Africa-Press – Eswatini. One Billion Rising Eswatini through the Journey of hope for girls and women Eswatini is helping women and girls’ groups at community level to deal with their past hurtful experiences, by helping them heal and rebuild their confidence.
In the community circles the sessions are facilitated by Swaziland Justice and Peace Institute including One Billion Rising Community Circles Volunteers.
One Billion Rising campaign advocates for provision of holistic support to survivors of violence and this involves ensuring that Critical support to survivors of violence is strengthened to prevent or deal with mental health concerns, both to prevent and address violence.
This includes access to long- term counselling, better legal assistance, and establishing income generating project.
Intimate partner violence including domestic violence are major problems in modern society, the rate of crimes of passion is significantly high.
Intimate partner violence result in serious damage to the victims’ psychological health in many ways, including lowered self-esteem and high risk of post-traumatic stress disorder. Psychological violence associated injuries commonly go unrecognised and range from self-limiting to severe mental disorders.
Intra/interpersonal Healing is universally recognised to be a very complex phenomenon and one which is difficult to define. However, it is suggested that there are three key aspects to the process of healing: the process that come from within and moves outside often starting with the individual, and then moving to the family, then the community. The healing approach addresses the problem of both the victim and the perpetrator, not focusing on one to the exclusion of the other.
Further the healing approach would seek to repair the harm done the perpetrator and to address the underlying causes of the offence.
The approach can also act much more quickly than the criminal justice system which is slow when working due to backlog ‘tears up’ families. Victims and their families are supported and protected in a healing model, which sees all community members as critical and interconnected parts of the whole.
Impact of Violence on mental health issues
According to the Canadian Mental Health association, the link between violence and mental health concerns is found to be much higher for women. Studies have shown that the risk of developing depression, PTSD, substance use or becoming suicidal is five times higher for women who have experienced violence.
According to the Canadian Mental Health association “the link between violence and mental health concerns is found to be much higher for women. Studies have shown that the risk of developing depression, PTSD, substance use or becoming suicidal is five times higher for women who have experienced violence.
Not properly addressing the connection between mental health and violence means that women are often unable to access the supports they need and want to heal.
Women who have experienced violence and have been diagnosed with mental health related issues are normally discriminated and most of the time is difficult for the to find employment since most employers want to work with people who have sober minds.
This is very difficult for people using substances to cope with their experiences. And when women are prescribed medications for their mental health needs, the side effects can sometimes compound trauma. Critical supports need to be strengthened for women experiencing mental health concerns, both to prevent and address violence.
This includes access to long-term counselling, affordable housing, childcare supports, better legal assistance and employment opportunities”
Journey of Hope
Journey of hope for girls and women Eswatini is a women and girls’ rights centred organization that believes in giving hope to women and girls survivors of violence.
The organization gives a voice and hope to women and girls through education, creating safe spaces or environment of engagement for the survivors, creating safe space for developing community- based protection strategies on ending GBV.
Our organization is offering community Transformative Feminist Leadership Trainings to educate girls and women on their rights and feminist education.
The training provides girls and women with tools to analyse problems in their communities and also map out advocacy actions going forward.
Women and girls are also trained on economic empowerment skills. The organisation is based on three pillars, protection, prevention and prosecution. journey of hope is housing and championing the One Billion Rising campaign in Eswatini;
A global mass movement that is aimed at ending violence against all women and girls (transgender, cisgender and all those who hold fluid identities and vulnerable to abuse). The Journey of hope for Girls and Women Eswatini was established through the great work done by the One Billion Rising Campaign in Eswatini on ending violence against women and girls.
About Community Circles
One Billion Rising conduct the healing sessions at community level through the established Gender Based Violence Community Circles (GBVCC).
The Gender Based Violence Community Circles (GBVCC) are aimed at creating safe space for developing community-based protection strategies, which means working with community members to identify challenges and problems around safety and explore ways to address them.
This approach recognises that some GBV-related problems, such as domestic violence, women’s rights violations, family disputes and child marriage, are rooted in social norms that can only be transformed from within the community.
The group discussions provide an opportunity for communities to critically reflect on these issues and on their role in preventing such violence. The Initiative has been already introduced in communities in 30 constituencies.
It is also worth noting that ever since the Covid-19 Pandemic started, most people were affected economically, socially since some lost their jobs which resulted to stress and depression which has created conditions in which the most vulnerable groups (women and children, both girls and boys), are increasingly at risk of GBV.
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