On September 25, a long-awaited and important event took place – a training conference "Algorithm of action in cases of domestic violence and how to prevent it."
The training conference was held as part of the project "Barrier Free Ukraine for the Deaf: Countering Violence against Women with Hearing Impairments" with the support of the Fund for Social Protection of the Disabled, the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
Anton Gulidin, Secretary of the non-governmental organization Public Movement "Social Unity", greeted the audience and shared the main achievements and ideas for projects and programs implemented by the non-governmental organization for people with disabilities over the past six years. He stressed that this year the team of the non-governmental organization is implementing several projects with the support of the Fund for Social Protection of the Disabled, one of which is this project for Deaf and Hard of Hearing women, whose slogan is #BE UNBREAKABLE. In fact, the project and the current event have become an important component and result of ideas and initiatives that the team has conceived to address the problem of domestic violence in the families of the Deaf. It is not common to talk about it out loud, but many women and girls suffer from domestic violence and do not know how to act and counteract such situations.
That's why we decided to bring the topic of combating domestic violence to the discussion with the participation of the best experts and representatives (and representatives also came!) Of the target audience.
Participants – women and girls with hearing impairments got acquainted with the basic concepts, signs, and forms of domestic violence, and understood the methods of combating violence. They also received advice on where to turn, how to behave, and what to do if they are a victim of violence. Serhii Aloshkin, head of the Administration of Precinct Police Officers of the Department of Preventive Activities of the National Police of Ukraine, Oleksandra Holub, an expert, lawyer, and the head of the NGO "League for the Protection of Women's Rights. Harmony of Equals", and Valeriy Hrets, an expert, psychologist, and a representative of the NGO "UKRAINE WITHOUT TORTURE", and the charity organization "100 PERCENT OF LIFE. KHERSON », helped to comprehend this topic.
Communication was easy and relaxed, as the training conference was accompanied by professional sign language interpreters.
The participants of the event received a lot of useful information about the specifics of сountering domestic violence against women with hearing impairments, asked questions, and considered specific situations with the help of experts.
Participants also received a block of information brochures:
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About domestic violence.
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Types of domestic violence.
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What to do if you are a victim of domestic violence.
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How to communicate with the abuser and counteract violence.
The psychologist unit helped the participants to understand:
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preconditions for violence;
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causes of anxiety and how to assess the situation from different angles;
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reasons for quarrels at home and mobbing at work;
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the existence of support circles on whom to rely in difficult life situations;
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components of one's own self;
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individual needs and disabilities;
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factors of violence and methods of counteraction, etc.
The psychologist offered a block of practical exercises and together with the participants conducted it in a playful way, giving the opportunity to each person present to test the exercises to reduce the impact of stress and negative emotions. There were many questions and interactive tasks.
As part of the project "Barrier Free Ukraine for the Deaf: Countering Violence against Women with Hearing Impairments” Deaf and Hard of Hearing women and girls will soon have the opportunity to receive counseling from a psychologist and a lawyer to help resolve situations of violence. Sign language interpreters will ensure barrier-free communication between Deaf people and experts.
The participants of the event received some nice bonuses from the organizers:
- free tickets to the concert of the "Vechirnii Kvartal" the same evening (translation into the sign language of the concert was provided by the non-governmental organization Public Movement "Social Unity" and MEGOGO social initiative "See how it is heard");
- 60 minutes of video communication in the application "Translator SL" for free communication with others (providing translation from/into sign language);
- an invitation to a further photo session as part of the project.
The event took place in HAB 4.0. in Kyiv, located on Podil (Yaroslavsky Lane, ⅓).
The project is implemented with the support of the Fund for Social Protection of the Disabled, the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, and the Human Rights Union of the Disabled also acted as a partner in the project.
