[NOTE: This three-part series was inspired by the work of “Activating Hope” https://www.humannovations.net/activating-hope and the mission of United Suicide Survivors International https://unitesurvivors.org/ . Part 1 explores the definitions of solidarity and why the concept is important to suicide prevention and Part 3 shares 5 steps in building solidarity in the suicide prevention movement.}
What is Communal Wounding and How Does it Impact Social Movements?
“…communal wounds cannot be allowed to fester; instead it is possible and critical to prepare workers to engage with integrity with…wounding, thereby limiting the unconscious inflicting of new wounds to the community and the worker.” (Van der Watt, 2019, abstract)
As the suicide prevention movement has evolved, some of our groups have experienced communal wounding. Communal wounding occurs when generations of the complex systemic oppression and culture level prejudice have been ignored in favor of surface-level activities (van der Watt, 2019). Because we were not sufficiently providing opportunities for all members of the movement to acknowledge these wounds and because many of us did not look into the mirror of our own lived experience, we continued to inflict new sources of harm.
When we experience a threat to our subgroup or individual needs, it’s human nature to move to self-protect. Hunkering down with people who are experiencing a similar pain provides camaraderie and safety. This pattern is what I see happening within the field of suicidology where researchers and suicide attempt survivors in particular, have begun splintering off, forming separate like-minded identity groups, and sometimes even casting darts at one another.
Call Out Culture and Self-Protection
Insights and messengers from “the other side” are sometimes discredited outright because of suspicion of the “others’” motives. Exclusionary groups are being formed that provide no opportunity to witness another’s perspective. “Call out” culture is then sometimes fostered by the boldness of similar-minded marginalized groups. While this action can feel empowering to the ones calling out the grievance, the accusations are often experienced as attacking by the dominant group. When people are attacked, the hard-wired reaction is to fight, flee or freeze – so as to escape the pain as quickly as possible. The resulting ‘siloing’ is problematic for the suicide prevention social movement because compassion and collaboration are compromised. We cannot achieve broad solidarity as a movement when we are operating separately, even though the internal solidarity of the subgroups provides healing from communal wounding.
“…aggrieved individuals may not mobilize to confront their troubles because some of their caring needs (emotional, identity, and participatory) are not covered. At the same time, empathy motivates people not affected by a grievance to initiate mobilization in support of the oppressed collective. Internal solidarity among those aggrieved may be created during the process of mobilization through care work.” (Santos, 2019, p. 125)
Acting in solidarity provides a way through this.
Acting in Solidarity — Living Through Differences and Past Wounding
“A person whose life is intertwined with the group [through friendship, kinship, organizational membership, informal support networks, or shared relations with outsiders]…has a big stake in the group’s fate. When collective action is urgent, the person is likely to contribute his or her share even if the impact of that share is not noticeable.” Fireman & Gamson, 1979, p. 22
We can heal from communal wounding. Real healing comes with real dialogue among different stakeholders. This effort of pulling together despite difference takes real courage and tests trust, but it is possible.
In 2014 I witnessed the intentional effort of “acting in solidarity” first hand, at the first ever National Summit on Lived Experience in Suicide Prevention. Here a couple dozen leading advocates with lived experience sat alongside leaders of behavioral health service systems. The “ah-ha” moment came when the suicide attempt survivors leaned across the table and said to the behavioral health leaders, “We are afraid of you.” These attempt survivors proceeded to express fear about being misunderstood, stigmatized, and punished when trying to access professional care. Then the behavioral health leaders expressed, “If we are honest, we are afraid of you too.” Mental health providers followed by expressing their fear about not knowing what to do, about getting sued, and about having someone “die on my watch.” The dialogue evolved from the shared experience of fear into new insights as both groups looked to find ways to improve collaboration and understanding. Here are some moving pieces of that conversation:
“People need to know they can disclose suicidal thoughts and that they will get help, not punishment,” Shari Sinwelski, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
“Emergency care providers need to improve practices to preserve dignity of people in the middle of a suicide crisis,” Eduardo Vega, CEO Mental Health Association of San Francisco
“Stop assessing the symptoms. When we do that, we are working from a deficit model rather than a strength model. Rather than creating a treatment plan create a hope plan and assess for that. Find out what brings meaning and purpose and create a plan for that,” Tom Kelly, Magellan Health Services of Arizona
“Continuity of care is really about not giving up on someone,” John Draper, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Thus, we have evidence — in our social movement and others — that communal wounding needs to be addressed and that healing is possible when we are willing. In Part 3 of this series on solidarity, we explore five steps to help us do the work of recovery and build solidarity in the suicide prevention movement.
References
Fireman, B. & Gamson, W. (1979). Utilitarian logic in the resource mobilization perspective. In The Dynamics of Social Movements, Eds. Zald, M & McCarthy, J. pp. 8–44. Cambridge, MA: Winthrop.
Santos, F. (2019). Social movements and the politics of care: empathy, solidarity and eviction blockades, Social Movement Studies, 19(2,) 125-143, DOI: 10.1080/14742837.2019.1665504
van der Watt, P. (2019) Prepared for a journey into wounded communities – and into the self, Community Development Journal, bsz022, https://doi.org/10.1093/cdj/bsz022
Graphic to Share
Please feel free to share this graphic. All we ask is that you link back to this blogpost.
