Moral injury, not only an injury of war : feminist pastoral approach

Abstract

Literature about and research on moral injury most often links moral injury with war. Moral injury is usually defined as an act of transgression against moral beliefs in wartime among military personnel. This article explores moral injury as not only an injury of war but also an injury caused by the gender-biased war in our society and homes. Moral injury occurs early in life with the teaching of the gender binary as “masculine” and “feminine”. This essay will focus on patriarchy as a deeper root of the trauma of moral injury. The article will also focus on how moral injury can cause gender-based violence. A feminist pastoral approach will aim to bring awareness to the cultural attitudes and practices that create the contexts where a moral injury occurs and explore ways to transform the patriarchal gender-biased dominant narrative to facilitate freedom and healing from the internal gender identity conflict.