Trauma and Violence Division (TVD)

by Bianca Barnard

Over the last month, South Africans have grappled with the aftermath of natural disasters, from flooding in the Eastern Cape, a series of tornadoes in KwaZulu-Natal and a 2.5 magnitude earthquake in Johannesburg and the West Rand. These acts of God create a real and perceived sense of insecurity and instability in South African society, communities, and patients. Still, the impact on mental health practitioners is often forgotten.

Practitioners form part of the communities devastated by natural disasters. Unfortunately, registration as a mental health practitioner does not provide immunity to the psychological impact of the loss of safety and security and a gained sense of fear and anguish. As with a patient, there is a need to rebuild a sense of stability and safety by addressing basic needs and initiating the trauma recovery process. However, more intervention is often needed. Given the responsibility to care for others, mental health practitioners must attend to their own psychological health.

These periods of disaster create an increased demand for mental health services, longer working hours, and increased patient loads. This leaves practitioners susceptible to burnout and compassion fatigue. Psychologists also experience the secondary trauma of working with patients who have been victims of loss.

While the onus remains on mental health practitioners to prioritise their own mental health, it can be challenging. Some helpful tips on navigating these are as follows:

• Acknowledge your humanness and put in place professional boundaries. Where possible, take leave to give yourself sufficient time and space to address the material reality and process what has happened. Do not over-commit yourself or continually place the needs of others before your need for self-care.
• Try to limit working in a silo. Where possible and appropriate, utilise an MDT and share the load of patient management with colleagues. Connecting with peers, colleagues, and supervisors will also help mental health practitioners avoid feeling isolated, a feeling commonly experienced due to the private nature of our work.
• Use the source of support available to you – be that a supervisor, peer group, psychologist or faith group – to ground yourself and recreate a sense of stability.

Gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), including violence against women, girls, and LGBTQIA+ people, intimate partner violence, domestic violence, sexual violence, and structural violence, is widespread in South Africa. In the last quarter of 2023 alone, more than 12,200 rapes were reported to the police, and the femicide rate in South Africa is more than five times the global average.

The End GBVF Movement

A multi-sectoral structure called the End GBVF Collective was formed in 2020 to coordinate the implementation of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) on Gender-Based Violence in South Africa. The national strategy seeks to urgently respond to victims and survivors of GBVF, broaden access to justice for survivors, change social norms and behaviour, strengthen existing architecture, promote accountability, and create more economic opportunities for women who are vulnerable to abuse because of poverty.

PsySSA has been part of the structure since 2022, with government, civil society, labour, private sector, research, academic, and development partners working together as part of this integrated national response to GBVF. From last year, the activities of the End GBVF Collective is referred to under the umbrella of the End GBV Movement, to reflect the growing number of organisations and individuals involved.

Opportunities to Get Involved

Opportunities for TVD members to join the End GBVF Movement and the fight against GBVF will be identified in this and upcoming issues of the TVD newsletter. Here are the first two opportunities to get you started:

• Complete the free GBVF 101 Course

GBVF 101 – Safeguarding is a free e-learning course that introduces the context and concepts of GBVF in South Africa and creates awareness and sensitivity about the complexity of GBVF and helping survivors. The aim of the course is to facilitate shared language to communicate clearly and efficiently about GBVF, and to ensure no harm is caused when working collectively in the GBVF sector. The course comprises nine stand-alone lessons with content, exercises, and additional readings. And if you have any feedback about or suggestions for improvement to the course, contact the training team on info@theworldofimpact.org.

• Sign up for the GBVF Health Check

The GBVF Maturity Health Check is a tool that helps workplaces in South Africa evaluate (quarterly) their behaviours, policies, and practices related to GBVF. If you work for or with an organisation that wants to do better, this developmental tool is what you need. Organisations use the tool to track their progress, identify improvements needed, and align with good practices, to ensure the workplace is a safe place. Participation in the current quarter ends on 24 May 2024.

To Find Out More

• Contact Leonie (leonie@leonievorster.co.za), who represents PsySSA in the End GBVF Collective
• Visit the End GBVF Movement website and the FAQ section
• Follow the End GBVF Movement on social media
• Read about the End GBVF Movement activities and more opportunities to join the fight against GBVF in the following TVD newsletter!