Download the thesis - South Eastern Centre Against Sexual Assault

anger becomes chronic and “inappropriate or misdirected anger can interfere with
interpersonal relationships and job stability” (61). Left unsaid is what is appropriate or
directed anger following trauma. Pat B Allen, in Art is a Way Knowing, suggests art is
a way of knowing about many things, including fear, life and grief, yet in omitting to
include anger in her ruminations she neglects to contemplate the contribution art
makes to understanding and expressing this very human and legitimate emotion.
Allen’s omission is not unique; there appears to be considerable reluctance to engage
in a conversation about anger and little guidance as to how this emotion might be
confronted and expressed, or how consolation from it might be found.
These challenging emotions are an unavoidable burden for victims. They stick in the
throat; they cannot be spat out or swallowed, then passed through the system to be
expelled as waste. For others they are undesirable and confronting; many wish the
victim would “just get over it” quietly and without sullying the communal space. Judy
Atkinson is one who, in Trauma Trails, tackles this thorny subject. In her work with
indigenous Australian communities, a space was provided for individuals to express the
full extent of their anger, some of which is included in the book. Atkinson points to its
insidiousness and destructiveness, describing how the impacts of childhood harm such
as being fearful, insecure and alone had led to adult feelings of anger, hurt and shame
(150); and it was the expression of anger that unmasked feelings of fear, grief,
sorrow, anguish or sadness. According to Atkinson the feelings and stories of loss
would emerge from narratives about anger, and it was with this complete range of
feelings that work towards healing was undertaken. This work helped victims
understand the legitimacy of their anger and also the illegitimacy of expressing it
through violence (247-8).
In trauma and grief work, avoiding an engagement with difficult emotions, particularly
anger, may be due to a number of factors, one of which is the potential for the
expression of anger to cause harm to the self or others. Another is that some methods
used or suggested for the expression of anger, such as punching a cushion, scribbling,
shouting, or even talking, may provide short-term release but be less useful in
achieving real resolution. Further, an expression of anger may be ineffectual when
directed towards somebody other than the person responsible for it, which may leave
victims with a continuing unresolved sense of the emotion. These problems with
38