Crucial need to improve mental health research and training for human rights advocates

Rohini Bagrodia, Sarah Knuckeyb, Margaret L Satterthwaite, Ria Singh Sawhney, Adam D Brown

There is an urgent need to better understand the mental health risks faced by human rights advocates and to increase the availability of tailored mental health resources. Thousands of human rights groups around the world play a crucial role in promoting rights by investigating violations and advocating for reform, accountability, and justice. Yet advocates might be at risk of adverse mental health effects from direct or indirect trauma exposure, such as witnessing violations, examining physical evidence, and interviewing traumatised survivors.

Crucial need to improve mental health research and training for human rights advocates

RELATED RESOURCES

Resilience for Activists in Repressive Settings (2022)

Justice Determinants of Wellbeing (Feb 2025)

Addressing trauma and emotions in human rights: Reflections from teaching and practice (June 2024)

Healing Systems (February 2024)

CYCLES OF TRAUMA ANDTHE JOURNEY TOWELLBEING:A Framework For TraumaInformed Practices & Positive Social Change

Urgent Action Sister Funds Publications on Crisis And Collective Care (April 2024)

Integrating individual well-being with environmental systems (December 2021)

Safer Viewing: A Study of Secondary Trauma Mitigation Techniques in Open Source Investigations