Understanding the factors that make people more vulnerable to interpersonal violence can also help us identify protective factors that can keep them safe. This is how we begin to understand violence prevention in a more holistic way. It’s not just about addressing restrictive gender roles and educating people about healthy relationships. We also need to look at how various forms of oppression make people more vulnerable to violence, and understand that the struggle to end interpersonal violence is tied to other struggles for justice. Poverty is one such form of…
In addition to one-on-one counseling and group support, Signs of Hope provides a variety of therapeutic modalities that can support the healing process. These include yoga, the holistic healing workshop series, and art therapy. Art therapy is used for survivors of all kinds of trauma, but why is it helpful? Art therapy provides survivors with a way to express themselves, process their emotions, and examine their experience of abuse or assault. Creating art allows survivors to express things that they’re not able to put into words. It can also create…
When abuse happens at a very young age, it can have a profound affect on a child’s development and behavior. As one of our colleagues at the Children’s Advocacy Center put it “these children have had a switch flipped on through no fault of their own, but it is very difficult to flip that switch back”. In the short term, parents and caregivers may see a variety of behavioral changes related to the trauma of sexual abuse. According to The National Child Traumatic Stress Network, “Very young children might engage…
Usually around this time of year, we return to the discussion about setting boundaries. Under normal circumstances, the end of the year is a time for holiday celebrations that bring many of us together with friends and family. It’s a time that can be fraught for everyone, not just survivors, and we know that a regular review of how to set and communicate boundaries with our loved ones is helpful in navigating situations of family obligation. But 2020 isn’t normal for any of us. Instead of the usual family tensions…