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Description
According to the police statistics, around 88,000 people in Poland are victims of domestic violence every year. Despite the change in awareness regarding the consent to physical punishment of children, 1/7 of respondents with children under 19 admit to using physical or psychological violence. Domestic violence is an escalating phenomenon and its effects are long-term. Violence affects different people, regardless of their social status. Long-term action is needed to enable people’s attitudes to change and ensure their sustainability. In this project, we provide comprehensive assistance to people caught up in violence. Our target groups are families, couples, individuals (men, women, children, young people) who are perpetrators, victims or witnesses of violence. We offer pedagogical consultations, parenting skills workshops, psychotherapy, we run support and skills development groups for people experiencing violence and those perpetrating violence. We cooperate with municipal social assistance centres, probation officers, family assistants, education staff and foster care workers. We organise a conference attended by: probation officers, teachers, educators, employees of psychological-educational counselling centres as well as specialists working with families. Our project’s activities are in line with the ‘Programme for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Protection of Victims of Domestic Violence for 2019-2024’ which is implemented in the City of Wrocław. Our project’s beneficiaries are people who are not capable to cope with conflict situations and are involved in violence. Indirect recipients are also the beneficiaries’ members of families. Awareness of the problem of violence and sensitisation to it often result in a more decisive response to manifestations of violence. Therefore, indirect recipients are also all residents - the entire local community.
Summary of project results
The project concerned counteracting the phenomenon of domestic violence. The designed activities were aimed at achieving a change in the way of thinking, acting and experiencing of people involved in the phenomenon of violence. These changes were aimed at stopping the spiral of violence and counteracting the negative effects of harm suffered by clients. We placed emphasis on acquiring the skills to cope with crisis situations and strengthening social and personal competences, which was to lead to a lasting change in conditions. We focused on eliminating the negative effects of stereotypes and myths related to the phenomenon of violence, thus counteracting the phenomenon of exclusion. The recipients of our activities were women, men, children, individuals and families. We wanted our help to reach people who cannot afford to pay for a visit to a psychologist. People from Ukraine also benefited from our help. More people than expected took advantage of psychological and pedagogical counseling and therapy. These numbers look the opposite in groups. We encountered the greatest difficulties when recruiting people to groups experiencing and using violence. People experiencing violence came to us, but preferred to remain in individual contact. They reported a lot of concerns about participating in the group. They were not ready to share their problems. People using violence most often did not see the need to participate in such meetings. This shows that recipients are more open to individual forms of help and is a guide for us in our further work.
Groups for the development of social skills - participated by parents of children placed in care and educational institutions. Classes conducted using the workshop method. During the classes, participants received educational materials developed for the group. 54 educational materials were distributed. The conference kicking off the project took place on January 31, 2023 in Wrocław. 373 invitations were sent to people, institutions and organizations. The conference was attended by representatives of Wrocław aid units in the province. Lower Silesia, representatives of institutions (court guardians, school teachers, psychological and pedagogical counseling centers, police, social workers, family assistants). A total of 55 people took part, all of them received materials informing about the project in the form of leaflets. The closing conference of the project took place on April 25, 2024 376 invitations were sent. The conference was attended by 720 people. The psychologist/therapist worked for 153 hours. The psychologist/therapist worked individually pedagogical duties. There were 373 hours of psychological assistance consultations. Number of users and visits to websites, portals, accounts and profiles in social media, views and publications: Yoytube account: We posted 3 posts: 1. Our Home - Without Violence - stereotypes - 1087 views. 2. Our Home - Without Violence - about the project - 754 views. 3. Our Home - Without Violence - let''s talk 270 views. Facebook: We placed 16 posts promoting the activities of the Our Home - Without Violence project. The posts had 202 to 1,159 views and 192 to 3,974 reach. Instagram: We posted 18 posts promoting the project''s activities. Posts had between 36 and 165 recipients and between 52 and 2,351 views.
The recipients of our activities were women, men, children, individuals and families. People from Ukraine also used our help. The total number of people involved in the activities was 146, including 127 women and 19 men. The total number of people who benefited from new or improved forms of support under the project was 132, including 114 women and 18 men. More people benefited from psychological, pedagogical counseling and therapy than we expected. We encountered the greatest difficulties when recruiting people to groups experiencing and using violence. People experiencing violence came to us, but preferred to remain in individual contact. They reported a lot of concerns about participating in the group. They were not ready to share their problems. People using violence most often did not see the need to participate in such meetings. The number of applicants did not allow for the creation of a group, so individual meetings were held. Difficulties arose and the group for people experiencing and using violence was changed to meetings, assistance and individual therapy. Information activities that we undertook directly at the project implementation site included meetings with the head of the Interdisciplinary Team for Counteracting Domestic Violence. Thanks to this, we reached the units of MOPS in Wrocław and PCPR in the province with our program offer. Lower Silesia. We notified representatives of institutions (court probation officers, school teachers - primary and secondary schools, psychological and pedagogical counseling centers, police, social workers, family assistants, complexes of care and educational facilities, children''s orphanages, help homes for victims, Maślice Housing Estate Council) with whom So far, we have cooperated on expanding our aid offer. We sent leaflets in electronic form three times to 90 aid facilities.