Second Victims: Aftermath of Gun Violence and Faith-Based Responses
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Second Victims: Aftermath of Gun Violence and Faith‑Based Responses Panagis Galiatsatos1,2,3 · Thomas K. M. Cudjoe4 · Jerrell Bratcher6 · Peter Heikkinen5 · Philip Leaf7 · Sherita Hill Golden1,8,9,10 Accepted: 12 October 2020 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract In the aftermath of gun violence, those impacted and left to mourn are regarded as second victims. These individuals experience and are often burdened by mental and physical sequelae while attempting to cope with the trauma. The objective of this report is to highlight the support and resources of congregational and faith-based leaders available in an urban city with a high prevalence of gun violence. We describe information and insights presented during a symposium uniting medical-religious partners to discuss actions and programs to address trauma from gun violence. Faith-based persons from various Abrahamic religions, ranging from imams to reverends to hospital-based chaplains, discussed key strategies to allocate resources to second victims. These strategies included religious rituals meant to cope with trauma, memorials, and providing insight into resiliency for difficult times. Resources were identified for both within the hospital and community. Such medical-religious resources should be considered for future interventions which aim to attenuate the consequences of gun violence for second victims. Keywords Gun violence · Trauma · Community
Introduction An estimated 40,000 persons die from firearms each year, while 100,000 persons have nonfatal firearm-related injuries (Swanson et al. 2015; Galea et al. 2018; Lu and Temple 2019). Of the deaths, a third of them in the USA are due to homicides (Murphy et al. 2017). Further complicating the consequences of firearm-related deaths and injuries are family and community members who indirectly experience gun violence, as “second victims,” defined as those who experience the aftermath of a firearm event but are not directly harmed physically (Petty et al. 2019). For * Panagis Galiatsatos [email protected] Extended author information available on the last page of the article
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Journal of Religion and Health
instance, in children exposure to firearm violence can result in acute distress and long-term consequences, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (North et al. 1994; Littleton et al. 2009; Garbarino et al. 2002). In adults, studies have found that those exposed to gun violence are at risk for mental health sequelae similar to children (anxiety to post-traumatic stress disorder) (Littleton et al. 2009; Smith et al. 2020). Therefore, addressing the social, emotional, spiritual, physical well-being, and mental health of these “second victims,” for both adults and children exposed to gun violence, should be a priority for healthcare organizations and communities. Baltimore City has consistently been identified as a metropolitan region with high rates of homicides (Doogan et al. 2017). Nonfatal shootings in the city occur at a rate of 6.
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