A Culture of Silence: Mental Health amongst Humanitarian Workers |
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Friday, 22 December 2017 In 2015, the UK-based news outlet The Guardian put out a call for survey participants for a study on “mental health and wellbeing in the aid industry”. The results of this study show worrying trends, with eight in 10 of the 754 respondents stating that they had experienced mental health issues, and an overwhelming majority reporting that the problems were related to their work. Aid work, particularly international humanitarian response, is an area of employment rife with potential dangers and stress. Exposure to security threats and witnessing human suffering on a regular basis are simply part of the job when one is deployed to a country in the midst of crisis. And the threats are not always external. In the current post-Harvey Weinstein culture of late 2017, issues of sexual assault within the workplace are finally receiving global attention. Specifically within the humanitarian sector, a Geneva-based campaign group called Report the Abuse published findings that “54% of incidents of sexual assault and abuse against expatriate aid workers are carried out by their international colleagues.” Given the continued stigma associated with mental health issues and sexual assault, it’s easy to imagine how these compounded sources of trauma might weigh on the very people working to alleviate global human suffering. Aid organizations are finally beginning to recognize what professionals in the social work and mental health fields have known for years: lack of support and a culture of silence are making the problems worse. Participants of The Guardian study cited an overall “lack of support at work as the principal factor impacting on their mental health…”. Additionally, where support was technically available, it was reported to be insufficient. One anonymous aid worker described it as “tokenistic”, following a traumatic experience where several of their colleagues had been abducted and executed in the course of duty. Other anecdotal data mentioned a “culture of martyrdom amongst aid workers,” where asking for help is seen not only as a sign of weakness, but perhaps even more shameful, that the asker is not a “true humanitarian”. In light of such distressing reports, what steps can and are being taken to address these glaring issues? The first step is, of course, awareness building. As those of us working in humanitarian aid and development understand, change cannot come about without awareness and understanding of the problem at it’s core. Accountability, identification and response to mental health needs, particularly when it comes to sexual assault and workplace trauma, is finally on the brink of a major revolution in this era of the #MeToo movement. Just last week (at the time of this writing), The Guardian launched a new survey, titled Aid workers and sexual harassment: share your experiences. It is an opportunity for those working in the humanitarian sector to share our stories of sexual harassment in the workplace, anonymously if preferred. But awareness and education are not the only factors we must address. NGOs and other international organizations must take clear steps to improve their counseling services, to provide consistent support to all HQ and in-country staff, and to identify who is responsible for staff wellbeing. Additionally, we must improve transparency and address accountability within our own ranks, to ensure that perpetrators of violence and abuse within the aid community face the necessary consequences. Just recently, Save the Children announced it had fired 16 staff members over the past year due to reports of sexual harassment. In the meantime, as we wait for the humanitarian sector to catch up to the needs of their employees and volunteers, aid workers must be sufficiently informed of the services that are already available to them, and be encouraged to access them. Yet finding these services, remains a daunting task in and of itself. Previous attempts have been made to compile international resource lists, such as in2mentalhealth.com’s impressive list of 322 worldwide mental health NGOs (unfortunately, both in2mentalhealth.com and Report the Abuse had to shut down in the past year, and will soon be outdated). One can hope that in the future, however, as the taboo of mental illness becomes less pronounced, humanitarian staffers will share resources amongst themselves, and further study and research will shed new light on these issues and how best to address them. Let us stand in solidarity. Cited Sources:
Mental Health Resources:Note: the author of this article does not specifically recommend or endorse any of the following resources, and leaves it up to the discretion of the reader to determine if a particular resource is appropriate for their situation US-based mental health hotlines:
International sexual assault resources: Online counseling & therapy (not free of cost):
Further Research: |
By Lana Keusch, MPH
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