In Valley of Chaya, Tracey Hoffmann depicts a dark global community where young adults and children are abducted and sold into brothels. The victims of sexual violence at brothels endure such horrific conditions that it is joyous to learn of their survival but terrifying to go through. The victims have to relive the traumatic journey while experiencing a range of autonomic, anxiety and depression-related symptoms, as well as psychological fallout, including nightmares, trouble sleeping, hyper-alertness and memory impairment. In contrast to trauma, which leaves victims with recurrent and unpredictable consequences, resilience creates aspects of notable hardship and constructive adaptation. Once victims of such atrocities survive, they become more resilient and capable of handling trauma. With resilience playing a critical part, this research attempts to contextualize the trauma experienced by these survivors and their coping strategies. As in Valley of Chaya, the victims are of different age groups, religious backgrounds, and cultures, which problematize to cope with one another’s trauma where sharing experiences is the crucial part. Through consulting trauma theory and resilience theory, the paper textualizes the factors of spatiality, religious faith and culture to cope with the trauma of sexual abuse of Hoffmann’s Indian and Australian characters. Also, after witnessing and experiencing sexual abuse, the victims lack the language abilities to expose the horror and the social maturity to comprehend their exploitation. As resilience displays positivity and strength rather than the vulnerability of the victims, the paper explores how different linguistic backgrounds create a barrier to developing coping mechanisms.

Authors:
Sheetal Kumari, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India

About the Presenter(s)
Ms. Sheetal Kumari is currently working as Doctoral Fellow at the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule

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