Physical and Psychological Safety
The Potential Considerations
When a person leaves their home due to conflict and seeks refuge in a new country their journey is fraught with times of feeling unsafe. This may be physically as they try to survive in conflict zones, travel through unknown countries, interact with strangers and shelter in places that are not secure. They may also feel psychologically unsafe not knowing who to trust, lacking consistency, fearing punishment, humiliation, stigma.
Take a second to think about the factors that help you to feel safe either physically or psychologically and think about whether these would be maintained or threatened if you had to leave your home under these conditions. Understandably the very nature of being a refugee impacts upon a person’s ability to feel truly safe. Even once the journey is over many refugees are still contending with living in an unknown country, separation from their family, losing many aspects of their identity and roles, and also potentially still living with the psychological impacts of their experiences.
The Psychology Facts
Being safe is one of the most basic human needs. We need to feel safe in order for our minds and bodies to be well, function effectively, communicate, learn and grow. Safety can be both physical and psychological. For people who have experienced trauma they are likely to have experienced a threat to one or both of these forms of safety. Victims of trauma may continue to experience a sense of threat to this safety long after the events have passed, due to trauma remaining unprocessed (see our article on ‘Understanding Triggers’).
Physical safety
Physical safety relates to a person’s ability to feel that they are physically safe in relation to their environment, resources and those around them. At the most basic level this may mean having access to food, water and shelter, which may have been lacking throughout their journey to your home. There are other factors that contribute to physical safety for your guest, such as knowing that they aren’t going to move placement, having their own private space, having access to resources (physical, financial and medical), and feeling able to relax with the people that they are staying with.
Psychological safety
Psychological safety refers to a person’s ability to feel safe with oneself and not be impacted upon by harmful actions either from internal or external sources. This includes being able to maintain self-esteem, to feel autonomous, to able to control one’s life choices, feeling able to manage one’s cognitive and emotional resources, and to be able to live without fear of bullying, stigma or humiliation. For refugees they may have experienced a significant period of time during which they did not feel in control of their lives. A refugee may be unable to be truly autonomous as they have to rely on other groups or governments to make rulings on key elements that impact upon their lives. Refugees may also sadly have experienced stigma, humiliation or bullying throughout their journey (the narrative around refugees in the news at times is certainly enough to leave people feeling unwelcome within our country).
People who have lived through extreme stress or trauma may also have experienced times where their internal responses leave them feeling psychologically unsafe. In our article on ‘Understanding Triggers’ we explored how trauma can lead to flashbacks and startle responses. In our article about ‘Considering the emotional impact’ on hosts and guests, we looked at the extreme emotions that individuals can experience as a result of trauma. This can lead to people not feeling psychologically safe due to internal stimuli rather than external factors.
Social safety
Social safety refers to our sense of safety around others, the degree to which we feel able to trust others, be socially supported, cared for and feel free to express ourselves authentically without fear of reprisals. For people leaving their homes they may leave behind many of their social connections, norms and roles which can lead them to feel socially isolated and lacking support. In addition, they may have to negotiate many new and challenging social situations as they move through different countries seeking refuge. For some they may feel unwelcome or excluded in the countries they travel through or may be subject to negative interactions and conflict.
Cultural safety
Cultural safety refers to a person’s ability to live within their cultural heritage in a way in which they are free to honour traditions, explore their beliefs and share their experiences. Our ability to thrive day to day and recover from trauma is best achieved in a system that respects and supports our individual cultural identity, so this is a key factor in supporting guests. People forced to leave their homes and live in different cultures can feel disconnected from key parts of their norms and identity even when in a supportive environment. However, for some they may experience additional distress due to prejudice or discrimination in a range of ways. These may be in overt gestures but could also be in microaggressions which could lead to a person feeling uncomfortable even if this is not the intent. Examples of this might be people feeling scrutinised in their cultural practices, looked at differently due to expression of their culture or feeling a need to ask permission to practice traditions.
Tips for managing this as a host
It is important for you to feel safe within your hosting experience, here are some suggestions to help with this:
Set clear boundaries with your guest based on your needs (see our article on ‘Boundaries’).
If possible, create spaces within your house where you can have privacy.
Be kind to yourself, remember that you will have your own emotions and experiences that impact upon your feelings of safety. If you are noticing that you are finding something difficult prioritise self-care. See our previous article about ‘Considering the emotional impact’ for further practical tips relating to this point.
You may find it helpful to connect with other hosts to support you with your journey.
It is important that you also feel able to engage in your own cultural needs so do not feel that you have to hide your own culture in order to allow someone to feel welcome and safe. It is ok just to acknowledge difference and explore how different cultures can co-exist under the same roof.
Tips for supporting your guest
Take time to understand your guest’s boundaries and respect them.
Try to be consistent in your behaviour, this may mean making sure that any expectations set are realistic.
Support a person to be autonomous by making their own decisions, setting their own schedules, continuing to engage in normal roles etc.
Explore ways that you can support your guest to feel safe in their physical environment. Because everyone is different, we are all different in terms of what makes us feel safe so having this conversation is key to understanding your guest’s individual needs. However here are some ideas to consider:
Having a private space that others do not access (may include a lock on the door)
Natural light
Free access to the home and own set of keys
Allowing personalisation of the room in terms of layout and décor
Boundaries around bathrooms that are sensitive to cultural norms e.g. locks on the door, space and time to attend to hygiene norms
Welcoming and calming décor where possible
Space to relax, make calls, pray etc without interruption
Where possible reducing proximity to loud noises (e.g. not positioning a headboard near a front door which will bang in the morning as people go out)
Access to cleaning supplies to maintain environment
Free or clearly boundaried access to communal spaces
Use active listening and validation to let your guest know that their responses are understandable and they are in a safe non-judgemental environment.
Support your guest to feel involved in the local community by letting them know of local events or groups. Provide information and logistical support whilst allowing them to make a decision to attend or not, rather than feeling obligated.
Support you guest to find local religious or cultural centres
Take a welcoming stance to your guest expressing their culture but try to avoid asking intrusive questions
Ask your guest if they have any dietary needs that might be important when shopping or cooking so that these can be accommodated
Dr Nicola Griffiths