CESSMIR researcher Maud Martens is currently working, with her supervisors Robin Vandevoordt and Ellen Desmet, on a practice-oriented, interdisciplinary training programme for a broad group of aid practitioners involved in providing legal support to refugees in Calais. Through interactive working methods, case analyses and the exchange of experiences, participants gain insight into the effects of uncertainty, stress and trauma on the psychosocial well-being of refugees and their ability to process legal information. In addition, they receive practical tips and practise conversation techniques for conveying complex, sensitive and/or negative information in stressful contexts. These insights are compiled in a multilingual and accessible toolkit, intended for sustainable dissemination in Calais and similar European contexts. This training and toolkit are the result of Maud’s doctoral research, in which she investigates organisations and the implications of socio-legal support for refugees in northern France, and are supported by the Ghent University Social Valorisation Fund. Interested? Want more information? Send an email to Maud.Martens@UGent.be.
Law in distress. Legal assistance for people on the move in contexts of extreme stress and trauma
