Psychosocial and Legal Services for Women and Girl Survivors of Gender-Base
- 1. Moving Forward to Resilient, Resourceful, Violence-Free Lives Prasanna Gettu Ph.D Criminology International Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care (PCVC) The Asian Network of Women’s Shelters Conference, 2013, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
- 2. Shelters for DV Survivors Move out of violent capacity/situation Explore or assume new identities Support groups- freedom and empowerment Protection/Restraining orders
- 3. Transition to shelter life can be critical… 2-3 weeks to adjust to the fact she is not going home (of the perpetrator) Accepts reality and begins to grieve Ready to use her energy to start planning her future Decision to go back - she misses her home, is afraid of the abuser’s threats or scared of independent living DEPENDS ON A POSITIVE TRANSITION TO THE SHELTER
- 4. The transition… Lives strictly governed by the abuser No freedom Decisions to be followed not taken Freedom from being ‘controlled’ Her own ‘power’ over various resources Make decisions independent of the abuser Regaining herself
- 5. Key to empowering… Shelter clients identify power blocks and develop strategies to overcome those difficulties ◦ Breaker- learned helplessness disables them to identify the power blocks by themselves educate to communicate and manage conflicts,, counseling, principles of equality, provide resources, opportunities, etc. Can these realistically promote empowerment ?
- 6. A tested model for shelter…
- 7. Why focus on coping? The individual counters the stress and meets the day to day demands by coping physically, socially, and cognitively Coping styles vary according to individuals, families, and cultures (Andrews, 1990)
- 9. Coping style Positive/appropriate Negative/inappropriate coping coping ◦ being positive ◦ engage in constructive problem solving ◦ task-focused behaviour ◦ accept help ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ deny the problem exists blame oneself or others cope alone use drugs, alcohol being aggressive Coping is highly individualistic & is mostly learned
- 11. Conditions that decrease vulnerability: use of resourcefulness (skills/strength/intelligence) self-delivered reassurances (self encouragement) positive thinking (learned optimism logical analysis) rational action (reality oriented) regulate negative emotions (self control) positive appraisal (honest assessment) problem solving (prioritization/optimism/persistence) diminished vulnerability (awareness/ empowerment) Opposite conditions increase vulnerability.
- 12. Process.. Guided to constantly identify the presence of these resources and take those ‘worthwhile’ to build their vision. ◦ inadequate resources lead to vulnerability and disability to move forward ◦ adequate resources result in resiliency, safety and a strong self
- 14. Success of a shelter program … in empowering women to move forward with their own skills and strengths rather than be dependent on what government, non government agencies or policies have to offer.