Kriscentrum Crisis centre violence in close relationships

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The Crisis centre Violence in close
relationships
Halmstad municipality
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The Crisis centre Violence in close
relationships

• A holistic family approach to tackling domestic
  violence
• Christina Bäckblom Fahlén, Halmstad Sweden

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Support for all family members

• The specific target groups
• Children who experience or witness violence in
  the family
• Adults who experience violence in close
  relationships
• Adults who uses violence in close relationships

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Main focus

• Develop and implement evidence based methods for
  adressing and dealing with violence in
  relationships
• Promoting and developing systems for joint working

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First year

• Identification and assessment
• A third of the people in contact with the Crisis
  centre are self-referrals
• Half of all men make contact with the centre on
  their own accord.
• 50 percent women, 25 children, 25 men
• Easily accessible service, personal details are
  not recorded (take into account that both victims
  and perpetrators are usually ashamed)

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First year

• Development of a service model
• Setting up a network for more in-deph
  understanding about the complexities of violence
• Utilising knowledge and research findings to
  develop an evidence based model that reflects the
  need of the local population
• Organisational development work to establish
  partnership working among those involved with
  families where there are concerns about domestic
  violence

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Issues for discussion

• First theme
• What would be the key principles in the
  starting-up process of a service that take a
  holistic family approach to domestic violence?
  What are the service development issues and
  specific considerations for a service dealing
  with issues of violence?

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Principles for the Crisic centre

• Political leadership and management support at
  all levels of the organisation
• Policies and definitions of domestic violence
  have been adopted at all levels of the
  organisation (in accordance with the UN
  Conventions for example)
• Establishing a value base for considering
  violence and change processes
• A specialist unit with high qualified staff
• A clear mandate
• Responsivity to meet the diverse needs in
  sometimes unorthodox ways
• Staff has to be observant about power and control
  mechanisms

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Issues for discussion

• Second theme
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of
  a service that work with all family members-
  adults and children exposed to violence or
  involved in the use of violence? What are the
  dilemmas staff could face? What systems of
  support are required? How do we create an
  organisation where there is co-operation between
  staff and ways of joint working?

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Principles for the Crisic centre

• It is easier to request help as a perpetrator if
  you are included
• The crisis centre must be a safe place-
  physicallay and psychologically
• Supervision and continuous professional
  development
• Political and management support

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Issues for discussion

• Third theme
• How can a social service organisation be
  positioned to take a genuine and sustained
  difference in situations of violence in close
  relationships? How do we ensure that child
  protection procedures are followed in the work of
  violence in close relationships?

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Principles for the Crisic centre

• Violence in close relationships is a specialist
  area of work
• Challenges in being empathic and operate in a
  non-oppressive way. Focus on helping people to
  regain control of their lives
• Interventions by the social services must be
  known by and not threatening to the children
• Knowledge about child development and factors
  that make children vulnerable and placed at risk
  for serious harm, particular concern is babies
  and infants brain injury and attachment
  disorders