Transcript Stop Domestic Violence- A template for best practice

Stop Domestic Violence- A
template for best practice
Margaret Wong
Executive Director
Harmony House
Presentation on 19 May, 2004 at the DV training workshop organized by
the HK Council of Social Service
Domestic Violence Defined
Definition by UN (General Assembly,
1993)
An act of gender-based violence that
results in or likely to result in, physical,
sexual or psychological harm or suffering
to women, including threats of such acts,
coercion or arbitrary deprivations of liberty,
whether occurring in public or private life.
Domestic Violence Defined
the attempt , act or intent to intimidate
within an intimate, dependent or trusting relationship
the use of threat, physical force on another person or
property
the purpose of abuse is to control, intimidate, inducement
of fear or inflicting pain
a pattern of behaviour
The onset of violence will not stop by itself, it will only
escalate once the cycle and pattern is established
(CDVC),Alberta ,Canada
-adapted from the Calgary Domestic
Violence Committee
Standards of best practice
Agency mission, policies and practices which protect
the victim
Trained and experienced staff
Specific screening and risk tracking
Development of victim safety plan
Abuse screened and addressed specifically and not as
a peripheral issue
Perpetrators viewed as responsible for the abuse, not
the victim
Referral to specialized DV treatment services as
appropriate to maximize the safety for victims
Harmony House Zero Tolerance to Domestic Violence
Our goals
To provide protection, caring and
empowerment of women and children who
are victims of family violence.
To counsel and give guidance to batterers
in order to stop the cycle of violence.
To provide education to the community at
large as well as specific target groups in
order to promote family harmony.
Harmony House - Services
Harmony House
和諧之家
Shelter for
Battered Women
(since 1985)
庇護中心
Community Education and
Resource Centre
(CERC) (since 1992)
社區教育及資源中心
Third Path-Man Services
(since 2000)
第三線男士服務
Crisis Intervention Team
on Family Violence
(CIT) (since 2001)
新希望行動-危機介入小組
Examples of abusive behaviour
Physical abuse
Emotional or psychological abuse
Sexual abuse
Neglect
Isolation
Intimidation
Economic abuse
Myths about domestic violence
Domestic violence (DV) is a private, family matter
DV only happens in poor families
DV only happens in certain cultures
DV only affects a small number of people
DV is caused by stress or alcohol/substance abuse
Victims ask for the abuse
Victims like the abuse since they stay in the abusive
relationship
Perpetrators are mentally ill
Perpetrators cannot manage their anger
Perpetrators cannot change
Tip of the iceberg
A world wide problem
Source : The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World, 2003
Prevalence of Family Violence
In the United States:
4 million abused women require medical or
police attention
every 15 sec, a women is beaten
4,000 women die each year due to
domestic violence
Prevalence of family violence
In H.K.
Average of 600 women, 1200children
admitted to 3 shelters each year
3298 reported cases of spouse abuse in
2003 (increase of 9% from 2002)
7 women is beaten every day
14 children affected by domestic
violence on a daily basis
Shelter Admission
Year
2003-2004
2002-2003
2001-2002
2000-2001
1999-2000
1998-1999
1997-1998
1996-1997
1995-1996
1994-1995
1993-1994
1992-1993
1991-1992
1990-1991
1989-1990
1988-1989
1987-1988
1986-1987
1985-1986
Total
Women
218
217
210
208
202
174
165
164
161
126
100
142
125
164
141
103
159
166
156
3101
Children
192
217
236
226
222
202
189
233
166
156
114
169
145
185
149
102
163
196
155
3417
Effects of DV
92% of victims of domestic violence (spouse
battering) are women
Affects the physical, psychological and emotional
health of women
Affects children-incidences of child abuse
Intergenerational transmission (Boys 17 times and
girls 10 times more likely to manifest serious
behaviour problems*
* Wolfe, D.A., Jaffe, P., Wilson, S.& Zak,Ls.,(1985)”Children of Battered Women: The
relationship of child behaviour to family violence and maternal stress.” Journal of Clinical
and Consulting Psychology, 53, 657-665.
The Characteristic of battered
women
Low self-esteem
Traditional view about gender role
Accepts responsibility for the batterer’s actions
Denies the terror and anger
Severe stress reactions with psychophysical
complaints (PTSD)
Believes that no one will be able to help her
resolve her predicament except herself
Identification of DV- difficulties
Denial by both victims and perpetrators
Barriers to disclosure
( financial ,immigration status, housing,
social isolation,child custody ,cultural
and traditional beliefs, religion, gender)
The stages of change /empowerment
of victims
Identification tools & strategies
Indicators
Abuse history
Observation- sensitivity
Privacy
Universal Screening
Asking direct questions – worker has to feel
comfortable talking about abuse in order to
help clients break the silence
Intervention and Victims support (1)
Key components of intervention:
- address safety issues
- validate and support ( Victims are not
responsible for the abuse. DV is against
the law)
- provide information (community
resources)
- victims empowerment
Intervention and victims support (2)
-
Assessment and intervention process
Abuse history/type of abuse
Barriers impacting disclosure
Safety assessment #
Develop safety plan #
Identify escalating factors#
Arrange for follow up to ensure ongoing safety of
client
Provide information on resources (financial ,housing,
legal aid, injunction order, schooling for children)
Referral to specialized personnel/ agencies on
DV/shelters /crisis team for assistance
Safety assessment and planning*
Is client safe to talk now? Where is s/he? Are children present? Ask
her/him to access a public phone/go to a place where s/he can talk
to worker in private. If not possible,use closed ended questions to
solicit “yes” or “no” answer.
Is client currently living with the perpetrator? Harassed by the
perpetrator? Does client need assistance to leave right away?
Does client have a safety plan? IS there a place which client can go
to that is not known to the perpetrator?
Any friends, relatives who can assist client?
Is client aware of community resources? (shelter police, IFSCs,
FCPSU)
Develop plan to contact client: block caller identification,speak only
to the client,do not leave messages with other individuals ,on
answering machines, voice mail, or e-mail
If worker is questioned by someone other than client, do not
indicate who you are or which agency you are calling from
Set a time with client to call /check on client again
* Harmony House
Hotline Manual & CDVC
Escalating risk factors
Abuse increase in frequency and severity
Has client voiced out the intention to leave the relationship? What is
the reaction of the perpetrator?
Has client been stalked? Harassed?
Any recent changes or additional stressors for the
victim/perpetrator/other family members?
Has client sought medical treatment for her injuries?
Has perpetrator threatened to kill client? Her relatives? Other family
members?
Has weapon been used to hurt or threaten client?
Has perpetrator threatened to commit suicide as a way of making
client stay?
Has the perpetrator’s work history changed in the past year? Is he
employed ?
Is the perpetrator using drugs?
Has the perpetrator ever said that “ If I can’t have you, nobody can?”
Does the client believe that the perpetrator is capable of killing her?
Developing a safety plan*(1)
Keep a phone handy
Plan an escape route out of your home-teach your children too
Put away some money – even enough for public phone
Have copies of ID, children’s school diary/student ID/
immunization records/birth cert.
Gather a bag of essential clothing, medicines- leave it with a
trusted friend
Have the numbers of the shelters handy but hidden
Avoid rooms with access to weapons (eg kitchen)
Teach children not to intervene in a violent situation. The most
important thing is for children to be protected and to protect
themselves
* Shelter will be a good source of info. And
provide assistance in developing safety plans for victims of DV
Developing a safety plan (2)
Teach children a code and signal them when you
need them to get help
Change your routine or schedule or the route you
take your children to school when you decide to
leave or already left the abusive relationship
Alert school authorities of the situation , consider
changing children’s school
Talk to your neighbour and request that they call
the police if they feel you may be in danger
Developing a safety plan (3) –
for Staff
See client with another staff person
Meet client in a space that can be seen by
others
Leave your office slightly ajar
Sit close to the door – avoid blocking of exit
Arrange other staff person to call you at agreed
time intervals
Talk to your supervisor about your concerns
If interviewing client outside of office, inform
office of the interview place and time and call
office after completion of interview
Developing safety plan (4)- high
risk situation
Retrieve belongings from home
Children attending school after victim leave
the relationship
Victim meets with relatives
Visitation
joint-interview*
* Couple counselling/family counselling is not recommended for families
with ongoing issues of abuse - couple counseling is often an option only
after specialized treatment has been undertaken or when couple counselling
is concurrently held with specialized DV programs to ensure victim is able to
protect oneself and perpetrator has taken responsibility of the abuse*
* Calgary Counselling Center,
Family Violence Program Guidelines,1997, Alberta, Canada
Documentation
From intake , assessment, intervention, case
termination to after care
Separate documentation files for victims and
perpetrators
Interventions and safety plans of the victim should
be recorded with caution in order to protect the
safety of victim
Photographs- request client’s permission to
photograph the injuries to be used as evidence in
criminal proceedings if case is pursued by client
Standards of batterers treatment
program
Safety of Victims is prioritized over the perpetrators’ right
to confidentiality
Lethality assessment
Severity of abuse
Holding the perpetrator accountable
Address the violence directly
Policy on partner contact to ensure safety of victims
Note: Anger /stress management program, self esteem group,
psychotherapy, couples counseling, family therapy, communication
skill building and conflict resolution without concurrent or sequential
batterers violence treatment program are not appropriate for
treatment of perpetrators of violence. *
*
CDVC Protocol project,
Feb 2000
Understanding the “Man”
Contextual – economy, environment,
cross border marriage
Socialization – emotion, gender role,
power, family violence/role
expectations
Batterers treatment (1)
Behavioral indicators of perpetrators:
- Speak for the client/ insist on staying
close to the client
- Minimize, deny or lie about the abuse
- Blame the abused
- Justify the abuse
Batterers treatment (2)
- Refused to take responsibility for the
abuse
- Use of control tactics to threaten,
intimidate service providers
- Low self-esteem
- Extreme jealous, controlling behaviour
- Understanding of emotions
Lethality Assessment :
Abuse history
Criminal record
Alcohol/substance abuse
Gambling
Mental illness : antisocial, schizophrenia
Suicide attempts
Emotional state
Support network
Intervention (1) – Third Path
Man Service
Man Hotline
Referral
Individual Counseling
Psycho-educational Treatment Group
After Care
Intervention (2) – Goals :
Break the denial pattern
Confront maximization/minimization
Assume responsibility on abuse
Community linkage
Enhance motivation
2/2001 to 2/2004, total number of :
a) Hotlines (Total calls) : 2130
b) Hotlines (DV& Marital problems calls) : 936
c) Case & group intervention : 230
Intervention (3) – Group Process
& Contact
Pre-group interview – screening/lethality assessment
Gender roles & stereotype
Understanding of emotions - positive means of
expression
Impact of violence
Cognitive & behavioral changes
Reflection of the power & control issues
Problem solving & communication skills
Relapse prevention plan
Intervention (4) – Aftercare
services
Relapse prevention
Skills building
Consolidation of cognitive, behavioral
changes
Peer support
Change is possible
Stop using violent behavior = 71
Using less violent behavior = 76
Total = 147 (71%)
No change
Reject service
Lose contact
* N=207
= 13
= 17
= 30
Staff training
-
DV is a specialized area which requires basic training,
regular info.updating and experience in handling DV
cases
Basic training components:
Incidence of DV
Types of violence
Principles of dealing DV
Screening
Impact of abuse
Dynamics of abuse
Cycle of violence
Stages of change
Legal responses
Community resources
Committment
Agency policy on DV
Dedicate resources
Designate manpower
Regular training
Collaboration with specialized agencies/
programs/shelters on DV
Advocacy for systemic change and
community response
There is NO excuse for
Domestic Violence