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Author(s): Angela Veale and Giorgia Donà
Article Title: Psychosocial Interventions and Children’s Rights: Beyond Clinical
Discourse
Year of publication: 2002
Citation: Veale, A. and Donà, G. (2002) Psychosocial Interventions and Children’s
Rights: Beyond Clinical Discourse’. Peace & Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology,
8(1), pp. 47-61.
Link to published version:
dx.doi.org/10.1207/S15327949PAC0801_5
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“This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA
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To appear in: Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology Feb 2002
Psychosocial interventions and children’s rights:
Beyond clinical discourse
Angela Veale, Ph. D.,
Department of Applied Psychology,
National University of Ireland, Cork,
Ireland.
Giorgia Donà, Ph.D.
Department of Anthropology and Sociology,
University of East London,
U.K.
Address for correspondence:
Angela Veale, Ph. D. Department of Applied Psychology, North Mall,
National University of Ireland, Cork,Ireland.
Phone 00-353-21-904551
Fax: 00-353-21-27043
E-mail: a.veale@ucc.ie
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Abstract
There has been a significant increase in psychosocial interventions in the aftermath of ethno-
political violence. Rwanda after genocide received sustained psychological attention and this
paper critically examines the contribution of psychosocial interventions to the broader
development agenda of reconstruction and rehabilitation. We undertake a brief
psychologically informed analysis of the factors that contributed to genocide as a means of
outlining the political and cultural context in which psychosocial interventions operate.
During the violence, ethnicity was politically mobilised, communities polarised, social
networks fragmented. An analysis of psychosocial interventions for children highlights that
programmes have not examined implications of social power and status before reintegration
and community based psychosocial interventions have been slow to develop. An
examination of how psychological knowledge has been utilised in post-genocide re-
constructive efforts shows that ‘trauma’ has been a dominant discourse. We explore the
potential impact of a narrow focus on victims and survivors on societal rehabilitation, and
reflect on the implications of how ‘trauma’ may be appropriated and politicised as a symbol
of genocide and political legitimacy. This leads to reflection on groups that have been
marginalised from psychosocial support and the potential implications of this. The paper
concludes with an analysis of what a rights framework can contribute to psychosocial
interventions in linking psychosocial work more centrally to broader political and
development analysis.
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Psychosocial Interventions and Children’s Rights: Beyond clinical discourse
As a discipline, psychology is struggling to articulate its contribution to policy and practice in
international post-conflict emergency and social reconstruction contexts (Mays et al., 1998).
Increasingly, psychologists work alongside local and international development professionals
in implementing strategies to address the impact of political violence on children, their
families and communities. Key child oriented policy documents on children in war such as
the Graça Machel Report on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children and the report of the
International Save the Children Alliance Working Group on Children affected by Armed
Conflict and Displacement have made explicit reference to the obligations of State parties
and non government organizations to support the psychological recovery and social
reintegration of children after war (Okorodudu, 1998).
The Machel study has established the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as
the guiding framework for policy and practice with respect to children in conflict and post
conflict situations. The Convention arguably offers a holistic framework for situating the
development of psychosocial programs in post emergency contexts (Wessells, 1997), yet a
child rights framework has been marginal within psychology until recently (Murphy-Berman
et al., 1996; Reichenberg & Freidman, 1996). Psychologists working with different cultural
and ethnic groups are often challenged about their assumptions and practices; similarly those
who work in non western conflict situations find themselves challenged to position
psychological analyses among non psychological discourses drawn from human rights,
political analysis, and development. Working in this multi-disciplinary environment
challenges psychologists to examine and define their voice in the complex political, socio-
cultural and rights oriented arena of humanitarian assistance.
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Compared to other post-conflict contexts, the dominant narrative around Rwanda has
been a psychological one. Rwanda, in the aftermath of genocide, was targeted almost
immediately for psychologically informed programs to address perceived widespread trauma
(Summerfield,1999). According to Smith (1998), Rwanda, after genocide, continues to be
“deeply troubled” (p 751) and argues the need for widespread “social therapy” within a
psychocultural framework. He argues children in particular may have been most
psychologically affected by violence witnessed and experienced, and quotes the conclusions
of Geltman & Stover (1997) that in psychiatric interviews, “Our findings suggest that many
Rwandan children have suffered inordinate and in some cases, irreparable physical and
psychological damage…. if these children cannot reach some form of reconciliation with the
violence they have experienced, many may turn to maladaptive and violent behavior”(p29,
Geltman & Stover, in Smith, 199, p 752).
This article presents a critique of clinicalized approaches to psychosocial
intervention in non-Western settings and argues for a rights-based approach, linking
psychosocial assistance with political and economic reconstruction. We will do so by
exploring the challenges of developing psychosocial responses for children in Rwanda in the
aftermath of ethno-political violence. It aims to describe the types of responses that were
developed, and to reflect on what has been the contribution of psychosocial programs. The
analysis examines the positioning of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in
psychosocial policy and practice. The discussion explores the contribution of integrating a
psychological and a rights perspective more closely in post-conflict reconstruction in Rwanda
.
A psychological analysis of the Rwandan genocide
Before attempting to understand the contribution of psychosocial programs for children in
Rwanda, it is important to understand the local context in which intervention operates. The