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.

Mental Health Disorders and Utilization of Mental Healthcare Services in United Nations Personnel, Adam D. Brown, Katharina Schultebraucks, Meng Qian, Meng Li, Danny Horesh, Carol Siegel, Yosef Brody, Abdalla Mansour Amer, Rony Kapel Lev-Ari, Francis Mas, Charles R. Marmar and Jillann Farmer, Global Mental Health (2020)

Crisis, Research

Identifying Your Role and Practicing Self-Care as a Young Black Activist, Genisha Metcalf, DoSomething.org (October 2020)

Burnout, Racism, Tools

“Racism, Whiteness, and Burnout in Antiracism Movements: How White Racial Justice Activists Elevate Burnout in Racial Justice Activists of Color in the United States”, Paul C Gorski and Noura Erakat, Ethnicities (March 2019)

Burnout, Racism, Research