‘Trauma informs so much of what happens:’ interpreting refugee-background clients in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

ABSTRACT Trauma is inherent to the experience of forced migration and resettlement in a foreign country. Adding to the ordeal, language barriers often hinder access to essential services and enhance feelings of dependency and loss of control. However, there is a dearth of literature exploring refugee language support, particularly interpreting, from the perspective of culturally-responsive, trauma-informed care. This paper presents findings from a qualitative study on the characteristics of interpreting for refugees in Aotearoa New Zealand in relation to trauma-informed practices. Relying on the experiences and views of 14 interpreters, the findings show a difficulty establishing interpreting in refugee contexts as a clearly bound setting within public service interpreting. The findings further suggest that interpreter work with refugees – and other vulnerable clients – is underpinned by a lack of dedicated training and recurrent challenges to the interpreters’ code of ethics. Additionally, interpreters working in this context often experience enhanced empathic responses, which can lead to instances of psycho-emotional distress. Consequently, this paper aims to shed light on the challenges of interpreting work with vulnerable populations, particularly refugees, and the need for culturally responsive, trauma-informed training to improve service delivery and protect the parties involved in the interpreted session.