, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Indigenous Survivors, Humanitarianism
Trauma and Humanitarianism
The birth of the humanitarian institution was conceived by the perceived need for support for those in crisis, given by those with resources to help. Humanitarianism, specifically when using the evaluation by Calain around humanitarian health care and medicine, can often create a western view of “helping” and community support (2013). One group of people who often feel the weight of humanitarian efforts is the Indigenous people of the world. There are several ways the Indigenous people feel pressure from society, both mentally and physically. The media representations of Indigenous people, their land, their experience, and even their existence in modern life, all feed into the perpetuation of sexual violence. A large part of this media is around the fetishization of Indigenous and Native Women, which has a direct effect on their safety and bodily autonomy. In what ways can we use the outline of Historical Trauma work, the mental health work being done with Indigenous women, and that of mental health clinicians in general, to better shape future humanitarian efforts? That is just what we will intend to uncover.
One can begin to see several concerns with humanitarianism as an institution and its relationship with Indigenous women and their survival. Peter Redfield describes humanitarianism as the “work of minimalism” (pg. 148, 2008). The goal of humanitarian work, historically, is to support those in crisis, or struggling, in the various basic needs that have the potential to support food, shelter, and safety needs (Redfield, 2008). What needs to be reevaluated within the humanitarian community and by each individual who considers themselves a humanitarian, is the lack of understanding and inability to comprehend the historical needs of the trauma within the community. Indigenous people have been dealing with basic survival needs since the beginning; finding food, searching for water, fighting for their safety, and this type of work now needs to focus on the deep need for historical understanding of the trauma that has been passed down through generations and still experiences today.
The gap between the limited and temporary aid that has been historically enforced within humanitarian organizations has the possibility to be filled with the below alternative for trauma care. Alongside this we see a case study for how this type of long-lasting, more trauma focused can help the very specific population of Indigenous women and survivors of sexual assault.
Another area that perpetuates violence against Native Women is the way humanitarians and activists discuss the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) movement. The European Masters in Human Rights and Democratisation (EMA), states that there has been disregard within activist groups of the reports and statistics around Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (2019). When looking at the ethics behind the media representation around both Indigenous culture as a whole, and the MMIW movement, Calain would argue that it contributes to the power differential between the humanitarian worker and the individual experiencing suffering (pg 280). This is one of the many examples of ways in which humanitarian efforts, often under the guise of community activism, can feed into the misinformation and harm that is so prevalent within this community.
One of the largest groups of professionals, who occupy space in both the trauma world, and the world of humanitarian efforts, are mental health professionals and clinicians. This group of people has written in their code of ethics that professional and licensed counselors, “when appropriate, advocate at individual, group, institutional, and societal levels to address potential barriers and obstacles that inhibit access and/or the growth and development of clients.” (American Counseling Association, 2014). We can see some parallels to the goals of humanitarian organizations, yet one area we see a difference is the push for institutional and societal intervention in the name of client advocacy. Classic humanitarian efforts would say that this is too much of a political choice and could cross the deeply set boundary of being neutral within the humanitarian space, yet within the mental health space, we see them acknowledge the long-term work that allows for real change, but may not leave space for neutrality. This really shines a light on the gap between humanitarian work, and the trauma informed work of mental health clinicians. Within the below argument, it will be shown that the humanitarian institution would benefit from taking some of these long-term, trauma informed approaches that the mental health field is working on taking.
Humanitarian Mental Health
As a mental health clinician, one needs to be cognizant of the power differential, as described above in the example of media representation, and how even the images and stories shared about these women can contribute to asymmetrical power between the two people. The combination of a Feminist Theoretical approach; more specifically the Social Action technique, with current counseling strategies; for the ever present issue of sexual assault as a modem for violence against Native and Indigenous Women, could better form a connection to the community for the client as well as give them a sense of purpose with a Post-Traumatic Growth lens versus a Post-Traumatic Stress lens. Utilizing current literature on the topics of activism, sexual assault, historical trauma, and current counseling and humanitarian techniques, one can begin to connect the dots between the empowerment of individuals inspired to get involved with activism and the gap between our current counseling experience being most often provided to survivors, that tend to fit into a classic humanitarian lens.
In conjunction with the above assertion that activism holds a place in client healing and connection, there is a necessary understanding of current counseling practices around sexual assault, trauma, and feminist therapy. Goodman et al. researched the current trends of counseling as a social justice informed profession (2004). The sexual assault epidemic, tied with rape culture and gender inequality, can be seen as social justice issues currently being discussed in the realm of activism. Counselors should have tools to share with clients for ways to embark on social change as well as build on client strengths to provide a more beneficial path to activism for the client (Goodman et al.,2004). While the topic of social justice as a piece of counseling is being discussed, it has not yet been connected to current counseling in relation to sexual assault against Native and Indigenous Women, which is presently focused on trauma therapy (White et al.,2011). The lack of empirical evidence supporting specific counseling techniques for this population and in this environment is astounding. While Martinez & Kawam see its use for Social Workers specifically, we don’t yet have a clear guide book for the best and most effective way to use this technique with Native and Indigenous Women, which follows in the humanitarian footsteps of providing a foundation for the workers, rather than those receiving support (2018).
Historical Trauma
One of the newer concepts within the mental health field that pushes back against clinician centered techniques and leans into survivor or recipient centered techniques is the concept of Historical Trauma. Historical Trauma does not only mean trauma from sexual abuse but it is defined as “cumulative emotional and psychological wounding over the lifespan and across generations, emanating from massive group trauma.” - Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart and is often accompanied by Historical Unresolved Grief (1998). For Indigenous people this can include decades of environmental displacement, murder, and rape/ sexual violence. Historical Trauma includes, “trauma histories [that] are encapsulated within a larger trauma narrative” and that “overtime this narrative, may accumulate into a multigenerational shared account of events that have harmful effects on functioning and quality of life.” (Martinez & Kawam, 2018). Sexual assault has a permanent place within historical violence, colonization, and multigenerational trauma. This trauma is pervasive within not only the individual experience, but within communities and families alike (Martinez & Kawam, 2018). Taking this into account when working with multicultural survivors and their identity intersections is important when hoping to heal the whole person, including their historical experiences within the body and mind as well as the community based growth the American Counseling Association deems ethical for mental health professionals.
Feminist Theory and Social Action
The Feminist Theoretical approach to counseling is relatively new within the realm of counseling techniques/theories. This theory was birthed from both the main tenets of Person-Centered Theory and a profound lack of political and societal influence on the counseling profession at the time (Brown, n.d.). Feminist therapy founders; Miller MD, Enns PhD, Epin PhD, and Brown PhD, through shared knowledge and experience, created a grassroots therapy type that was based in inclusion, the political nature of human existence, and the social influences/inequities that affect clients (Corey,2009) One of the large difference between this theory and those that came before it is the concept of “The Person is Political”, the existence of “Commitment to Social Change” and the idea that “All types of oppression are recognized.”(Corey,2009). Although this theory is not technique driven, it does include a revolutionary idea of involving activism in the therapy process, this is called Social Action (Brown, n.d.). Social Action, as described by Laura S. Brown (n.d.), is the act of empowering the client to expand on their experience, in a feminist perspective, by giving back to the community through activism, involvement in community organizations, volunteer work, etc. (2018) A critical point within the relationship building with the client is acknowledging and being willing to evaluate the power differential as the relationship builds, during social action activities, and in the debrief process.
This proposed technique for sexual assault survivors should be modified and personalized to each individual client needs, abilities, identity, safety, and basic living concerns. Specifically, it will be crucial for the clinician to be willing to view mental health outside of the widely used western view and see healing as a community based process. According to Deer, cultural and societal factors all have an impact on sexual violence and the many ways individuals can experience trauma and healing (2015). Using this information, a counselor utilizing this technique should communicate with the client about possible Social Action activities they can participate in that are cognizant of their cultural affiliation as well as their societal ability. Being able to shift the Social Action techniques to fit the clients needs, abilities, and cultural experiences is key to creating empowerment for the client that truly connects to them and their community as a whole.
Awareness needs to be a practice, not a box to be checked. It is important for all clinicians, especially those working with populations with deep and pervasive trauma histories, to be aware of the Western, White male perspective of “talk-therapy” and seeking mental health support in general. The technique and ideas described above would actively work against those norms and invoke a more collectivist way of thinking, rather than the individualistic thinking the mental health field was birthed with, that has been shown to guide and impact psychological processing (Bhuller et al, 2012). A collectivist lens for this practice would be necessary to be more aligned with social movements that are more often based in group success and needs, community growth, and institutional change rather than the individual. The dichotomy between the classic, individualistic, one-on-one therapy process and the collectivist group-based needs of social action can be akin to putting a square peg in a round hole. Daunting might be a word clinicians could use to describe attempting to utilize this in practice, but the potential outcome for the clients, community, and survivors has the potential to far outweigh the growing pains that come along with utilizing a brand new therapeutic technique.
Moving Forward
How do the above ideals of Laura Browns’ Feminist Theory and Maria Yellow Horse Brave Hearts’ conceptualization of historical trauma for Indigenous women, support the growth of humanitarian efforts? This is not a question easily answered within a few short pages, but one can attempt to begin the task of connecting the dots. Not only do we see a gap in current humanitarian efforts and the evolving needs of those seeking mental health services, but we also see a gap in data around Indigenous/Female survivors of sexual violence, where the data has mostly focused on White/Female survivors of sexual violence (Forte et. al, 2017). Attempting to visualize both these gaps and the areas for growth, perhaps one can begin to see a connection in the two different proposed solutions. Using the understanding of historical context of sexual trauma, and trauma in general, we might be able to push the humanitarian community outside of their fast paced comfort zone and into something more concrete and filled with understanding not previously prioritized. The gaps within humanitarian institutions need not be permanent, but rather can be shaped by the above presented framework for mental health, trauma, and long-term healing.
References
American Counseling Association. (2014) ACA code of ethics.
Bhullar, N; Schutte, N.S.; Malouff, J.M. (2012) Associations of individualistic-collectivistic orientations with emotional intelligence, mental health, and satisfaction with life: A tale of two countries. Individual Differences Research Journal, 10: 3, 165-175
Brown, L. S. (n.d.). Feminist Therapy. In Laura S. Brown, PhD. Retrieved from http://www.drlaurabrown.com/feminist-therapy
Calain, Philippe. 2013. Ethics and Images of Suffering Bodies in Humanitarian Medicine. Social Science and Medicine 98:278-85
Corey, G.(2009) Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole
Deer, S. (2017). Bystander No More? Improving the Federal Response to Sexual Violence in Indian Country. Utah Law Review, 2017(4), 771-800. http://dc.law.utah.edu/ulr/vol2017/iss4/7/
Deer, S. (2015). The Beginning and End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America, University of Minnesota Press.
Forte, T., Du Mont, J., Kosa, D., Benoit, A., & Macdonald, S. (2017). A comparison of Indigenous and non-Indigenous survivors of sexual assault and their receipt of satisfaction with specialized health care services. Plos one, 12(11), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0188253
Goodman, L. A., Liang, B., Helms, J. E., Latta, R. E., Sparks, E., & Weintraub, S. R. (2004). Training Counseling Psychologists as Social Justice Agents: Feminist and Multicultural Principles in Action. The Counseling Psychologist, 32(6), 793–836. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000004268802
Martinez, M. J., Ph.D MSW, & Kawam, E., Ph.D MSW. (2018, April 02). Historical trauma and social work: What you need to know. Retrieved February 16, 2021, from https://www.socialworker.com/feature-articles/practice/historical-trauma-and-social-work-what-you-need-to-know/
Savarese, J. L. (2017). Challenging Colonial Norms and Attending to Presencing in Stories of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, 29(1), 157–181.
Redfield, Peter. (2008). “Vital Mobility and the Humanitarian Kit.” In Biosecurity Interventions: Global Health & Security in Question, edited by Andrew Lakoff and Stephen F. Collier, 147–171. New York: Columbia University Press.
Yellow-Horse Braveheart, M. Ph.D (1998). The Return to the Sacred Path: Reflections on the Development of Historical Trauma and Healing. University of New Mexico.