"Moving on" from Terrorism: Stories from those Personally Affected by Terrorism from Scotland, Wales, and England

• In Event: Victim-centered responses to political and mass violence

Abstract

Making sense of trauma in their post-terrorism life is difficult for those personally affected by terrorism, as trauma challenges people's world-view and sense of control. Those affected are temporarily hypervisible and newsworthy after the terror incident, thus warranting victimological attention. I conducted a study which sought to map how those personally affected by terrorism make sense of their experiences in terms of memorialisation, media attention, and political reactions to terrorism. This paper will focus on sensemaking and the concept of "moving on" using the findings from 14 unstructured interview, which have been analysed using thematic analysis. In these interviews, the participants describe various ways in which they "move on" and make sense of what has happened to them and their loved ones. They spoke extensively about wanting "closure", not being able to "get over" what happened to them, and describing the terror incident and its aftermath as "unreal", "non-sensical", and as an "out-of-body" experience. They also find positive meaning in the aftermath, like "joining a club" or "family" of survivors, advocating for changes in law and practice, focusing on the positive things in life, and post-traumatic growth. I conclude from these findings that the needs of terrorism survivors are complex, unique, and that the services in Scotland, Wales, and England that are fully equipped to handle and treat the affected individuals' experiences of terrorism are sparse. This research will go some way in highlighting the lack of understanding for the needs of those personally affected by terrorism. This paper will also present some of the recommendations for change in policy and mental health support that the participants are already advocating for and wishes to see in the future.

Author

• Sandra H. Loeining Larsen, University of Nottingham