Proceedings of The 2nd International Conference on Gender Studies and Sexuality
Year: 2022
DOI:
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No woman should suffer alone: the importance of solidarity and care for women at risk as a strategy to overcome GBV. Research on effects of psychological and legal support for survivors of GBV through an innovative volunteer solidarity network
Anna Enrica Duncan, Gabriela Silva, Ana El-Kadri, Karolina Bergamo
ABSTRACT:
In partnership with SVRI, an in-depth study on the effects of psychological and legal support for women at risk was conducted based on “Mapa do Acolhimento”case-study; an innovative tech-based project from Brazil that works as a solidarity network, providing free psychological and legal support for thousands of women who suffer GBV (Gender-Based-Violence) throughout the country. “Mapa” was designed inside the organisation NOSSAS in 2016, connecting women with specialised psychologists and lawyers willing to help them for free. It supports +10,000 women in +800 Brazilian cities who suffer consequences of GBV – including intimate partner violence; sexual violence, harassment; trafficking, sexual exploitation; female genital mutilation; LGBTQ+ discrimination; racism; digital violence, etc. The model is delivered by a dedicated and diverse team responsible for online matching, overseeing service quality and offering support and training to volunteers. The use of technologies allows for the contact between professionals and women in situations of violence to happen on a large scale, connecting women where public services are scarce. Moreover, NOSSAS campaigning expertise is applied to collectively pressure for more efficient public policies, having achieved significant changes. An extensive quantitative and qualitative research was conducted to analyse the effects of this intervention, investigating how this solidarity network impacts these women’s lives in practice. The study provides scientific data on the effects of this model, allowing it to be improved and scaled up. Additionally, it contains elements any organisation in the social sector can use to build similar interventions in other territories.
keywords: Femicide, Feminist Research, Gender and Democracy, Gender and Health, Gender and Public Policy.