Violence Against Women    


The 2012 Violence Against Women Calendar is available here:                                    

                     

To apply for any of the courses, please download your application form here and return to victoria.wickenden1@nhs.net

The Highland Community Planning Partnership is continuing to offer a number of training programmes on Violence Against Women throughout Highland in 2010. The focus of this training is to increase awareness and understanding of Violence Against Women issues and to develop skills and practices when responding to abuse.

We are committed to raising awareness of Violence Against Women. The term Violence Against Women (or gender based violence as it is often known) encompasses many issues including domestic abuse, rape and sexual assault, childhood sexual abuse, and prostitution. It is estimated that between 1 in 2 and 1 in 5 women in Highland will experience at least one form of it in their lifetime. The impact this can have on a woman’s life is wide ranging and can include physical disability, sexual ill health and mental health problems.

All Violence Against Women Training delivered through the Community Planning Partnership in Highland is funded and supported by the Scottish Government. It has been developed in accordance with the Scottish Government’s Training Strategy on Violence Against Women and is, therefore, offered at three different levels:

• Level 1 – Awareness Raising
• Level 2 – Skills/sector specific training
• Level 3 – Specialist/Advanced training

Training Provision

During 2012 we will continue to offer Level 1 Training on:
The Level 2 Training we will be offering in 2012 is outlined below:

We will also be offering our first Level 3 course:
 


Application forms for all courses should be completed and returned to:

Violence Against Women Administration Assistant
Assynt House
Beechwood Business Park
INVERNESS
IV2 3BW
Tel: 01463 704993
Fax: 01463 235189
Email: victoria.wickenden1@nhs.net

Understanding Violence Against Women - 1 day course

Course Information:
On average, women who have experienced abuse approach between 7 and 10 agencies before they get the help they need. We aim to improve service responses to women, children and young people who have experienced gender based violence by offering this training to all statutory and voluntary agency staff in Highland. The training will highlight what Violence Against Women is, why it happens and focus on good practice.

Aims:
• To explore the causes and effects of Violence Against Women
• To highlight the different forms of Violence Against Women that Women Children and Young People experience
• To explore how the needs of women, children and young people who experience gender based violence are met

Aimed at:
All staff and volunteers in contact with women, children and young people and/or men.

Asking the Questions about Violence Against Women - 1 day course

Course Information:
This course specifically looks at how to build up to asking the questions about violence and abuse and then what to do with a disclosure. It is particularly relevant to staff who are expected to ask women about abuse as part of routine enquiry and assessment processes, but this course will also be of interest to a wider group of staff and volunteers across a range of statutory and voluntary agencies. The course will focus on routine enquiry of abuse as well as how to ask questions if you suspect someone is or has experienced any form of abuse.

Aims:
• Understand the reasons why it is difficult for some women to talk about their experiences and sometimes for workers to ask
• Be able to break down the barriers stopping workers asking
• Feel confident in asking about Violence Against Women and responding

Aimed at:
All staff who are in contact with women as part of their day to day role, in particular, those who have regular contact with women; carry out direct work with women; may be required to support a woman over a period of time; may offer emotional and/or practical support to women, in any context and/or have specific responsibilities in regard to adult and/or child protection

Prerequisites for attending:
This course is only open to those who have attended the ‘Understanding Violence Against Women’ course or domestic abuse training within the past 3yrs.

Meeting the Need: Violence Against Women and Children - 1 day course

Course Information:
Many women who experience gender based violence will have children. There are strong links between women’s experiences of gender based violence and children’s experiences of emotional, physical and sexual abuse. Whatever form of Violence Against Women they hear, witness or are involved in they can experience a range of impacts. This course focuses on assessing these impacts and identifying the needs of children and their families.

Aims:
• To inform participants of the links between women and children’s experiences of abuse
• To show the impacts of gender based violence on children and young people
• To highlight the need for early and effective interventions
• To instigate discussion around domestic abuse in particular and the impact this has on children and young people
• To begin to look at ways of assessing needs of women and children affected

Aimed at:
All staff working with children and young people and/or women who have children. In particular those staff who:
• Have regular contact with children & families/carry out direct work with children & families
• Contribute to assessments of children, including assessment of risk
• May be required to attend Child’s Plan Meetings/deliver a Child’s Plan
• Have specific responsibilities in regard to child protection

Prerequisites for attending:
This course is only open to those who have attended the ‘Understanding Violence Against Women’ course or domestic abuse training AND Child Protection training within the past 3 years.

Black and Minority Ethnic Women’s Experiences of Gender Based Violence - 1 day course

Course Information:
The training aims to highlight the specific ways Gender Based Violence impacts upon Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) women. The session will explore specific issues and needs of BME women survivors, examine service responses and enable practitioners to develop strategies to improve service responses.

Aims
  • Understand the personal and cultural constraints involved for BME women when seeking help and reporting Gender Based Violence
  • Understand what we mean by so called ‘honour’ crimes
  • State in basic terms the 2 year Immigration rule and the impact of this on BME women who experience Violence Against Women
  • Identify the informational, practical and attitudinal barriers that prevent BME women from accessing services
Aimed at:
All staff and volunteers in contact with women, children and young people and/or men and all those with an interest in issues of equality and diversity.

Prerequisites for attending:
This course is only open to those who have attended the ‘Understanding Violence Against Women’ course or domestic abuse training within the past 3 years.


Exploring the Sexualisation of Culture and the Normalisation of Commercial Sexual Exploitation - 1 day course

Course Information:
Increasing concern is being expressed about the sexualisation of culture. This course begins to unpick the messages we get about what it means to be men and women in today’s society and how our view of sexuality can be shaped by the media. It also focuses on specific aspects of commercial sexual exploitation – prostitution, pornography and lap dancing – and will provide the audience with opportunities to explore their thoughts and feelings about these issues.

Aims
  • Understand how current culture normalises Commercial Sexual Exploitation
  • Compare the media image of Commercial Sexual Exploitation with the reality of prostitution, pornography and lap dancing
  • Identify opportunities for addressing the Sexualisation of Culture
Aimed at:
All staff and volunteers in contact with women, children and young people and/or men. This course is only open to those aged 18 or over as sexually explicit content will be shown during the course.

Prerequisites for attending:
This course is only open to those who have attended the ‘Understanding Violence Against Women’ course or domestic abuse training within the past 3 years.

What we Need to Know when Working with Perpetrators of Domestic Abuse - 1/2 day course

Course Information:

Many of us already have contact with perpetrators of abuse and this course examines the ways we ensure we work with families where there is domestic abuse in appropriate ways. The training aims to bring perpetrators of domestic abuse into the foreground and, although, the training is not focused on therapeutic interventions or behaviour change, it is about workers best practice.

Aims
• To bring perpetrators of domestic abuse to the attention of service providers
• For workers to feel confident in dealing with perpetrators of domestic abuse
• To ensure workers avoid colluding with perpetrators of domestic abuse

Aimed at:
All staff and volunteers who work with men and families. The course will be of specific interest to staff who may be involved in developing Child’s Plans.

Prerequisites for attending:
This course is only open to those who have attended the ‘Understanding Violence Against Women’ course or domestic abuse training within the past 3 years.

Using Art to Explore Experiences of Gender Based Violence - 1 day course

Course Information:
An experienced artist will lead this one day course focusing on the ways in which art can be used by staff with service users as a way of exploring thoughts and feelings around experiences of gender based violence.

Aims
• To develop an understanding of the benefits of using art as a way of exploring feelings about abuse
• To equip workers with basic skills in using art as a support for survivors

Aimed at:
All staff and volunteers who support survivors in the medium to long term and those who are interested in learning about art can be used as a support intervention.

Prerequisites for attending:
This course is only open to those who have attended the ‘Understanding Violence Against Women’ course or domestic abuse training within the past 3 years.


Application forms for all courses should be completed and returned to:

Violence Against Women Administration Assistant
Assynt House
Beechwood Business Park
INVERNESS
IV2 3BW
Tel: 01463 704993
Fax: 01463 235189
Email: victoria.wickenden1@nhs.net

Violence Against Women Training – Further Information

Almost every member of staff who comes in to contact with women, children and young people, and men during the course of their working lives will have been in touch with a number of people who have experienced abuse and a number of perpetrators of that abuse. All members of staff have a responsibility to respond appropriately to survivors and to perpetrators, although this does not mean that all staff will be expected to respond in the same way.

All Violence Against Women Training in Highland is underpinned by the following principles:
  • Violence Against Women is both a cause and a consequence of gender inequality
  • Violence Against Women, and gender based violence more generally, can only be understood by adopting a gendered analysis of abuse
  • Not all men are violent and not all women experience violence
  • Women can be violent and men can experience violence and the gender analysis helps explain why this is the least likely scenario
  • Improving service response to women will improve service response to men who have experienced abuse – particularly for men who have experienced sexual abuse in childhood
  • Men who abuse have the capacity to change their behaviour

Training Costs

All training is provided free of charge. Refreshments and lunches (when applicable) are supplied and are paid for by money received by the Community Planning Partnership from the Scottish Government
 

Place Confirmation

After booking a place on one of the courses, you will be contacted either by email or by letter confirming your place and the venue and times of the training. If you have not received any information within 2 weeks of the course date it may mean that you have not been allocated a place. Please contact the Violence Against Women Team on 01463 704993 or at victoria.wickenden1@nhs.net with any queries.

If you have to cancel your place on any of the courses, please contact us as soon as possible. Many of the courses become fully subscribed and we operate waiting lists for these.