Shanee Stepakoff
Biographic Data
| ID | 3529563 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Shanee Stepakoff |
| GIVEN NAMES | Shanee |
| FAMILY NAME | Stepakoff |
| SIGNATURE | STEPAKOFF S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Psychologist for the United Nations war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone, May 2005–August 2007 |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0054-576X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 30 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 13 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
The Jew in the Jamaican, the Amalgam in the Attic
In this essay, I extend the existing scholarship on the character of Bertha Mason Rochester by providing historical and textual evidence that Brontë represents Bertha’s ethnocultural background as an amalgam of Jamaican, Jewish, and Creole. In support of this thesis, I examine passages focusing on Bertha’s father and brother, and I describe the cultural meanings of Spanish Town (Jamaica) and Madeira (Portugal) with regard to Caribbean Jewish creo…
A Trauma-Informed Approach to the Protection and Support of Witnesses in International Tribunals
Drawing on the scholarly and clinical work of trauma experts, this article presents a conceptual framework to inform the provision of services for witnesses in international tribunals. In particular, the authors present the following ten principles to guide protection and support practices with witnesses: establish a caring relationship; maintain a safe environment; stabilize physiological and mental functioning; maximize predictability; maximize…
Self-Reported Psychosocial Consequences of Testifying in a War Crimes Tribunal in Sierra Leone
Interviews were conducted with 147 witnesses (109 men, 38 women) after they had testified in the Special Court for Sierra Leone, a tribunal jointly established by the United Nations and the Sierra Leonean government to prosecute individuals accused of bearing the greatest responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the country’s civil war. Participants were asked to describe changes, for better or worse, they had ex…
The experience of testifying in a war-crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone
Psychosocial staffat a war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone conducted interviews with 147 witnesses after they completed their testimony. The interviewers asked participants to describe the most positive and most difficult aspects of their experience of testifying. Responses were recorded, coded, and examined using content analysis. Nearly all witnesses reported both empowering and difficult aspects, but the former outnumbered the latter. Witnesse…
Why Testify? Witnesses' Motivations for Giving Evidence in a War Crimes Tribunal in Sierra Leone
Although witnesses are indispensable to the operation and success of war crimes courts, little is known about their motivations for agreeing to testify. This article advances existing knowledge by drawing on findings from interviews conducted with 200 witnesses after they gave evidence in the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Participants were asked to describe their reasons for testifying. Content analysis was used to examine the variety and frequ…
Journey to the Start of Day
Letters, Etc
September 01 2008 Letters, Etc. Shanee Stepakoff Shanee Stepakoff Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Author and Article Information Shanee Stepakoff Online ISSN: 1531-4715 Print ISSN: 1054-2043 © 2008 Massachusetts Institute of Technology2008 TDR/The Drama Review (2008) 52 (3 (199)): 9. https://doi.org/10.1162/dram.2008.52.3.9 Cite Icon Cite Permissions Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Views Icon Vi…
Telling and Showing
After a brutal civil war in Sierra Leone, a young prosecution witness in a war crimes tribunal in Freetown created, directed, and performed a drama that graphically portrays the trauma she and her fellow survivors experienced during the war. Stepakoff was the psychologist for the Special Court for Sierra Leone—working with victims of severe human rights violations—and an invited guest at the young woman's performance
Distressed Mothers and Their Infants Use a Less Efficient Timing Mechanism in Creating Expectancies of Each Other’s Looking Patterns
Distressed Mothers and Their Infants Use a Less Efficient Timing Mechanism in Creating Expectancies of Each Other's Looking Patterns
When We Wanted to Talk About Rape
This article explores the legal and psychological ramifications arising from the exclusion of evidence of sexual violence during the Civil Defence Forces (CDF) case at the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Using empirical findings from post-trial interviews conducted with the ten victim-witnesses who were originally to testify, we juxtapose what the Special Court allowed the women to say, and what the women themselves wanted to say. From a legal pe…
The Healing Power of Symbolization in the Aftermath of Massive War Atrocities
In the aftermath of war atrocities, symbolization—a process whereby an experience or emotion that has been unexpressed is given form—can provide survivors with a sense of relief and solace and can attenuate isolation by permitting traumatic experiences to be shared with and acknowledged by others. This article focuses on creative methods of symbolization used in a trauma counseling program for Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees in the refugee c…
Trauma healing in refugee camps in guinea
From 1999 to 2005, the Minneapolis-based Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) served Liberian and Sierra Leonean survivors of torture and war living in the refugee camps of Guinea. A psychosocial program was developed with 3 main goals: (a) to provide mental health care, (b) to train local refugee counselors, and (c) to raise community awareness about war trauma and mental health. Utilizing paraprofessional counselors under the close, on-site supe…
Trauma healing in refugee camps in guinea
From 1999 to 2005, the Minneapolis-based Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) served Liberian and Sierra Leonean survivors of torture and war living in the refugee camps of Guinea. A psychosocial program was developed with 3 main goals: (a) to provide mental health care, (b) to train local refugee counselors, and (c) to raise community awareness about war trauma and mental health. Utilizing paraprofessional counselors under the close, on-site supe…
When We Wanted to Talk About Rape
This article explores the legal and psychological ramifications arising from the exclusion of evidence of sexual violence during the Civil Defence Forces (CDF) case at the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Using empirical findings from post-trial interviews conducted with the ten victim-witnesses who were originally to testify, we juxtapose what the Special Court allowed the women to say, and what the women themselves wanted to say. From a legal pe…
The Healing Power of Symbolization in the Aftermath of Massive War Atrocities
In the aftermath of war atrocities, symbolization—a process whereby an experience or emotion that has been unexpressed is given form—can provide survivors with a sense of relief and solace and can attenuate isolation by permitting traumatic experiences to be shared with and acknowledged by others. This article focuses on creative methods of symbolization used in a trauma counseling program for Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees in the refugee c…
The experience of testifying in a war-crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone
Psychosocial staffat a war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone conducted interviews with 147 witnesses after they completed their testimony. The interviewers asked participants to describe the most positive and most difficult aspects of their experience of testifying. Responses were recorded, coded, and examined using content analysis. Nearly all witnesses reported both empowering and difficult aspects, but the former outnumbered the latter. Witnesse…
Why Testify? Witnesses' Motivations for Giving Evidence in a War Crimes Tribunal in Sierra Leone
Although witnesses are indispensable to the operation and success of war crimes courts, little is known about their motivations for agreeing to testify. This article advances existing knowledge by drawing on findings from interviews conducted with 200 witnesses after they gave evidence in the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Participants were asked to describe their reasons for testifying. Content analysis was used to examine the variety and frequ…
Distressed Mothers and Their Infants Use a Less Efficient Timing Mechanism in Creating Expectancies of Each Other's Looking Patterns
Trauma healing in refugee camps in guinea
From 1999 to 2005, the Minneapolis-based Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) served Liberian and Sierra Leonean survivors of torture and war living in the refugee camps of Guinea. A psychosocial program was developed with 3 main goals: (a) to provide mental health care, (b) to train local refugee counselors, and (c) to raise community awareness about war trauma and mental health. Utilizing paraprofessional counselors under the close, on-site supe…
When We Wanted to Talk About Rape
This article explores the legal and psychological ramifications arising from the exclusion of evidence of sexual violence during the Civil Defence Forces (CDF) case at the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Using empirical findings from post-trial interviews conducted with the ten victim-witnesses who were originally to testify, we juxtapose what the Special Court allowed the women to say, and what the women themselves wanted to say. From a legal pe…
The Healing Power of Symbolization in the Aftermath of Massive War Atrocities
In the aftermath of war atrocities, symbolization—a process whereby an experience or emotion that has been unexpressed is given form—can provide survivors with a sense of relief and solace and can attenuate isolation by permitting traumatic experiences to be shared with and acknowledged by others. This article focuses on creative methods of symbolization used in a trauma counseling program for Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees in the refugee c…
Letters, Etc
September 01 2008 Letters, Etc. Shanee Stepakoff Shanee Stepakoff Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google Scholar Author and Article Information Shanee Stepakoff Online ISSN: 1531-4715 Print ISSN: 1054-2043 © 2008 Massachusetts Institute of Technology2008 TDR/The Drama Review (2008) 52 (3 (199)): 9. https://doi.org/10.1162/dram.2008.52.3.9 Cite Icon Cite Permissions Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Views Icon Vi…
Telling and Showing
After a brutal civil war in Sierra Leone, a young prosecution witness in a war crimes tribunal in Freetown created, directed, and performed a drama that graphically portrays the trauma she and her fellow survivors experienced during the war. Stepakoff was the psychologist for the Special Court for Sierra Leone—working with victims of severe human rights violations—and an invited guest at the young woman's performance
Distressed Mothers and Their Infants Use a Less Efficient Timing Mechanism in Creating Expectancies of Each Other’s Looking Patterns
Distressed Mothers and Their Infants Use a Less Efficient Timing Mechanism in Creating Expectancies of Each Other's Looking Patterns
Journey to the Start of Day
Why Testify? Witnesses' Motivations for Giving Evidence in a War Crimes Tribunal in Sierra Leone
Although witnesses are indispensable to the operation and success of war crimes courts, little is known about their motivations for agreeing to testify. This article advances existing knowledge by drawing on findings from interviews conducted with 200 witnesses after they gave evidence in the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Participants were asked to describe their reasons for testifying. Content analysis was used to examine the variety and frequ…
Self-Reported Psychosocial Consequences of Testifying in a War Crimes Tribunal in Sierra Leone
Interviews were conducted with 147 witnesses (109 men, 38 women) after they had testified in the Special Court for Sierra Leone, a tribunal jointly established by the United Nations and the Sierra Leonean government to prosecute individuals accused of bearing the greatest responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the country’s civil war. Participants were asked to describe changes, for better or worse, they had ex…
The experience of testifying in a war-crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone
Psychosocial staffat a war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone conducted interviews with 147 witnesses after they completed their testimony. The interviewers asked participants to describe the most positive and most difficult aspects of their experience of testifying. Responses were recorded, coded, and examined using content analysis. Nearly all witnesses reported both empowering and difficult aspects, but the former outnumbered the latter. Witnesse…
A Trauma-Informed Approach to the Protection and Support of Witnesses in International Tribunals
Drawing on the scholarly and clinical work of trauma experts, this article presents a conceptual framework to inform the provision of services for witnesses in international tribunals. In particular, the authors present the following ten principles to guide protection and support practices with witnesses: establish a caring relationship; maintain a safe environment; stabilize physiological and mental functioning; maximize predictability; maximize…
The Jew in the Jamaican, the Amalgam in the Attic
In this essay, I extend the existing scholarship on the character of Bertha Mason Rochester by providing historical and textual evidence that Brontë represents Bertha’s ethnocultural background as an amalgam of Jamaican, Jewish, and Creole. In support of this thesis, I examine passages focusing on Bertha’s father and brother, and I describe the cultural meanings of Spanish Town (Jamaica) and Madeira (Portugal) with regard to Caribbean Jewish creo…
Political science (8 works) · Psychology (8 works) · Criminology (7 works) · Law (7 works) · Sociology (7 works) · Sierra leone (6 works) · International law (5 works) · Special court (5 works) · Law (4 works) · Migration, Health and Trauma (4 works)