Citation

Gómez JM, Gobin RL, Barnes ML. J. Trauma Dissociation 2021; 22(2): 135-140.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/15299732.2021.1869059

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This Special Issue of the Journal of Trauma and Dissociation presents six articles on the impact of discrimination and violence in marginalized communities, with a mind toward identifying avenues of healing. Individuals and communities who find themselves at the margins of mainstream society have been placed there by oppressive and discriminatory systems, institutions, and policies. Different types of discrimination (e.g., racism, sexism, Islamophobia) often intersect (e.g., Crenshaw, 1989), resulting in various forms of marginalization and continued oppression. From the inception of this special issue, our goal was to contribute timely research, as discrimination and violence are historical and modern cornerstones of our society. However, we could not have predicted just how timely this special issue now is in light of the sociopolitical shifts that occurred in Spring 2020. The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic increased focus on physical and mental health disparities (Hooper et al., 2020; Laurencin & McClinton, 2020) and anti-Black police violence in the U.S. and the resultant protests in the U.S. and abroad shifted the mainstream narrative of trauma and discrimination (Dreyer et al., 2020).

Now with heightened awareness, trauma researchers and practitioners have a responsibility to work toward understanding the impetuses, functions, and implications of interpersonal trauma for all people. Though mainstream trauma research historically has focused on decontextualized interpersonal trauma experiences, the sociocultural context is vital in understanding posttraumatic outcomes that are relevant to mental health and posttraumatic growth (e.g., Brown et al., this special issue; Bryant-Davis & Ocampo, 2005; 2019; Crenshaw, 1989; Gómez & Gobin, 2020; Valencia-Weber & Zuni, 2003). For example, a couple of articles included in this special issue (McClendon et al., this special issue; Mekawi et al., this special issue) have a structural intersectional perspective in their work (Crenshaw, 1989) through recognition that multiple forms of oppression, such as that based on race and gender, influence an individual's experience of trauma and recovery. Taken together, the purpose of this special issue is to understand the impact of discrimination, marginalization/oppression, and interpersonal trauma for individuals who are marginalized.

Language: en