Information Centre Project
Overview
Torfaen Women’s Aid has been supporting women in the borough for 36 years.
Torfaen Women’s Aid is a group of women supporting women to achieve their full potential. Many women have, through their own experiences, either directly or through a friend or family member, experienced Domestic Abuse. This motivates them to training as a volunteer with the group.
As a result of that training and volunteer work, a substantial number have progressed into professional paid work.
The support, until 2002/03, was limited to Information, Support and Refuge. In January 2003 the group successfully tendered for a contract to support women in their own homes.
It is recognised not all women want this type of support and even if they do, the real isolation and difficulties start once a relationship is over.
It is then women experiencing loneliness, isolation and poverty.
Through the lack of confidence resulting form lengthy abuse, women find difficulty in making social contacts. They are unable to access jobs which give realistic financial rewards, development opportunities and real job satisfaction and enjoyment.
Women who have been told they are worthless lack the confidence to stretch themselves. They do not recognise their own strengths or the skills they have aquired through life experience.
Those women who do not wish to come into refuge still need support to achieve their full potential.
It is possible that Torfaen Women’s Aid’s image of ‘battered wives refuges’ put women off or give a false impression.
This is possibly a barrier to women seeking support.
The political climate and societies attitude to recognising domestic abuse is a crime, it happens to a large number of families and is totally unacceptable, has raised awareness amongst professionals working in the community.
This awareness raising is commendable but there must be services in place to support women who take action to remove themselves and their families from harm. The services must take into account barriers women face in seeking out support.
Information Centre
Aims
To support all women who have or who are suffering the outcomes of domestic abuse to overcome the negative impact that abuse has on their quality of life and the adverse effect they suffer in their relationships with other individuals.
Objectives
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Provide women with opportunities for developing self confidence and belief in themselves so they might be better able to take advantage of opportunities in the community best suited to them.
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Provide support to enable women to constructively challenge the decisions made by others which affect their lives.
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Provide support to enable women to ask for what they want and accept refusal or disappointment as part of the learning process.
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Provide an holistic service which will offer information, advocacy, mentoring, workshops training best suited to an individual’s needs.
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Develop networks and partnerships with training, education and employment agencies in the private, public and voluntary sectors, so clients can have a choice in determining their own employment goals.
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Provide opportunities for volunteers to utilise and develop life and professional skills in support of other women.