I would like to start this post off by saying that this book
should be a part of every domestic violence advocacy agency’s library. Written by Attorney Jill Davies, deputy
director of Greater Hartford Legal Aid, Inc.
with over thirty years of working on behalf of family violence victims,
and Eleanor Lyon, PhD., former director of the Institute for Violence
Prevention and Reduction and consultant with the National Resource Center on
DV, Trauma and Mental Health and Futures Without Violence, this book is a
comprehensive study and manual for working with survivors of intimate partner
violence.
The basis of the book is to define and encourage the use of
victim-defined advocacy. Victim-defined
advocacy broadens advocacy to partnering with the survivor in order to use the
victim’s knowledge and perspective in order to make the victim safer. It includes “learning about her risk analysis
and life circumstances, along with her priorities, past and current safety plans
and relationship decisions” and building a partnership to review the risks and
identify options relevant to her priorities and the dangers she faces. It is a dynamic and interactive process.
In addition to the discussion of victim-defined advocacy
(which includes stories of survivors and how advocates work with them) the book
also provides material on children exposed to domestic violence and working
with women with trauma, mental health and substance abuse issues to understand
their perspectives and developing safety plans that encompass those issues. The last section of the book is focused on
systems advocacy.
One of the most valuable components of the book for me was a
discussion of life generated risks and the batterer’s manipulation of those
risks to coerce the partner into staying in the relationship. It helps move the question from “why doesn’t
she just leave?” to “what keeps her from leaving?” For example, poverty and financial limitations
(i.e. limited transportation, limited job opportunities, and limited housing
options) are often reinforced by the batterer as a means of control and
manipulation. I am currently using this
material in trainings and find it to be valuable in generating discussion.
This book is available through Sage Publications at http://www.sagepub.com/books/Book238008?siteId=sage-us&prodTypes=any&q=domestic+violence+advocacy&fs=1
