This week I am at a training hosted by the WCADVSA in order to be able to provide advocacy to DVSA survivors. It has been an emotionally and mentally challenging week. I'm excited to be stepping into the new opportunity/type of volunteerism and at the same time feel totally inadquate to do it. We have learned that it takes a MINIMUM of 2 years experience to be a good advocate so I'm sure my concerns are justified.
It has, however, exposed me to the horrific sides of life that I- for the most part- never had to be introduced to.
And quite frankly, it's making me feel like the world is pretty damn ugly. The ideology is all about social change... the DVSA movement is only about 30 years old and the changes that have already been made are major and significant. So, it's not that the movement is stalled or lacking, it's just that it's such a huge and horrific problem.
Just like the Civil Rights Movement, I have hope in seeing the power differentials equaled and hope in seeing a future of less victims, but also know that just like I've seen in my own father (speaking racism issues here), that laws don't change narrow/inaccurate mindsets... they just allow those mindsets to have to be caged/retained. My biggest issue at the moment is the lack of batterer intervention. We help survivors change/improve their life situations but there has been no really effective way to promote change/betterment in those with battering tendencies. The majority of batterers batter b/c they have been modeled it by family (just as my Dad is a racist b/c it was modeled)... the roots run deep. BUT it clearly isn't a 100% statistic. People have been raised with battering models and not battered. People have been raised with racist models and chosen not to be racist. It's clearly "cure-able" for lack of a better term... or rehabilitative. But it doesn't appear that the movement is working from that angle.
We have teen violence prevention... then jump to survivor advocacy. What about the rehabilitative piece? Then I find that I contradict myself b/c I believe in rehab for batterers but when it comes to child sexual assault, I have no room for belief in their rehabilitation.
It's been a lot to process. A lot to take on in one week. My "mom-radar" is now peaked and over-protective mode has more than kicked in as a result.
However, it's dinner time. Thanks for letting me reflect...
