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Contents

FOREWORD

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO SUPPORT AND SELF-HELP GROUPS FOR SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
1.1. Introduction
1.2. Development of services for survivors of domestic violence
1.3. The role of survivors' support and self-help groups in a multi-agency setting
Bibliography

CHAPTER 2: THE FACILITATOR
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Core beliefs and principles
2.3. Key facilitator competencies
2.4. Facilitator roles and responsibilities
2.5. Potential problems in facilitation

CHAPTER 3: GROUP DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Planning
3.3. Promoting the service and working in partnership
3.4. Running the group
3.5. Evaluating the effectiveness of the support group

CHAPTER 4: GROUP POLICIES AND PROTOCOLS
4.1. Introduction
4.2. Group format
4.3. Group rules
4.4. Group contract
4.5. Group dynamics
4.6. Possible problems and how to overcome them
4.7. Conflict and conflict-solving
Bibliography

CHAPTER 5: THE POWER TO CHANGE: PROGRAMME MODELS
5.1. Introduction
5.2. The 'Power To Change' models
5.3. Format of the sessions

CHAPTER 6: THE POWER TO CHANGE: SELF-ESTEEM PROGRAMME
6.1. Introduction
6.2. The Self-Esteem Programme: summary of sessions
Session 1: Defining self-esteem
Session 2: Understanding self-esteem
Session 3: Rights
Session 4: Needs
Session 5: Self-evaluation of personal needs
Session 6: Education and socialisation of girls and young women
Session 7: Gender stereotyping and social norms
Session 8: Needs within a relationship
Sessions 9 and 10: Boundaries
Sessions 11 and 12: Emotions: anger, guilt, grief and fear
Session 13: Assertiveness
Session 14: Endings and new beginnings
Bibliography

CHAPTER 7: THE POWER TO CHANGE: EDUCATIONAL SELF-HELP
Programme
7.1. Introduction
7.2. The educational self-help programme: summary of sessio n s
Session 1: Basic rights
Session 2: Definition of abuse
Session 3: Why is it so hard to leave?
Session 4: Families and children
Session 5: Boundaries
Session 6: Coping with grief, fear and guilt
Session 7: Coping with anger
Sessions 8 and 9: Assertiveness skills and boundary setting
Session 10: Assertiveness techniques
Session 11: Dealing with requests and authority figures
Session 12: Practicing assertiveness
Session 13: Healthy relationships
Session 14: Endings and new beginnings
Bibliography

CHAPTER 8: INFORMAL SELF-HELP GROUPS
8.1. Introduction
8.2. Benefits of self-help groups
8.3. Running the group
8.4. Group rules
8.5. Organisation and format
8.6. Trouble shooting

APPENDICES
Appendix 1: Model letter - multi-agency working
Appendix 2: Risk assessment tools
Appendix 3: Individual safety planning framework
Appendix 4: Weekly evaluation
Appendix 5: Mid-course evaluation
Appendix 6: Final evaluation
Appendix 7: Equal opportunities monitoring form (Women's Aid, UK)
Appendix 8: Group contract for 'Power To Change'
Appendix 9: Icebreakers
Appendix 10: Details of the course
Appendix 11: Basic process guidelines
Appendix 12: My bill of rights
Appendix 13: I need, I want, I deserve
Appendix 14: Evaluation of needs
Appendix 15: Duluth Equalities Wheel
Appendix 16: Duluth Power and Control Wheel
Appendix 17: Setting boundaries
Appendix 18: The cycle of shame: moving on from shame and guilt
Appendix 19: Anger management
Appendix 20: Assessing levels of assertiveness
Appendix 21: Definitions of violence and abuse

INDEX
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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Foreword

The Power to Change manual is the result of a collaboration between feminist activists and practitioners from 5 countries - Estonia, Portugal, Italy, UK and Hungary (who co-ordinated the project). Over the last 2 years we have worked together creatively through workshop sessions and email exchanges to develop this resource, drawing on our varied knowledge and experience of working with survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

From the first meeting where we developed and agreed the outline structure to our final meeting to plan dissemination and evaluation, the development and writing was a collective enterprise. It was our good fortune as UK partners that the discussions were held in English, and all the chapters were drafted in English by the 5 partners. We then, in consultation, edited and revised the whole document.

Extensive consultation on the manual and its content was also carried out with specialist domestic abuse practitioners and with survivors, and we hope that the end result reflects their experiences and their own achievements.

We are all proud of the useful resource we have produced, published in 5 languages, and of the process through which it was created.

Throughout the making of this manual we have all been inspired by the dignity and strength that we have seen in the women we work with, and the transformations that we know we can all make in our lives, in the challenge to live freely and safe from abuse.

Nicola Harwin, CBE
Chief Executive
Women's Aid Federation of England

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