Dr Yomi Akindele Oscar is an Associate Prof in Health and Counselling Psychology, HOD, Educational Foundations and Counselling at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, in this interview with Tayo Adelaja discusses the effect of homicides and the trauma those affected face. Excerpts:
What are the causative factors of homicides?
Homicides can be as a result of greed, callousness, moment of madness, drunkenness, ritual purposes, revenge, among others. Except one is a serial killer without emotions, most of those that committed homicides could be as a result of emotional response to anger or rage, fear or terror, frustration and confusion.
What do you mean by moment of madness?
It is that period you reacted without a deep thought about your action. Why do you always see criminals and convicted felons sober? A lot of them acted without taking cognisance of the after effect of their action. Some committed homicides at their moment of madness, but that is not an excuse though.
What are the effects of homicides?
When someone is murdered, the death is sudden, violent, final and incomprehensible. The loved one is no longer there; the shared plans and dreams are no longer possible. The loss of the relationship will be grieved in different ways by all those who felt close to the victim because their relationships with the victim were all different.
Grief reactions may be manifested long after the physical loss of a loved one. For example, parents may find that they re-experience feelings of loss many years later, such as when they see friends of their murdered child.
Parents may have believed that, in the natural order of life, the older generation should die first; if so, they may have great difficulty with the fact that their young or grown children were killed while they themselves still live, thus violating this expectation.
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Family members may have had a conflicted relationship with the victim. The fact that their loved one has died means that these issues or bad feelings will remain unresolved, leaving the survivor with the additional loss of hope that thing could have been worked out while the victim lived.
There may be a significant loss of income in the family, especially if the victim was the primary breadwinner.
After a loved one is murdered, homicide survivors have little privacy. Their identities and the circumstances of the murder often become public knowledge. Tragically, some survivors may learn about the murder while watching television or listening to the radio. In this day and age, it is not uncommon for survivors to find a microphone thrust in their faces after a court hearing. They may learn about developments in their case for the first time on the evening news or social network and blogs.
The media may also report inaccurate or inappropriate information about their loved one’s case or may portray the offender as a victim in the case, without also acknowledging the impact the murder had on the victim’s surviving loved ones.
A sensitive reporter can be an ally to the family in trying to get their story told; however, it is important for the surviving family to remember that you are never required to talk with the media and that there are no guarantees that the information you give them will be presented as you expect or want it to be presented. The goal of any printed and electronic journalism is to sell their papers or break news, not necessarily to see that justice is done.
What can one do if someone you know lost a loved one through homicide?
Learn what to say and what not to say. Very often, well-meaning friends and neighbors want to help the homicide survivor, but are afraid they will say or do the wrong thing. Remember there is nothing that can be said or done that will bring their loved one back; the process of recovery is a long and slow one.
Published on August 10, 2014
