1st Edition

Assault on the Soul Women in the Former Yugoslavia

By Sara Sharratt Copyright 1999
    188 Pages
    by Routledge

    188 Pages
    by Routledge

    Assault on the Soul: Women in the Former Yugoslavia sheds light upon women’s wartime experiences and makes sense of their coping strategies in the face of the innumerable atrocities committed against them. This is the only book to present the experiences of therapists, counselors, and other mental health professionals along with attorneys and Justices of the International Criminal Tribunal in working from both psychological and legal perspectives with women in former Yugoslavia. The workers who relate their experiences come from both former Yugoslavia and other nations, representing countries such as Norway, Germany, Holland, Costa Rica and the United States.

    Focusing on this region offers you a look at applied feminist practice in a cultural context outside the United States or Northern European. Assault on the Soul contains an integration of feminist theories and practice in psychology, women’s history, women’s geography, and women’s jurisprudence. This collection of articles is intended as a historical document, as assurance that both the plight of women and the role of women in bringing it to the attention of the international community and the justice system will not be erased. Assault on the Soul will help you serve your patients’needs by focusing on such issues as:

    • feminist psychology and global issues concerning crimes against women
    • interviews with judges for the International Criminal Tribunal
    • Belgrade feminists’experiences working with female survivors of war
    • supporting women’s projects in the former Yugoslavia
    • traumatized women and the impact of a women-centered training program in Bosnia
    • psychosocial services among refugee women during the war
    • the victims and perpetrators of Serbia
    • reports of rapes, killings, burning villages, and other serious war crimes

      Assault on the Soul gives you first-hand accounts of war trauma to women. Deeply moving and well written, the articles in this book are written in a combination of legal and psychological approaches to help you teach clients to heal from severe, acute, and chronic trauma.

    Contents Preface
    • Introduction
    • Feminist Psychology and Global Issues: An Action Agenda
    • Interview with Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
    • Interview with Elizabeth Odio Benito, Justice of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
    • Interview with Patricia Viseur-Sellers, Legal Officer on Gender Issues
    • The Foca Indictment by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
    • Beyond War Hierarchies: Belgrade Feminists’ Experience Working with Female Survivors of War
    • Confusing Realities and Lessons Learned in Wartime: Supporting Women’s Projects in the Former Yugoslavia
    • Traumatized Women Working with Traumatized Women: Reflections upon Life and Work in a War Zone
    • War, Life Crisis, and Trauma: Assessing the Impact of a Woman-Centered Training Program in Bosnia
    •  The Burden Left My Heart: Psycho-Social Services Among Refugee Women in Zenica and Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina During the War
    • Sympathy for the Devil: Thinking About Victims and Perpetrators After Working in Serbia
    • Some Pitfalls for Effective Caregiving in a War Region
    • Index
    • Reference Notes Included

    Biography

    Sara Sharratt