WHAT MAKES TERRORISM UNIQUE
In alignment with the definition of terrorism under the Criminal Code Act (Cth), the principle foundation of Australia’s counter-terrorism policy to treat terrorism as a crime.
This criminalisation provides the framework that enables the various Commonwealth and State Government machinations to engage to undertake the functions of prevention; preparedness; response and recovery from terrorism.
Whilst terrorism is treated as a crime, it is recognised that it is a unique crime. The factors which contribute to the uniqueness of this crime include:
- Aim of terrorism is to install fear to promote a belief, through targeting innocent victims;
- Randomness of intentional excessive violence;
- Impact and public exposure;
- Man-made infinite and complex crime;
- Public expectation that it is theoretically preventable;
- Influenced by the concepts of ‘extreme ideology’, ‘radicalisation’ and ‘recruitment’;
- The nature and impact of the trauma caused through terrorist attacks creates a wider pool of victims / survivors than traditional crime.
These unique factors can adversely impact on the wider community by provoking feelings of;
- Anxiety;
- Fear;
- Loss of control;
- Loss of a sense of security:
- Erosion of community cohesion; and
- Sense of injustice.
HOW ARE PEOPLE IMPACTED BY TERRORIST ATTACKS?
People who experience a terrorist attack are potentially impacted by physical trauma, direct and indirect psychological trauma as well as bereavement (grief). In relation to terrorist attacks, psychological injuries are generally more predominant than physical injuries.
In the context of psychological injuries and bereavement, each person’s experience will be unique and complex, meaning any potential treatment or recovery plan needs to be adaptive and tailored to the individual to meet their unique needs.
CIRCLES OF IMPACT
Trauma will be experienced differently, depending on the individual, circumstances, context and severity of the attack. The circumstances surrounding how the trauma occurred will dictate how the individual responds and the preferred treatment strategies to manage the experience. VOTA recognises the potential wide range of trauma experiences which manifest into different categories of victims. To effectively support this cohort of victims / survivors, VOTA proposes to focus its support on the following categories:
- Direct victims / survivors terrorism;
- Family / bereaved of loved one/s;
- First responders / Counter Terrorism professionals; and
- Others
Diagram showing cirecles of impact:
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A woman and her son and daughter watch the pretty sunset.
DIRECT VICTIM / SURVIVOR
Direct victims / survivors includes individuals who have actual ‘lived experience’ of an attack. This experience may result in physical and/or psychological trauma. Research has shown that unlike being involved in an accident or natural disaster, experiencing trauma from a criminal act has potentially greater impact on the individual due to its deliberate and/or reckless nature.
Experience: (Psychologically)
If you are a direct victim / survivor of terrorism you may experience:
Anxiety, shock, fear, shame, distress, guilt, self-blame, disorientation of identity, anger, rage, frustration, hostility, resentment, vulnerability, loss of trust, memory issues, depression, numbness and other.
Symptoms:
These feelings may manifest in numerous ways, including altered lifestyle patterns, increase in substance use, loss of attention, mood swings, irrational behaviour, loss of productivity, loss of attention, avoidance, hyper-vigilance, flashbacks, experiencing headaches, heartburn, rashes or general unwellness and loss of sense of humour.
Recommendation:
These feelings and their subsequent symptoms may present for a relevantly short period of time, or they may persist for several months or even years. If these feelings or their symptoms exist or are identified, it is recommended an individual seek assistance from a suitably qualified medical healthcare professional. Further, these conditions may present themselves years after the event.
FAMILY / BEREAVED OF LOVED ONES
This relates to family and the bereaved of those who have been killed or significantly injured because of a terrorist attack. VOTA acknowledges that defining this category can be subjective and complicated due to the numerous layers of relationships and their histories. This category can include but is not limited to; spouses and partners (current or previous), children (biological, foster, step, guardian or de-facto), parents, spouses of parents, legal guardians and other biological or spousal links. It may also include ‘very close’ enduring friends, or significant others.
Grief:
Grief is the human response to losing a loved one. Individuals who have lost a loved one through a terrorist attack may experience common grief or bereavement. Grief like most experiences will be unique to the individual, that is, there is no one size fits all. This loss may manifest itself into any number of emotions such as, sorrow, distress, sadness, anger and guilt. It is acknowledged that these emotions may be debilitating to the individual but gradually these emotions and their debilitation may ease over time as the individual processes their loss.
Complicated Grief[1]:
Complicated grief (or prolonged grief disorder) by its definition is more confounded, in that, these conditions of grief and their intensity persist for an extended period. It is this extended period that impacts on the ability of the individual to recover. It may also be referred to as a persistent grief which adversely impacts on the individual’s resilience. These complications impact on the individual’s ability to effectively process their loss and resume a perceived normal existence.
The reasons for the potential existence of complicated grief in a terrorism context, includes the unique nature of this crime, its randomness, excessive violence, number of victims, its unexpectedness, social impact and public exposure.
Experience:
If you are suffering from grief (or complicated grief) you may experience feelings of intense sorrow and pain; rumination of the loss, numbness; guilt, sadness, feeling overwhelmed, self-blame, fragility, anxiety and other.
Symptoms:
These experiences may manifest into isolation, lack of attention, loss of appetite, difficulty in fulfilling routine functions, disturbed sleep, depression, dramatic changes in lifestyle patterns, difficulties in relationships, increase in substance use and irrational behaviour.
Recommendation:
If these feelings and their subsequent symptoms persist over an extended time or they impede in the individual’s ability to function in their normal life, it is recommended individuals seek assistance from a suitably qualified medical healthcare professional.
FIRST RESPONDERS / COUNTER-TERRORISM PROFESSIONALS
First responders include all emergency service personnel that have responded to a terrorist attack and have ‘lived experience’ from that event. Counter-terrorism professionals include those engaged in counter-terrorism activities from either public or private sectors. Examples include, police, security intelligence, risk managers, healthcare professionals, counsellors, family liaison officers, custody officers, legal officers and family members.
Experience:
- First Responders: Due to their lived experience may share similar experiences to those of direct victims or survivors. These experiences from a psychological perspective may include, anxiety, shock, fear, shame, distress, guilt, self-blame, disorientation of identity, anger, rage, frustration, hostility, resentment, vulnerability, loss of trust, memory issues, depression and numbness.
- Counter-Terrorism Professionals: Due to their roles may experience indirect trauma that is, cumulative exposure to others’ trauma that leads to empathic distress or what may be called, vicarious trauma or secondary trauma. Suffers of vicarious trauma may experience feelings similar to those felt by direct victims / survivors.
Symptoms:
These experiences may manifest into change in appearance, decline on physical health, altered sleeping/eating patterns, increase in substance use, loss of attention, mood swings, irrational behaviour, fatigue, absenteeism, isolation, hyper-vigilance and displays of violence.
Recommendations:
It is recommended that either first responders or counter-terrorism professionals who believe they are suffering from these forms of trauma can seek support through their employment, organisations and associated groups such as unions and professional associations. They may also wish to seek direct assistance from their own healthcare professionals.
Moral Injury:
VOTA has anecdotally identified that experiencing traumas incurred from terrorism in combination with exposure to moral injury may exacerbate first responders and counter-terrorism professionals’ vulnerability to psychological injuries.
Moral injury in this context refers to a direct emotional trauma, as opposed to a clinically diagnosed injury. It can occur when the individual is engaged or witnesses’ activity contrary to their moral beliefs. It is a subjective process which may stem from perceived betrayal, sense of injustice, exposure to intentional harm or wrongdoing by associates, colleagues or organisations.
OTHER
VOTA acknowledges that the circle of impact on society from terrorism is wider than the categories identified above. These other groups may include the community in which sections of the community may suffer from collective trauma where attacks are targeted a particular group or community.
Terrorist attacks are intended to cause a significant impact on the consciousness of the community, promoting negative feelings of distrust; anger; heightened sense of threat; frustration; anxiety; loss; and vulnerability. Depending on the severity of the attack, these negative feelings can substantially impact on the general community for up to two months following the attack. The rule of thumb in these instances is that the greater the public (media) attention, the longer these negative feelings will persist within the community.
Indirect witnesses, includes those individuals who witnessed the traumatic event of an attack which may trigger feelings of helplessness, anxiety and fear.
Economic victims include those who have suffered a financial or business loss because of a terrorist attack.
Whilst VOTA recognises other categories of victims exist, due to its limited resources it proposes to focus of the categories of direct victim / survivors; family or bereaved of loved ones and first responders / counter-terrorism professionals.
The potential number of victims / survivors from a terrorist attack with be in direct correlation with the severity of the attack together with the size of community exposed to the attack and their proximity to it. Regardless of the category of victim / survivor or the type of trauma suffered, research has indicated that exposure to support groups such as VOTA has positive impact on building an individual’s resilience from such an experience.
Other Resources
Australian Victim of Terrorism Overseas Payment
https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-02/av079-2402en-f.pdf
Victim Services NSW
https://victimsservices.justice.nsw.gov.au/
[1] It is acknowledged that ‘complicated grief’ is currently not a recognised mental health condition.
