Addressing trauma and emotions in human rights: Reflections from teaching and practice

Gabrielle Jackson, Sarah Paoletti, and Margaret L. Satterthwaite

As academics and practitioners operating within the sphere of human rights and immigrant rights – work that requires listening to and engaging with experiences and narratives grounded in oppression, repression, violence, insecurity, discrimination – we are challenged to intentionally and effectively address the direct and vicarious trauma that surface in our work. We are also increasingly called upon by our students to recognize and respond to the full range of emotions that human rights work entails. This chapter incorporates the expertise of a licensed clinical social worker with experience working within the immigrant rights movement and human rights advocacy spaces and the insights of two clinical law professors. Together, we address strategies for acknowledging and giving space for the emotions and trauma we and our students grapple with in clinical human rights work. In doing so, we hope to enable the next generation of advocates to consciously and actively connect with the joy and rewards that can come from the work itself, from engagement with community – a community of clients, partners, and collaborators – and from our own lives.