Adversity and Trauma: Realising the Basics

This chapter provides an overview of adversity and trauma, primarily for people who work in or study the criminal justice system. While trauma may refer to a distressing event or the impact of that event, in this chapter, trauma is recognised as the impact of distressing or adverse events on a person’s social and emotional wellbeing. Trauma is relevant for people working in the criminal justice system for three reasons. First, evidence shows that trauma is prevalent in the lives of many children and adults who offend. Second, victims of crime are sometimes (but not always) traumatised due to their experiences of crime and with the criminal justice system. And finally, practitioners themselves may experience trauma from exposure to the devastating, relentless, and often cruel impacts of crime. This chapter concludes by briefly discussing trauma-focused therapeutic responses.