Researcher Highlight: Georgina Lewis

For my ongoing PhD research, I am analysing the types of violence and trauma experienced by refugees and asylum seekers across Europe. I am particularly intrigued to know how violence can (and does) utilise and impact the senses (sight, sound, touch, smell, etc.) and from this create a unique picture of how violence affects refugees, asylum seekers, and other people on the move. Whilst working for NHS mental health services I was personally and professionally witness to - and enabler of - senses in aid of trauma recovery. For example, ‘grounding’ mechanisms such as counting yellow items in a room; squeezing ice cubes; safe smells, and so on. I have also separately published on the role of music and sound in recovery from childhood trauma (see Lewis 2017), and continue to use song writing and soundscapes to manage trauma healing. Therefore, if the ‘senses’ are intrinsically valuable in recovery from violence, and widely acknowledged as such, then they must also play some importance within the acts of violence themselves. By conducting semi-structured interviews with volunteers and workers across Europe, this research project aims to draw together a sensorial perspective and analysis of European violence. Due to ethical implications of ‘Zoom' interviews, it has not been possible at this stage to directly interview people on the move in Europe, but this could become an opportunity for further research following the PhD. My expected submission is in 2023.