Description
From one of America’s most influential psychiatrists, an “extraordinary” and “profound” (New York Times) manifesto for reimagining justice for survivors of sexual trauma
The #MeToo movement brought worldwide attention to sexual violence, but while the media focused on the fates of a few notorious predators who were put on trial, we heard far less about the outcomes of those trials for the survivors of their abuse.
The conventional retributive process fails to serve most survivors; it was never designed for them. Renowned trauma expert Judith L. Herman argues that the first step toward a better form of justice is simply to ask survivors what would make things as right as possible for them. In Truth and Repair, she commits the radical act of listening to survivors. Recounting their stories, she offers an alternative vision of justice as healing for survivors and their communities.
Deeply researched and compassionately told, Truth and Repair envisions a new path to justice for all.
If societies are to be free and just for all, especially including the US, understanding this books portrayal of tyranny and Justice is essential.
Appreciated the diverse perspectives within the text and how it was structured
Dr. Herman brilliantly lays out how the Justice system fails victims of sexual violation 95 to 99% of the time. She explains painstakingly how the traditional justice system serves to silence those harmed or worse retraumatizes them in trauma blind adversarial proceedings. When 1/3 or less women report, more than 2/3 don’t feel safe to report. When the attrition rate then continues to go exponentially down from there with only 1/2 of those reports resulting in an arrest, 2/3 of that small number prosecuted, it leaves 90% of cases failing to meet any justice. There is little reason to trust this system. Half of that 10% or more convicted still walk free and only 0-5% of cases result in sentences and reflect immense racial bias. The system is broken. The Justice system does not provide fairness or Justice. What then?
I loved this books exposure of the myth that our Justice system will bring resolution to those who have experienced sexual violence and make our society safer. Based on her decades of research and deep understanding the dynamics of trauma and PTSD, she makes the clear case of needed change. She points to the missing participation of the third group, the bystanders who make up the community and the institutions. What if the community stood with the victim, what if the one who harms were not protected to continue harming? She reimagines systems that do not isolate survivors to fight these fights for Justice alone and traumatized.
Judith Herman is back with an amazing book on trauma, repair and the fight for social justice. This book is thorough and a must read for clinicians and non-clinicians interested in trauma work.
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