This chapter talked about what
people can do to empower a victim and spread awareness on domestic
violence. One way that people close to a
victim can help is by helping them break out of the thought vortex. Women in abusive situations often lose sight
of what’s truly important because they are so worried about the abuser and how
they can make him happy. The first step
is to turn your attention back onto what matters: you and your children. One way that the woman can do this is by
keeping a journal that talks about her and also documents when he’s doing
something that makes her crazy. This
allows the victim to see who she really is and recognize what he is really
doing.
When you are trying to help a
victim as an third party, it’s important to not be like an abuser. This means that you need to consciously make
her feel like an equal and let her know that she is in charge. The abused woman understands the situation
better than you do and she needs your patience as she works to navigate through
it safely and successfully. We need to
respect her by listening more because it allows her to exert herself and be in
control, something she isn’t used to doing with the abuser. The best measure for success as a third party
is helping the woman feel like she has the right to be in charge of her life
and helping her think of and implement strategies to make her safe.
The hardest part about being
outside of the abuse cycle is helping the victim realize that she is being
abused. It’s important to remember that
ultimately she is the one who needs to take action but that she won’t be able
to do it alone when the time comes. You
need to stay in her life or at least make it obvious that you are there to help
her. Being a genuine friend is a great
way to do this because you show sincere interest and love for her. She can trust you in emergencies and knows
you will treat her well.
I found this chapter very
emboldening because it gave me the desire to stand up and fight against
domestic violence. I want to be involved
in everything and learn more so I can teach others about it. I loved the idea of being trained as a
counselor for abusers or for the victim because it allows you to deal one on
one with the people who are caught up in domestic violence. This chapter really just got me excited to
share what I know and do more to help those who suffer from domestic violence.
No comments:
Post a Comment