In some of the world’s most repressive contexts, civil society organisations (CSOs) and international NGOs (INGOs) stand as vital lines of defence for rights, dignity and justice.
Yet research, commissioned by Christian Aid Ireland on autocratic states and local civil society responses to repressive regimes, makes clear that this work often comes at an immense personal cost: deep, widespread psychological weariness that too often goes unseen and unsupported.
From Zimbabwe to Burundi to Isreal and the occupied Palestinian territory (IoPt), CSO staff and activists are navigating daily threats, smear campaigns, online harassment, surveillance, and the relentless stress of working in high-risk spaces. They pay for this courage with their health — mental, emotional and physical.
Unpacking the Hidden Toll
Widespread psychological weariness:
Across contexts, the constant fear of surveillance, intimidation, and targeted attacks leaves people exhausted and anxious. In Zimbabwe, many workers report burnout, depression, and even stress-related illnesses — yet mental health training and structured support remain rare or non-existent.
Gendered and generational trauma:
In the IoPt, women human rights defenders face double burdens: the trauma of occupation layered with gender-based harassment, sexual intimidation, and reputational attacks designed to silence their voices. In Burundi, current trauma collides with historical wounds — generations of violence, exile, and political division live on in the minds and hearts of today’s activists, shaping their resilience but also deepening their pain.
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Coping mechanisms — and gaps:
Some organisations are trying. In Gaza, the Women’s Affairs Center runs psychological support sessions — but these are often under-resourced and short-term. Others, like the YWCA West Bank, highlight how simple internal solidarity among team members can act as a crucial buffer against mental distress. Still, these local efforts are fragile, and they rarely match the scale of the need.
The double-edged sword of digital space:
The pandemic and repressive governments have forced many CSOs to shift their organising online, relying on apps like Signal or Telegram. While these tools help activists circumvent bans on assembly, they also open the door to new threats — hacking, cyberattacks, surveillance, and intimidation through anonymous calls or online ‘Zoom bombings’. For many, these digital threats only add to anxiety and fear.
Becoming truly trauma-informed
So, what does it really mean for an INGO to become trauma-informed? It means recognising that trauma is not peripheral — it’s woven into the daily fabric of advocacy in fragile and repressive settings.
Here are key steps every INGO can take:
1. Context-driven mental health support
Support must be rooted in local realities. Programmes should be co-developed with partners to reflect the specific historical, cultural, gendered, and generational layers of trauma they face — not imposed as a generic model from the outside.
2. Capacity building for resilience
Training is vital. INGOs must invest in equipping staff and partners with practical tools for trauma awareness, psychological first aid, digital safety, and coping strategies to navigate repression without being consumed by it.
3. Build safe spaces and networks
Facilitate safe forums — both regional and global — where activists and partners can meet, decompress, and share strategies for resilience. These networks provide a vital sense of solidarity that can counter the isolation of working under threat.
4. Integrate mental health into core funding
Mental health and well-being must be built into core budgets — not treated as an optional add-on. Flexible funding enables local organisations to adapt, hire counsellors, run safe retreats, or simply create breathing space to address emerging psychological needs.
5. Embed trauma-sensitivity in everything
From whom and how meetings are facilitated to how safeguarding, confidentiality, and power dynamics are handled — trauma sensitivity must guide how we relate to people. Programmes should ‘Do No Harm’, protect the dignity of all involved, and avoid re-traumatisation at every step.
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A Call to INGOs
We cannot stand for justice while ignoring the harm that seeps into our own movements. Trauma is not an abstract idea — it lives in the daily realities of people working for freedom and dignity in the harshest conditions.
Becoming trauma-informed is not about adding a line to a policy — it’s about transforming how we design, fund, deliver, and measure our work. It’s about courage, humility, and a commitment to care — for the communities we serve and the people doing this hard, necessary work.
As we face new waves of conflict, repression, and crisis, let’s not pretend that resilience is limitless. Let’s choose to make our organisations places where healing is possible, solidarity is real, and no one is left to bear the burden alone.
Bibliography:
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Cane, P. M. and Revtyak, K. L. (2016). Refugee Accompaniment: Capacitar Practices of Self-Care and Trauma Healing for Refugees and those who walk with them. Capacitar International: California.
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MentalHealth.org (n.d.). Trauma-Informed Approach and Trauma-Specific Interventions. Available online: https://www.mentalhealth.org/get-help/trauma
Anupama Ranawana (2025). How local civil society is responding to repressive regimes: Lessons from Burundi, Zimbabwe, and Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Christian Aid Ireland.
Smyth, M. and Robinson, G. (eds) (2001). Researching violently divided societies: Ethical and methodological issues. New York: United Nations University Press.
Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences (2017) A conflict sensitive approach to field research – doing any better? Swiss Academies Reports, 12(5).
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) (2017). A Series on Building Resilient and Trauma-Informed Communities. SAMHSA.
