Sarah Crawford-Browne

Currently I'm a PhD candidate at the University of Cape Town. Over the last decade I have been puzzling about the impact of growing up in an unsafe environment, having multiple experiences of violence and recovering in a context of threat. My practice experiences on the Cape Flats of Cape Town, in Afghanistan, Sudan and Uganda suggests a different presentation and process of recovery to that of people from contexts which are now safer, such as areas of Cape Town, Sierra Leone and Pakistan. I have worked within community based mental health programming in Cape Town with survivors of disaster, political and criminal violence, and for significant periods in the post conflict Sierra Leone and post-earthquake Pakistan. I'm deeply committed to social justice and building an inclusive South Africa for all. My career has taken a bit of a twist, as now I'm teaching 2nd and 3rd year medical students in issues of Culture, Psyche and Illness - which is a wonderful opportunity to share what I've learned over the years with future doctors. I'm married to Deon Snyman COO of the Restitution Foundation and who is currently studying transitional justice and the journey to sustainable peace.