The YWCA Practice Framework is a comprehensive document developed to focus and guide staff at the YWCA in a unified philosophy and was developed with expert consultation with frontline staff, leadership and external stakeholders. The document also serves to clarify for the general public the YWCA’s clear focus on women, particularly those who are vulnerable.
This blog series will break out sections and excerpts from the YWCA Practice Framework to share with our audiences and contribute to the social narratives about women’s issues.
Violence and abuse are complex and multifaceted topics, and so are the effects that they have on women and girls. In this edition of our Practice Framework series, we will explore the definition, as well as the contexts surrounding the occurrences of violence against women.
Violence and violence against women are human rights violations that are perpetrated most commonly by men. In Calgary, 80 per cent of domestic violence victims are women and there was a 10 per cent increase in the number of domestic violence calls police responded to in 2015. Central to incidents of violence is the intentional use of power by the perpetrator aimed at controlling, dominating and/or forcing compliance. Power approaches include physical, sexual, psychological, economic, social, spiritual and cultural abuse. Violence is a learned behavior and perpetrators are 100 per cent responsible for their actions and should be held accountable. Perpetrators are also responsible for the impacts on children when those children have been exposed to the abuse.
Women go to great lengths to keep their children safe and need help from services and systems to protect their children. Some women may resort to violence to protect themselves or their children. Acts of violence that women suffering from abuse have committed against their abusers does not make them abusers themselves, provided that their actions were defensive or were taken in the struggle to regain control over their life.
We view violence and abuse against women in relationships as one facet of a global picture of gender oppression. Forms of violence against women include rape and sexual coercion, forced sexual initiation, sexual abuse, trafficking, forced prostitution, exploitation of labour, violence against survival sex workers, rape in war, sex-selective abortion, female infanticide, deliberate neglect of girls, and female genital mutilation.
The many manifestations of violence against women point to the significant role that social norms, gender roles, social and political institutions play in legitimizing and perpetuating violence against women, in addition to contributing to women’s vulnerability to abuse. Instead, violence against women is a form of gender oppression that is related to cultural, social, political and economic factors.
Surviving abuse has both physical and mental long-term health impacts on women. Some women may use substances as a safety, numbing or coping strategy. It is also important to remember that the impacts of abuse that victims suffer are not separate “disorders”, but are directly linked to the abuse that they face or have faced. At the YWCA, we recognize women’s vulnerability and their use of substances should not be used as a reason to deny women access to safety, support and services.
We focus on women’s strengths, safety strategies and the impact of abuse to help women who have experienced violence and abuse begin to heel and feel empowered to rebuild their lives.
Read our full Practice Framework here.
