Hilary Abrahams - Supporting Women After Domestic Violence: Loss, Trauma and Recovery

Domestic violence corrodes the fabric of womens emotional and social worlds. The process of extinguishing a womans sense of herself, her relationships, her understanding of her past and her present is a destructive one. It occurs behind closed doors and thrives in an environment of secrecy and isolation. Unsurprisingly, others, including professionals have had little access to this closed world and its destructive interior.

Paradoxically, the route to safety has also, and by necessity, often occurred behind closed doors. There has been little exposure of the complex process of support and healing which has been undertaken with workers and other women within the refuge sector. The need for secret addresses, high levels of security, and privacy to allow the slow process of recovery has meant that the work of refuges has also been subject to invisibility.

This book brings to light the complexity of this work and womens journeys. It is not before time. The context of womens services is changing. The entwining of advocacy for services combined with the high levels of emotional support required for women to embark on the difficult pathway to recovery is changing and not always for the best. A number of challenges beset both individual women and the sector.

Firstly, the drive to provide cheaper and more efficient accommodation for women and children escaping domestic violence has frequently meant that the complex array of services provided through refuges has been underestimated. The threat to specialist refuges for black and minority ethnic women, and the drive to provide only minimal support through hostel accommodation fails to recognise the level of fear, trauma and grief which the crisis of separation can represent. It is not a time to leave women alone to fend for themselves when this act of independence and bravery can provide the first step towards a new life free from violence. High level support is essential and cost effective and should not be constructed as a luxury. This book provides a graphic reminder that this is the case.

The second issue lies in contrast, and possibly contradiction to the first. This is namely that domestic violence intervention is becoming increasingly professionalised. Domestic violence forums are dominated by police, health professionals, social workers and housing workers. While this mainstreaming is an exciting development which can create significantly more attention to domestic violence, it carries with it some dangers. These can include downgrading the high levels of competence and experience provided by Womens Aid and other specialist voluntary sector organisations, as well as an underestimation of the role and value of mutual support provided by one survivor towards another and the effectiveness of creating shared activities for children.

Understanding the balance to be struck is particularly evident when the intervention to support the emotional well-being of both women and children is considered. Recognition that the impact of violence and abuse can be traumatising and that the erosion of womens esteem and identity can lead to depression, high anxiety and suicide attempts is not new. However, problems arise if we then think that only professional counsellors and mental health professionals are able to provide the requisite help. Again, this book provides an important reminder that mutual support should be considered a central rather than a peripheral aspect of the healing journey for many women. The interviews with women in refuges provide testimony to its significance and a reminder that as the purpose built refuge characterised by separate accommodation units for women and children emerges, that steps are required by workers to facilitate the opportunities for women to get to know and support each other in their day- to-day living. A major step in the recovery from trauma and hence recovery in the aftermath of violence is to re-establish social support and step away from the isolation created by violence and abuse.