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Description
The (RE)COMEÇAR (“(RE)START”) project aims to promote the empowerment of 14 women victims of the crime of domestic and gender-based violence through Mutual Aid Groups and to provide psychosocial and legal support to victims of domestic violence and their families. It will also train professionals who work with this target audience and contribute to raise the awareness of the general community on the theme of domestic and gender violence through an integrated awareness-raising campaign.
Summary of project results
According to the latest Guimarães Inclusive Social Development Plan 2015-2020 (the most up-to-date at the time of the application), the Justice Statistics state that 305 crimes of domestic violence were recorded by the police authorities in Guimarães in 2013, of which 254 were crimes of domestic violence committed by a spouse or similar; 3 were domestic violence against minors and 48 were other crimes. The profile of the victims of domestic violence monitored by these services was as follows: Female (100%); over 50 years old (35 %); married (54%); from a nuclear family (77%); with up to one cycle of basic education (88%); from a medium-low socio-economic level (46%). The most common type of relationship between the aggressor and the victim is a family relationship, in most cases a marital relationship (spouse/partner) (77 %). Also according to the CPCJ Annual Activity Evaluation Report, in 2020, 41,337 situations of danger to children/young people were reported, mostly due to: domestic violence (32.3%); and in the municipality of Guimarães alone, of the 338 situations of danger that were reported, 78 were due to domestic violence in the household. This reality highlights the existence of a social problem that is multidimensional and generates multiple vulnerabilities, not only for the victims of domestic violence, but also for the large number of children/young people exposed to this environment of violence and who live in situations of conflict. Given the data presented, and the high rate of domestic violence situations, it is crucial to implement projects that address this issue, such as the project presented here, which is focused on Primary Prevention - through the development of awareness-raising actions for the community; Secondary Prevention - through the development of immediate responses to situations of violence in identified victims considered to be at risk; and Tertiary Prevention - through the development of mutual aid groups.
The (RE)COMEÇAR project aimed to contribute to the empowerment of women victims of domestic violence living in the municipality of Guimarães by organising two Mutual Aid Groups which, through eight sessions of 90 minutes each, involved 14 women and two men. The participation of men was not planned, but when they expressed their willingness to take part, the team decided to welcome them.
The project also provided psychosocial and legal support to victims and their families, involving a total of 17 families (71 beneficiaries) through a multidisciplinary team. The organisation reported 190 social support appointments (93 at home and 97 on ADDHG premises), 90 psychology appointments, 4 legal support appointments and 12 follow-up appointments.
Throughout the project, the organisation held one seminar and collaborated in 5 local activities to raise awareness of the issue of domestic violence among professionals and the community.
As part of Capacity Building, the organisation carried out a Needs Assessment with the support of an external consultant, which culminated in an Action Plan.
Over the course of the project, two Mutual Aid Groups (MAG) were held. In the first group, seven women and two men took part, and in the second group, as planned, seven women took part. At the end of both groups, the participants were more empowered, with an increase in self-esteem and self-worth. The groups also created bonds of friendship between participants.
At the end of the MAGs or our psychosocial follow-up sessions, more than 80 per cent of our victims were considered empowered, according to the results of direct observation and the victims'' personal narratives and number of case files closure (cases that do not require further support).