Spotlight On Family Violence
The Spotlight Initiative is a global, multi-year partnership between the European Union and the United Nations to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.
The Spotlight Initiative Strengthens Health Care For Survivors Of Gender-Based Violence During The Pandemic Since the outbreak of COVID-19, emerging data reports from those on the front lines have shown that all types of violence against women and girls particularly domestic violence - have intensified. In Trinidad and Tobago in 2020, in the midst of stay-at-home restrictions, there was a 140% increase in cases of abuse of women and girls reported to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service compared with the same period the previous year. Health care providers can provide critical first-line support through the delivery of high quality physical and psychological care and advice to help women develop strategies to protect their safety. According to data from the National Women’s Health Survey, 13% of women survivors of physical and sexual violence inflicted by intimate partners told a health care worker about the violence they experienced. That’s why the health system can play a critical role in prevention, as well as care.
stigma that a woman must be weak for staying in an abusive situation. “ The training gave me a framework as a practioner to connect with the client through asking the appropriate questions and an increased consciousness about how I create an environment of confidentiality and give them some hope as they navigate their options.” To strengthen care for survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual violence, Spotlight is working closely with the Ministry of Health, Regional Health Authorities (RHAs), PAHO/WHO and other governmental and nongovernmental and United Nations partners. Evidence-Based clinical and policy guidelines have been developed and adapted and curricula will be established to train medical, nursing and social work students.
Vickey Valley, a Medical Social Worker trained under the Spotlight Initiative, delivering training to North Central Regional Health Authority staff. The intended impact is to smooth the pathway of care in the health system and facilitate linkages to other essential services such as justice, social services and accommodation for survivors. North Central Regional Health Authority trainers at their Spotlight Initiative training workshop. From, left to right: Registered Mental Nurse; Cherisse Shallow, Nursing Supervisor; Misty Nicholas Bennet; District Nurse; Elizabeth Turner, Registered Nurse; Trisha Braznell, Training Manager; Marissa Harding Buddy, Medical Social Worker; Vickey Valley, In July, the Spotlight Initiative began training healthcare providers in Regional Health Authorities (RHAs), using a local adaptation of a World Health Organisation (WHO) L.I.V.E.S (Listen, Inquire, Validate, Enhance Safety, Support) approach with instruction on identifying and assessing violence against women, understanding how perceptions and beliefs affect care and providing referrals. The participants comprised at least one nurse, doctor, social worker and staff member from the training unit from each of the five RHAs. They were trained to become trainers and to develop plans for delivering the curriculum in each of their RHAs. Vickey Valley, a Medical Social Worker with the North Central Regional Health Authority, attended one of the skills-building workshops for frontline workers. She frequently interacts with female survivors who are seeking refuge and works to find safe housing for them. Valley said the training sensitized her to the impact that the initial interaction between a survivor of violence and a health care provider can have on the survivor’s overall sense of safety and trust. She said she gained a better understanding of how poor communication can perpetuate the cultural
Dr. Alexandra Halfhide, Primary Care Physician at North West Regional Health Authority who also participated in the training, said the experience gave her critical insight into the objectivity health care workers must have to give survivors the care they need. “ The personal views and opinions of the healthcare provider, on how a survivor should respond to her abuser, are inconsequential. The healthcare provider’s most significant role in the consultation is to provide first-line support to the survivor in such a manner that the survivor feels empowered, heard and believed.” These trainers are now implementing their plans with support from the Spotlight Initiative, aiming to train a further 50 providers in each RHA by the end of 2021. That will make a total of 250 health workers who are equipped to give survivors the response and resources they need to navigate their situation. Commenting on the initiative, Dr. Erica Wheeler, PAHO/ WHO Representative, Trinidad and Tobago, said that the Spotlight Initiative represented an opportunity to build sustainable changes in health care by training trainers and supporting to build capacity throughout the health system. “ This training programme, and the idea behind it, is not just to do training and forget about it, but we want to make it sustainable. My desire, my dream is that it gets embedded in the work of the Ministry of Health.”
End Violence Against Women and Girls NOW | Call 800-SAVE
Vist: www.spotlightinitiative.org to learn more