Provide Women Defined Advocacy - Powering Silicon … Defined Advocacy In day to day work, the following principles lead toward women defined advocacy • We believe the story told

Women Defined Advocacy and Collaboration

Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence

Women Defined Advocacy

• A pragmatic approach to working with battered women that acknowledges and builds on women’s perspectives and their response to their partner’s power and control.

• It does not ensure that battered women or their children will be safe: rather, it seeks to craft the alternatives that will enhance women’s safety, given the reality facing each battered women

• Jill Davies & Eleanor Lyon (1998). Safety planning with battered women (pp1‐165). Thousand Oaks London‐ New Delhi: Sage Publications

Women Defined AdvocacyIn day to day work, the following principles lead toward women defined advocacy

• We believe the story told by the client is true and we will support her based on her story.

• Women decide to tell us what want us to know and when they want us to know it.

• We discuss everything we do in case management with the client.

• Jill Davies & Eleanor Lyon (1998). Safety planning with battered women (pp1‐165). Thousand Oaks London‐ New Delhi: Sage Publications

Women Defined Advocacy

• In day to day work, the following principles lead toward women defined advocacy

• We do not try to over‐ride a woman’s right to make her own decision.

• If we believe her decision may not be in her best interest, we discuss our concerns and offer different options.

• We respect and support her final decision.

Jill Davies & Eleanor Lyon (1998). Safety planning with battered women (pp1‐165). Thousand Oaks London‐ New Delhi: Sage Publications

Women Defined Advocacy• Culture and Women Defined Advocacy

• Culture for us is dynamic phenomenon.

• It changes based on the geo, socio, political status of a culture and subculture in a society.

• We believe that women’s individual experiences enable them to embrace their culture differently. We look at culture through the eyes of the women we serve.

• We do not support the practice of any one religion and welcome women to practice the religion of their choice. We make reasonable changes in our policies to accommodate such practice.

Woman Defined Advocacy

Confidentiality:

• Confidentiality is a major non‐negotiable in our work.

• If confidentiality is breached; the clients have the right to charge the advocate with a misdemeanor.

• A release of information must be signed by the client prior to the exchange or release of information with anyone affiliated with our clients from an outside agency.

Woman Defined Advocacy

• We do risk assessment and safety planning based on:– Lethality Assessment– Batterer Generated Risks– Life Generated Risk– Staying and Leaving Strategies

Woman Defined Advocacy• Lethality/Danger Assessment

• Jacquelyn Campbell, PhD, RN “Danger Assessment” 1988

• Type of abuse, threats, escalation and means to commit murder

Woman Defined Advocacy• Batterer Generated Risks

– The range of risks that battered women and their children face while living in or leaving an abusive relationship

– Include: Physical injury– Psychological harm– Risks to and involving children– Financial risks– Risks to or about family/friends– Loss of relationships– Risks involving arrest or loosing legal status

– Jill Davies & Eleanor Lyon (1998). Safety planning with battered women (pp1‐165). Thousand Oaks London‐ New Delhi: Sage Publications

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Women Defined Advocacy• Life Generated Risks

– Societal or environmental risks over which the woman you are working with has no control

– Include: Financial– Geographical location– Availability of resources in the community where the

woman you are working with lives– Inadequacy of responses by major social institutions – Discrimination based on race, sexual orientation,

gender, immigration status and ethnicity– Lack of opportunity to learn basic life skills– Education– Economic class

– Jill Davies & Eleanor Lyon (1998). Safety planning with battered women (pp1‐165). Thousand Oaks London‐ New Delhi: Sage Publications

Collaboration

• Why Collaborate?• Our clients come to us with a wide range of needs

Based on batterer or life generated risks clients will need to access a wide range of social systems

We are a small agency dealing with a problem of epidemic proportions

Ending domestic violence will take the efforts of the community

Funding opportunities and requirements

Collaboration

• Who do we collaborate with?

– Other programs serving women and their children experiencing domestic violence

– Local and state organizations that are concerned with domestic violence on a political level

– Service partners– Educational institutions– Social service agencies– Government agencies

Collaboration

“Skills for Successful Collaborations: A Skills Building Curriculum in Negotiation, Collaborative Mindset, Strategic Thinking and Meeting Facilitation”Day Piercy, Published by the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, 2000

Collaboration

• Six half‐day sessions:

– #1 Mindset for Successful Collaboration Workshop

– #2 Practice Session on Collaborative Mindset– #3 Negotiation Workshop– #4 Strategic Thinking Workshop– #5 Meeting Facilitation Workshop– #6 Practice Session on Meeting Facilitation

• Skills for Successful Collaborations: A Skills Building Curriculum in Negotiation, Collaborative Mindset, Strategic Thinking and Meeting Facilitation” Day Piercy, The National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, 2000.

CollaborationMindset for Successful Collaboration:

• Vision:What you want to accomplish to achieve a successful outcome

• Positive Attitude: Focus on what you can do together while understanding limitations that may exist



• Willingness: Be willing to create a recommendation, agreement, and or plan of action with the other parties.

• Openness: Be open to being influenced by others . There may be more than one right way. Be neither a doormat or an immovable obstacle.



• Curiosity: Maintain a curious/investigating attitude about others needs, power, mandates, mission, barriers, and opportunities to move forward.

Avoid blaming, “shoulding,” and/or making assumptions about others motives and meaning.


Collaboration

•Mindset for Successful Collaboration:

Connections: Look for connections rather than differences – the “fit” meeting your needs and other’s needs

Confidence: See yourself as a significant partner with confidence in your ability to “hold your own” when situations are confusing and complex

Skills for Successful Collaborations: A Skills Building Curriculum in Negotiation, Collaborative Mindset, Strategic Thinking and Meeting Facilitation” Day Piercy, The National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, 2000.

Collaboration

• Negotiation:

The question – focuses the discussion and is a way to create an initial agreement about what you are going to discuss.

The situation – describe, don’t judgeIdentify what each wants/needsThe answer/solutionThe action plan:What will be done, by whom, by whenDecide how and when you will assess outcome / commitment /

progress


Collaboration• Strategic Thinking:

– Know your vision for the collaboration and what you want

– Be clear about your vision and goals and avoiding deciding in advance what must happen.

– Know what motivates, the person or group you are working with, to change in this specific situation

– Don’t define your priorities solely in terms of “what you think you can get or what the other parties need

– Be credible – know what you need to be respected


Collaboration• Strategic Thinking:

– Be careful in the use of questions

– Foster communication by speaking the language others use

– Asses how you can build allies and roles they/you will play

– Preplan the meeting

– Do your homework

– Dress to fit the situation


Collaboration• Meeting Facilitation:

Define the desired outcome of the meetingList all agenda itemsDecide what itemsmust be coveredDefine meeting roles and who will fill themDecide what information people need in advance to make the

meeting productiveDefine meeting logistics and who will handle themNext steps: Define tasks you know in advance will need to be a

assigned


Collaboration

• Results of the Training

– Increased representation of Next Door in the community

– Increased confidence and voice for the advocates who are new to collaboration

– Increased leadership opportunities for the next generation of advocates

Documents

Provide Women Defined Advocacy - Powering Silicon … Defined Advocacy In day to day work, the following principles lead toward women defined advocacy • We believe the story told