Proceedings of the Global Conference on Gender Studies
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Between Words and Wounds: Gender, Migration, And the Emotional Burden of Language Mediators
Erika Magarelli, Francesca Filograsso
ABSTRACT:
Language mediators face cognitive, emotional, and identity-related challenges in the context of migration and gender-based violence (GBV). These mediators work at the intersection of cultural, social, and gendered power structures and confront unique ethical pressures related to gender identification with survivors of GBV (Degani & De Stefani, 2020). This complexity creates intense stress for mediators working with traumatized survivors and can lead to vicarious trauma and role conflict. Inspired by Beverly Costa’s (2017, 2020) works “In Other Words” and “In More Words”, the project collects narratives from international language mediators working in vulnerable situations. It aims to examine emotional perceptions of dialoguing with survivors through a gendered lens and explore how language mediators navigate their identities while supporting individuals affected by GBV. Using a mixed methods approach that integrates sentiment analysis and corpus-based discourse analysis, the study seeks to examine a collection of narratives from migrant mediators who have worked in GBV contexts to identify, extract, and explore their emotional polarization. Key themes include (1) trauma and violence related to prostitution, abuse, and trafficking; (2) marginalization and power imbalance due to gender issues and the migration journey; (3) the impact of emotional stress on the well-being of language mediators. Finally, the expected results may highlight the need for gender-specific training, emotional support, and supervision to effectively manage the complexity of their role and maintain their well-being.
keywords: language mediators; gender-based violence; migration; sentiment analysis; corpus-based discourse analysis