Healing from Perpetrator Trauma

Journal of Forensic Psychology Research and Practice | 2025, p. 1-26

In Healing from Perpetrator Trauma: The Experiences of Juvenile Offenders Incarcerated for Violent Offenses in South Africa 

Grace Mashai Mahlako, MSocSci; Department of Psychology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

Jacques Jordaan, PhD; Department of Psychology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

Matthew Cronjé, PhD; Department of Psychology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa

“In the past three to four decades, perpetrator trauma has received recognition in trauma literature, with various researchers and clinicians documenting the unique experiences of perpetrators and offenders following their acts of violence. This growing body of research has revealed that perpetrating violence can result in psychological (posttraumatic stress reactions) and moral (moral dissonance and conflict) consequences for perpetrators… However, despite significant scientific inquiries in this field, there remains a dearth of information regarding the management of such traumatic responses, particularly among offenders. Existing literature on perpetrator trauma and related concepts falls short in providing guidance on how to address or heal from such perpetration-induced traumatic experiences” (p. 1-2)

“A qualitative approach was adopted in this study. The authors utilized descriptive phenomenology to accurately describe protective experiences, activities, and behaviors that assist incarcerated juvenile offenders known to experience symptoms consistent with perpetrator trauma in mitigating distress and lessening the emotional and psychological burden of their actions. A single case study design was utilized as the research design… Semi-structured individual audio-recorded interviews (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016; Terre Blanche et al., 2006) were used to collect quality in-depth data from the participants.. To initiate the analysis, the first author transcribed and translated the audio recordings. The audio recordings were all translated manually from the various indigenous South African languages utilized during the interview to English. Thereafter, the transcripts were subjected to inductive analysis, following Braun and Clarke's (2006, 2022) six-step framework for reflexive thematic analysis” (p. 6-9).

“The aim of this study was to explore protective experiences, behaviors, and activities that juvenile offenders suffering from symptoms associated with perpetrator trauma attempted to deal with their distress. Firstly, the participants identified self-forgiveness and acceptance, seeking forgiveness from others and God as factors that helped lessen their distress. The participants’ concept of self-forgiveness and its effect closely mirrors that of Litz et al. (2009). According to Litz et al. (2009), gaining mastery over moral injury is closely associated with the ability to embark on a journey of healing and correction through the forgiveness of self and the true acceptance of the offense” (p. 16-17).

“The participants also hailed rehabilitative programs and the availability of support services within correctional centers as factors that helped them construct new meaning, learn from their past mistakes, and work toward healing from their trauma and moral conflict. These rehabilitative programs and clinical support services also helped them in moving toward reparation, development, and empowerment. Mohamed (2015) argued for the significance of rehabilitation and mental health services in treating the traumatized perpetrator, stating that part of healing the traumatized perpetrator requires the perpetrator’s trauma to be recognized, spoken of, and validated. This validation and the offenders’ narration of their trauma in a therapeutic setting will assist the offender to lessen their defenses, develop victim empathy, thus transforming the offenders’ trauma into a lived experience that is controlled in memory rather than an experience that is controlling of the offender” (p. 18).

“Additionally, the participants reported various strategies to cope with their trauma. For example, they would often engage in various activities, more especially avoidant activities, in an attempt to distract themselves and keep busy by reading books or engaging with their scholastic content, watching TV, listening to the radio, or being in the presence of fellow offenders. Others used journaling, prayer, and fasting, as well as catharsis through crying to release painful trauma emotions and material, as well as alleviate their distress. Researchers identified that such avoidant coping strategies are adaptive within the correctional environment than other coping strategies, such as problem-solving, due to the lack of control such populations have over their environment” (p. 19).

“Another protective experience was social support from significant others and fellow offenders in the same situation. The participants’ contributions on social support corroborate Grossman’s argument that “the degree of trauma and the degree of social support work together to amplify each other in a kind of multiplicative relationship” (Grossman, 1995, p. 285). The presence of support, according to Grossman (1995) and Litz et al. (2009), is an important feature in healing the individual suffering from perpetrator trauma, and the lack thereof is associated with poor prognosis characterized by chronic and complex perpetrator trauma symptoms” (p. 19).

“The exploration of perpetrator trauma among offender populations is a largely neglected field of study. This neglect has resulted in a lack of effective, appropriate, evidence-based, and applicable treatment measures for use among offender populations. Such a lack might result in clinicians or therapists in correctional settings experiencing or encountering treatment dilemmas due to the lack of current treatment measures aimed at ameliorating perpetrator trauma among offenders. Thus, resulting in ineffective interventions and possible unresolved perpetrator trauma with devastating effects for the offenders themselves, and the families and communities these offenders return to following release from a correctional center. Despite this, this study has attempted to offer guidelines and provide insights into measures that offenders with symptoms consistent with perpetrator trauma utilized in an attempt to gain relief from and cope with their perpetrator trauma. Findings from this study might assist researchers, clinicians, and clinical support services in developing possible perpetrator trauma management strategies thus ensuring holistic rehabilitation, minimizing symptoms and effects of the trauma, reducing violent reoffending, and increasing the community reintegration success rate” (p. 21). 

“Although this paper was able to provide insights into the protective experiences, activities, and behaviors that assisted juvenile offenders with ameliorating the psychological distress induced by their violent offenses, it revealed a dearth of research in the management and treatment of such perpetration-based traumatic reactions, particularly among offender populations. Therefore, it would be of great value to evaluate the efficacy of current treatment modalities in treating perpetration-based trauma or even developing a treatment model specifically designed for the treatment of such traumatic responses among offenders. There is also a need for rehabilitative programs in correctional facilities that specifically address the trauma that offenders might experience from their own offenses. Furthermore, it would be of great value to explore and compare how perpetrator trauma protective experiences, behaviors, and activities might differ between juvenile offenders and offenders of other age groups, such as child and adult offenders.

The study’s major limitation is the small sample size which limits the transferability of this study as the findings are exclusive to the participants in this study. Moreover, the recruitment of participants who presented with symptoms consistent with perpetrator trauma was also a limitation, as perpetrator trauma is not an official and diagnosable disorder. Therefore, the authors had to develop a perpetrator trauma screening questionnaire to ensure that the participants recruited were indeed suffering from symptoms related to their offenses and victims and not trauma due to adverse childhood experiences or victimization. To mitigate the limitations of the screening tool and ensure that the participants’ responses are genuine and reflect perpetrator trauma, the interview schedule included questions that allowed participants to detail their symptoms, including their onset and frequency” (p. 20).