“Think about yourself! If you die of overwork today, there will be no one to help others tomorrow!” It’s hard to recall how many times I have said this to the human rights defenders and other activists I work with over the past five years.
One year ago, our activist support hub, Open Space, launched a call centre where dozens of psychologists give free advice and support to people working or volunteering in Russian politics and civil society. Most requests for help refer to two types of trauma: encounters with the Russian police state, whether law enforcement directly or the civilian bureaucracy; or burnout and a lack of support within the country’s non-profit sector itself.
Indeed, just as the Russian state has ramped up pressure on society in recent years, so civil society has faced its own internal problems. Several scandals have erupted at non-profit organisations and liberal media outlets, some of them beginning with accusations of sexual harassment. But as details emerged, it turned out that these cases also involved exploitative labour practices, authoritarian management and unhealthy working environments.
