Mental health and gender-based violence 2016 | Page 152

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6 . Approaching the community

( See Preparing to return to the community and Preparing a survivor to reunite with her family and social network in Part II , pages 110-111 and 112-113 .)
PART III : THEORY
Interventions are needed at the level of the individual but also in the community . In the workshop notes we examined different forms of support that helpers can provide to individuals who have suffered violence and loss . We also underlined the importance of understanding the situation into which women are returning . A major challenge is to create a culture of support and respect within the community .
How to approach the community . The engagement of religious leaders , men , etc .
According to Judith Herman ( 1992 ), a helper must remember that recovery can only take place in the context of relationships . It cannot be achieved in isolation . It is necessary to engage the wider community in a survivor ’ s healing process .
The immediate response to rape in most communities is to stigmatise , reject and abandon the raped woman . This complicates and exacerbates her suffering and makes her recovery more difficult . Helpers should try to speak with community leaders ( religious leaders , political leaders , military officials , other professional people ) to explain that rape is an unacceptable crime in all circumstances and that victims are entitled to help and support ( Herman 1992 ).
It is also important to discuss the unequal power relations between women and men , because these are often a root cause of violence . In many societies , male violence or the threat of violence is a means by which men dominate women . It is likely to be helpful in such discussions to draw attention to established principles of human rights , which state that in international law all people are created equal with the same essential rights . Discuss these questions with community leaders , underlining that , while women are usually the immediate victims of gender violence , its consequences extend beyond the victim to society as a whole .
• “ Gender violence threatens family structures . Children suffer emotional damage when their mothers and sisters are beaten . Two-parent homes may break up , condemning women heads of households to struggle against deeper poverty and social discrimination .
• The psychological scars of violence often prevent people from establishing healthy and rewarding relationships in the future . Victims of gender violence may vent their frustration and pain on their own children or others , thereby transmitting and intensifying the effects of violence . Children may come to think that violence is an alternative or legitimate means of conflict resolution and communication . ( Advocates for Human Rights 2010 .)
In these and many other ways , violence is reproduced and perpetuated .
Find out what members of the community think about what happened . Give them relevant information about trauma and possible reactions to it . Tell them that their support is vital to the recovery of survivors . If family and community members cannot be mobilised , new supportive networks can be created among the survivors . It may help to draw on human rights values and principles when you explain GBV . ( Advocates for Human Rights 2010 .)