Barry-walsh J1
1FTACNZ
Biography:
Dr Justin Barry-Walsh is a consultant forensic psychiatrist and is clinical lead of the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre New Zealand. It is in this role that he has been involved in the area of what may be loosely termed terrorism.
Whenever there is a dramatic act of public, targeted violence, the first question asked by media and answered by politicians and experts is was this an act of terrorism? Yes or No? Yet such a simple and binary approach masks a plethora of issues and complexity. One question that arises is why should one event that generates harm be viewed so differently from a second with similar harm just because it is seen as terrorism. This presentation will address this problem through the lens of Lone Actor Grievance Fueled Violence. It will highlight the utility of this concept from psychiatric, psychological, legal and prevention perspectives. It will explain how the concept of Lone Actor Grievance Fueled Violence better fits with the evidence base about those that attempt or engage in lone actor events. And it will explain why sometimes asking the question is it terrorism, especially if the answer is no may be so unhelpful.