On 10 November the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers, Finn Church Aid and other key practitioners held a discussion to expand upon the findings in, “When a Family Member Becomes Radicalised: Prevention of Violent Extremism and Family Support Activities in Six Western European Countries. Daniel Köhler, Director German Institute on Radicalization join an interactive panel discussion with other key experts to shed light on the consequences and challenges of radicalization at the family level. Full transcript provided below.
Prevention of radicalisation and the re-integration of a radicalised person into society cannot be achieved without the support of a wider group of people. Family members, relatives and local community representatives in particular often have a crucial role to play in enabling people to leave violent acts behind and break away from radical ideas and actions. As for finding a home, a place to work or study and building new social relationships, these can only be accomplished after the wider community accepts the person into their midst. The families and immediate circle of the radicalised person are hard hit by the situation in many ways. The burden seems endless and, unfortunately, families are often excluded from the plans for immediate support measures when we search for ways to prevent radicalisation and help those seeking to separate from extremist movements.