We are, these days, in the throes of the #MeToo movement, and we are simultaneously witnessing the separation of undocumented migrant children from their parents, right here in the United States. Worldwide, mass relocations, dislocations, and attendant misery have led to an epidemic increase of violence against women. This violence is an age-old problem in times of instability, crisis, and societal disruption, including the erosion of traditions and values protecting vulnerable women and children.

Whenever the subject involves external political reality, one needs to ask: What can psychoanalysts contribute that differs from the work of journalists and reporters? The situation is complex: (1) Pressure to be politically correct can polarize victims and victimizers. (2) In the interface between external and internal reality, political activism sometimes leads to self-righteousness. (3) Increasing political oppression, war, and poverty create situations of helplessness. How are we to use analytic principles to gain mastery?

Analysts can not only bear witness but can frame informed hypotheses about internal motivations. Analysts bring a more nuanced view, not simply dividing good and evil, victim and perpetrator. They recognize the importance of formative experiences and the consequences of early traumatization. They can formulate specific hypotheses about victim-perpetrator dynamics, repetition compulsion, and resiliency. Psychoanalysts and