Teaming Up: Supporting Home Visitors in Addressing ...Teaming Up: Supporting Home Visitors in...
Transcript of Teaming Up: Supporting Home Visitors in Addressing ...Teaming Up: Supporting Home Visitors in...
Teaming Up:
Supporting Home
Visitors in
Addressing
Domestic Violence
Erin Callinan
Training and Technical
Assistance Manager
Learning Objectives
Learning Objectives
• Identify the dynamics of power and control in DV
• Discuss reasons why people remain in abusive relationships
• Cite ways to address domestic violence with families
• Review home visitor safety cards
• Identify the ways domestic violence can impact parenting
• List ways that children are affected when they are exposed to violence
• Lessons learned and coping skills that children use
• Identify how you can help, resources, and community partners
A Federal/State Partnership that funds family support that takes
place in the homes of vulnerable families
A Voluntary program that empowers families with better
knowledge, better health, and better opportunities for their
children
Research shows that HV leads to increased family self-
sufficiency, lower health care costs, and reduced need for
remedial education
What is MIECHV?
Write down the 5 most
important things in your
life.
Home Visitation Goals
• Maternal health
• Pregnancy outcomes
• Children’s cognitive and emotional development and physical health
• Parenting skills
• Family safety
• Social support
I Have
To Ask
About Whaaaat?
Overview Of Domestic Violence: Definitions and Dynamics
Advocacy Definition
Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behaviors in any relationship that are used to gain and maintain power and control over another intimate partner.
Legal Definition
ARS 13-3601 Relationship Test
Why don’t
they just
LEAVE?!
Barriers to Leaving
• Housing
• Money
• Fear
• Shame
• Religion
• Children
• Geography
• Employment
• Lack of support
• Escalation of abuse
• Love
• Promises partner will change
• Further violence against children/pets
• Social norms
• Lack of resources
Domestic Violence is NOT…
• Anger
• Substance Abuse
• Mental Illness
• Genetics
• Stress
• Problems in the
Relationship
Domestic Violence IS…
• Through observation
• Reinforced in society
Learned Behavior
• Have the ability to control who their victims are Choice
• Gain power and control
• Instill fear in their partner Intentional
CHALLENGES and
SOLUTIONS
THINK TO YOURSELF ABOUT:
• Starting and ending conversations about difficult or stigmatizing issues
• We take care of ourselves by presenting questions and educational messages in a way that feels most comfortable to us.
Consider These Quotes from Home Visitation Staff
1 “No one is hurting you, right?”
2 “You aren't being abused, are you?”
3 “Have you been experiencing any domestic violence?”
4 “Are you being abused by your partner?”
5 “Are you safe in your home?”
Starting the Conversation:
Scripts can include
normalizing language:
“Many of our moms are struggling in their
relationships we have started asking everyone about their partners and
how they are being treated....”
Safety Card on Domestic Violence and Safety Planning
How does using the safety card support domestic violence screening?
Validation: First Step to Safety Planning
Can talking about abuse
make a difference?
Your recognition and validation of her situation is important. You can help:
• Reduce her sense of isolation and shame
• Encourage her to believe a better future is possible
What Should You do When You Get a Positive Disclosure of Domestic Violence?
• “I'm so sorry this is happening in your life, you don’t deserve this”
• “It’s not your fault”
• “I’m worried about the safety of you and your children”
Validate:
Amber Video Clip
The following video clip
demonstrates how to
screen for domestic
violence and educate
about safety planning
and referrals even when
the client isn’t open to
accepting referrals for
domestic violence.
Large Group Discussion
How does domestic violence impact women's perinatal health and their birth outcomes?
Impact of Psychological Abuse Psychological abuse by an intimate
partner was a stronger predictor than physical abuse for the following health outcomes for female and male victims:
• Depressive symptoms
• Substance use
• Developing a chronic mental illness
Women Who Experience Abuse Around the Time of Pregnancy Are More Likely to:
• Smoke tobacco
• Drink during pregnancy
• Use drugs
• Experience depression, higher stress, and lower self-esteem
• Attempt suicide
• Receive less emotional support from partners
Tobacco Cessation and DV
42% of women experiencing some form of DV could not stop smoking during pregnancy compared to 15% of non-abused women.
Domestic Violence During Pregnancy is Associated With
• Lower gestational weight gain during pregnancy
• Low and very low birth weight
• Pre-term births
Definition: Reproductive Coercion
Reproductive Coercion
involves behaviors that a partner uses to maintain power and control in a relationship that are related to reproductive health:
• Explicit attempts to impregnate a partner against her wishes
• Controlling outcomes of a pregnancy
• Coercing a partner to have unprotected sex
• Interfering with birth control methods
Adolescent mothers who experienced physical abuse within three months after delivery were nearly twice as likely to have a repeat pregnancy within 24 months
Why is Reproductive Coercion Important?
Rapid Repeat Pregnancy
The following video clip
demonstrates an
approach to integrated
assessment for
postpartum depression,
reproductive coercion
and domestic violence
in a home visitation
setting.
Marta Video Clip
Helping Mothers Who Experience Reproductive Coercion
Use the Loving Parents, Loving Kids Safety Card
Adverse Childhood Experiences Study
One of the largest investigations ever done to examine the links between adverse childhood experiences and later-life health
4-12 fold increased risk for alcoholism, drug abuse, depression, and suicide attempts
2-4 fold increased risk for smoking, poor self-rated health, having 50 or more sexual intercourse partners, and sexually transmitted diseases
Persons with four or more ACEs had:
DVD and Discussion
• 15-minute DVD
• For parents and caregivers
• Describes impact of DV on children
• Available at no cost from Futures Without Violence
(In English and Spanish)
www.futureswithoutviolence.org
Children are not just witnesses…
Children are actively involved in trying to:
– Understand the abuse
– Predict when it will happen
– Protect themselves
– Protect victimized parents and siblings
– Worrying about the consequences
• I feel alone and afraid
• Nobody understands Abuse is my
fault
• Fear is everywhere
• People are unpredictable The world is dangerous
• Afraid of what will happen
• I have to protect my family Isolation
Effects of Exposure
You might see in children…
• Sleep disturbances
• New found fears
• Post traumatic play
• Headaches, pains, stomachaches
• Changes in self identity
• Irritability or aggression
• Disturbances in feeding
• Anxiety
Coping Skills • Mental Blocking
• Fantasy
• Physical avoidance
• Looking for love in the wrong places
• Drugs/Alcohol
• Attention seeking behavior
• Reaching out for help
• Re-directing toward positive activities
Resiliency
• Only a third of abused children have grown up to be abusive parents.
• Number one factor present
among those who broke the cycle of abuse: empathy for self and others.
Children’s emotional recovery depends more on the quality of their relationship with
the non-battering parent than any
other single factor
Strategies to Strengthen Mother/ Child Bond
Moms can:
• Be willing to talk about the violence
• Respect their child’s feelings
• Acknowledge that these feelings are okay
• Help their child to find the words to talk about their feelings
• Be prepared to hear things that may be painful
Personal Safety Strategies for Home Visitors
• Meet with the client at the office if the situation does not feel safe
• Establish check-in times with the home office
• Park with the front of your vehicle pointed towards exit
• Observe and listen before entering a household
• Position yourself near the door/exit in the household
• Have emergency numbers programmed into your cell phone and set on auto-dial
“Little Eyes, Little Ears”
“How Violence Against A Mother Shapes Children As They Grow”
By: Alison Cunningham and Linda Baker
Center for Children and Families in the
Justice Systems
Resources
• ACESDV Legal Advocacy Hotline – 602-279-2900 (M-F from 8-5p) – Advocacy, resources, safety planning
• Child Help – 1-800-4-A-CHILD (not a reporting line) – Support, crisis counseling, services
• National Domestic Violence Hotline – 1-800-799-SAFE (crisis line) – Crisis intervention, referrals, safety planning
Websites
• Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence
www.acesdv.org
• Strong Families AZ
www.strongfamiliesaz.com
• Futures Without Violence
www.futureswithoutviolence.org
Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence
Erin Callinan
Training and Technical Assistance Manager
Ellie Nierstedt
MIECHV Project Coordinator
www.acesdv.org