Key
Issues and Points
Partnership
A teaching team composed of a champion/faith community member, survivor
and an advocate from your local agency is very effective and can optimize
the participant learning experience.
The learning experience
Make the class as dynamic and interactive as you can.
Look to other presenters for feedback throughout.
Be continually aware of opportunities for participant involvement
in the discussion.
Don’t always answer participant questions right away,
ask them what they think.
However, stay on task!
The education team members must all help with the delicate balancing act
of presenting content while flexing to participants’ needs.
Begin and end on time. Plan on taking one fifteen-minute
break. Resume promptly.
Remain objective
Educators will get a wide variety of comments in response to the content.
This is good! You need to know what they are thinking. Always remember
to be respectful of participants’ opinions, remain supportive and
validate comments.
Examples of responses:
- I can appreciate how you feel. Many people have said
the same thing.
- What would you do in that circumstance?
- I’m really glad you asked that. That is a very
important point.
- You know, no one ever asked that before. What a good
question.
- You are right. It is often very hard to bring up the
subject of possible violence in the home when the person who has come
to you has not shared that.
- What is important is that you recognize the value of
looking at all possibilities when working with someone and identify
how you can overcome any of your personal discomfort.
- It is not unusual to be concerned about how people will
react when you begin.
Primary prevention
Encourage participants to seek ways to provide information to all their
members. Mention that a rural Minnesota domestic violence study (Ottertail
County) revealed that over 50% did not know of local services, and that
almost 50% of survivors in that study said they would rather rely on God
than seek help.
Collect stories
An effective teaching tool is story telling - examples that will encourage
participants to reach out.
Preserving confidentiality, write down stories you hear
so you can remember them for later classes.
Language
Emphasize that when speaking to community members or preaching, it is
more helpful to use words like “hurtful” and “disrespectful”
and to avoid words like “abusive,” “violent” or
“battering.” Some may not want to be labeled, others may not
know what abuse is because it is the norm in their life. Consider using
“survivor” instead of “victim.” The latter can
denote powerlessness, the former is a positive, supportive word.
Communication points
Remember to respect participants’ knowledge level.
Do not make assumptions about their knowledge and experience.
Capitalize on their expertise.
Focus on behaviors rather than gender. Consider the following
points:
- Current research shows that 95% of physical battering
is perpetrated by men against women, but it is important to recognize
that many groups are physically, sexually and emotionally battered and
that sometimes females are the abusers.
- Battering occurs in elders, teens, and gay and lesbian
populations.
- Adult children batter their parents.
- An item to highlight to participants: ironically, various
behaviors described in the power and control wheel are often considered
to be “normal” or “acceptable.”
If you have a large audience, be absolutely certain you
can be heard. Generally, it is easier for the audience when the speaker
uses a microphone if there is a large group.
It can become an emotional issue
Be forewarned that when painful information is presented, it can be emotionally
difficult for both participants and educator. |
