Trauma by Protocol (noun, bureaucratic phenomenon)

Trauma by Protocol (noun, bureaucratic phenomenon)

Pronunciation: /ˈtrɔː.mə baɪ ˈprəʊ.tə.kɒl/

1. Harm inflicted not by accident, but by adherence.

Occurs when rigid protocols are applied with such mindless consistency that they override nuance, humanity, or urgent need—resulting in emotional, psychological, or even physical damage.

2. In SWANKian usage:

A genre of institutional violence. Trauma that wears a name badge and cites safeguarding policy while denying oxygen, agency, or care. Often accompanied by paperwork. Always followed by a refusal to take responsibility.

Manifestations:

1. Requiring a vulnerable person to repeatedly retell their story—to strangers, in writing, during crises.
2. Ignoring lived experience in favour of “official channels.”
3. Withholding support until the situation escalates beyond repair—then citing the escalation as justification.
4. Turning cries for help into case notes.

Function:

To protect the institution from liability while increasing the burden on the person harmed. Ensures that those who ask for help are punished with process.

Etymology:

Coined in the archives of The Grand Whinge to describe the cycle wherein the cure becomes the weapon, and policy becomes pathology.

See also:

The Theatre of Safeguarding, Institutional Gaslighting, Documentation as Survival, Whinging (reclaimed)

Would you like to do Documentation as Survival next, or design a “SWANK Coat of Arms” with satirical symbolism?