Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Drawing attention to the complexity of helping battered women and their children, this volume introduces a new model of women-defined' advocacy.
The model emphasizes: understanding a battered woman's perspective, including her risk analysis and safety plan; building partnerships with battered women; and systems advocacy. It seeks to craft courses of action that will enhance women's safety given their individual realities - which might include, for example, a woman deciding to remain temporarily in an abusive relationship.
Synopsis
Safety Planning with Battered Women introduces a new model of owoman-definedo advocacy that is designed to bridge the gap that sometimes occurs between a battered womanAEs perspective and a victim advocateAEs perception. Created to improve service delivery to women who are victims of domestic violence, this new model emphasizes placing attention on the victimAEs assessment of the risk in a violent relationship and in her decision making. Authors Jill Davies, Eleanor Lyon, and Diane Monti-Catania strive to help advocates better understand battered womenAEs decisions, including the decision to remain in an abusive relationship; to improve advocacy for victims with varying cultural backgrounds and experiences; and to provide advocates with assistance in redesigning their services, so they may better meet the needs of battered women. Since there are no quick fixes to the problems encountered in cases of domestic violence, it is vital that victims be provided with a real understanding of their options and the opportunity to implement those safety plans they deem most feasible. Safety Planning with Battered Women helps advocates tailor alternatives that will enhance the safety of battered women based on the individual realities of battered women. This book is both enlightening and highly practical and is a must read for anyone working with domestic violence victims. By introducing a woman-defined model and offering a new approach to advocacy, Safety Planning with Battered Women will compel readers to reexamine current approaches and examine the future provision of services to domestic violence victims, making it a valuable resource for students, researchers, academics, professionals, andpractitioners.
Table of Contents
Understanding battered women's perspectives -- Creating the image of battered women -- Batterer-generated risks -- Life-generated risks -- Battered women's decision-making and safety plans -- Risk analysis -- Safety planning with battered women -- Toward a woman-defined advocacy environment -- Women-defined policy advocacy.