The psychosocial aftermath of perpetration
PhD research Bart Nauta
Genocide and crimes against humanity have cost the lives of millions of innocent people in the 20th and 21st centuries. Thousands of perpetrators were directly or indirectly involved in mass violence against unarmed civilians. In academic research, remarkably little is known about what happens to perpetrators after violence. How do perpetrators cope with the crimes they have committed? How do they reintegrate into their communities?
A systematic exploration of the psychological effects of perpetration on the perpetrator is currently lacking in scientific research. Nauta seeks to fill this gap with this interdisciplinary PhD research. He hopes that it will contribute to knowledge on the psychosocial aftermath of perpetration, including psychotrauma experienced by perpetrators, also known as perpetrator trauma. This new knowledge could potentially help understand how to prevent similar violent crimes in the future.
Bart Nauta's PhD project is being conducted at Utrecht University (Netherlands) and ARQ National Psychotrauma Centre.
Supervisors
Ismee Tames, Onno Sinke and Jackie June ter Heide.