Such a long day. Tonight we had a meeting at the mediation office with some of our collaborators who do preventive as well remedial work for domestic violence. We all work for the same goal: for better and violence free life for our clients. All you need is some heart. Some heart to do the work we all do: some heart to understand our clients and some heart to make them feel heard and understood. Oh and personally I also need tea -lots of tea - and some chocolate cake, if they also come in a shape of a heart, well that´s just perfect :)
extremely important work you're doing...every little bit has to help doesn't it?...this can't keep going on...too many women die...great heart shown by you and those you work with...we have some amazing ambassadors here in oz that are trying to bring this out in the open also...such important work...big fav...and i'm a tea person too... :o)
@maree_sanderson Yes tell me about it! Here in Finland this topic is very much at open and we have strict laws concerning domestic and close relationship violence as well many "players" at the field doing the preventive and remedial work. Actually here in Finland the numbers about reported cases are very high but that does not necessarily there is more domestic violence here than in other countries, just that the violence gets reported here more often and here it is not so easy to hide it. In Finland every time a police is informed about violence in close relationships, the police reports it and it is investigated and the district prosecutor has the right to prosecute -this is to protect the victim; the victim doesn´t have the right to drop the charges, only a prosecutor has that right. The work I am doing is at this stage of the process; the clients come straight from the police or from the prosecutor and we at the midiation office provide them a chance to work out their differences and find ways to live without violence. Our work is very much solution-based discussion with the clients that are met seperately as well together. If the mediation is successfull, the prosecutor has a right not to prosecute.
@susale ...that is very interesting...the numbers of cases are increasing here also..due to more reporting of incidents i believe...i don't believe we have a district prosecutor 'role' in our system...perhaps similar to our magistrates who can issue, at request from police, a restraining or intervention order against the perpetrator...but these orders are often ignored by the perpetrator who goes on to wreak more damage before finally being detained by police...how do you deal with drug or drink affected clients?...is the accused jailed or escorted by police?...we certainly do not have the mediation available to both parties at the early stage of the process...i like that your process takes it out of the hands of both victim and perpetrator and is out in the open as it should be...interesting that the victim doesn't have the right to drop the charges...i believe it happened a lot over here...not sure of the figures now...i like your solution based discussion approach...how successfull do you reckon your method is...does it help?...is it sustainable?... is it available everywhere?...so many questions but i am very interested...something MUST to change over here...too many people get hurt...thank you so much for your response...really appreciate your time...good luck to you and your collegues with your valuable 'heart' work... :o)
@maree_sanderson I am always interested to tell about my volunteer work, so please be free to ask anything you like. Our law wasn´t this strict before, the law was changed in 2011 so that if the violence accurs in a close relationship, the victim does not have the control over the legal procedure and the thought behind the change was to protect victim aganst the pressure coming from the partner to drop the charges. We meet the parties separately and we are make sure there´s no pressure being used on the victim and that the victim is genuenly willing to settle the case. After the mediation the clients have for instance the opportunity to participate in a short term therapy individually or as a pair, there´s both kind of therapy available fast and cost free or there can be some small minimal charge for it. There´s a lot of help available, for those whi have a drug or drinkin problem or some kind of mental problem as well. We mediators guide the clients to get the help they want.
We only mediate with sober clients and our clients are not detained By the police, unfortenately we don´t very often get to mediate right after the incident but there can be be months and in some cases even over a year before the process started -the legal process in our country is slow. The mothod in it self is good and it works for some and for some not, but at the very least it is an opportunity. The mediation is or at least should be available everywhere but there is differences between religions and those providing the service. The law behind the meditation is pretty new, only 10 years long and since it is the police officials and prosecutors that give the cases to mediation offices, it depends hugely how well the mediation officers work with the prosecutors and police as well what the prosecutors as well police think about the mediation. When it comes to close relationship violence, it´s always under a debate and there are always those who believe it should not be mediated at all. The close relationship mediation is only a part of the service provided by mediation office, we do mediate other kind of criminal cases as well dispute cases. I have been mediator about 8 years now, I started with regular crime and dispute cases. There´s a specialized course for close relationship violence mediation and it takes 1,5 years, I think I "graduated" in year 2011 and have been mediating close relationship violence ever since.
The image itself is just lovely - I love your composition and processing, and loved the shot as soon as I laid eyes on it. But your text is poignant and amazing. Difficult but important job you have...
@susale ...thanks again Suse...i'll see if i can get onto Rosie Batty (google her for her story) with your info on how it's done in your country...she's an awesomely amazing woman...all info helps make change possible...it must be frustrating to take so long to see your clients...same story here...all the best and thanks again... :o)
There is a huge value in what you do. I'm sure it seems like one step forward two steps back sometimes when clients don't move forward or go back to where they came from and end up getting hurt worse. I'm glad you have a heart big enough to make a difference!
@olivetreeann@ninaganci@psychographer Aww thank you ladies for all the wonderful words, you all have a big heart -I can tell just by your comments :) I wish you all a wonderful day :)
@allycoxon@kerosene Thank you for your kind comments. The work against domestic violence is an important one and I am happy to contribute: I can´t change the whole world but if I can make a tiny bit difference in someone´s life it´s all worth the work. Have a wonderful day :)
@maree_sanderson I am always interested to tell about my volunteer work, so please be free to ask anything you like. Our law wasn´t this strict before, the law was changed in 2011 so that if the violence accurs in a close relationship, the victim does not have the control over the legal procedure and the thought behind the change was to protect victim aganst the pressure coming from the partner to drop the charges. We meet the parties separately and we are make sure there´s no pressure being used on the victim and that the victim is genuenly willing to settle the case. After the mediation the clients have for instance the opportunity to participate in a short term therapy individually or as a pair, there´s both kind of therapy available fast and cost free or there can be some small minimal charge for it. There´s a lot of help available, for those whi have a drug or drinkin problem or some kind of mental problem as well. We mediators guide the clients to get the help they want.
We only mediate with sober clients and our clients are not detained By the police, unfortenately we don´t very often get to mediate right after the incident but there can be be months and in some cases even over a year before the process started -the legal process in our country is slow. The mothod in it self is good and it works for some and for some not, but at the very least it is an opportunity. The mediation is or at least should be available everywhere but there is differences between religions and those providing the service. The law behind the meditation is pretty new, only 10 years long and since it is the police officials and prosecutors that give the cases to mediation offices, it depends hugely how well the mediation officers work with the prosecutors and police as well what the prosecutors as well police think about the mediation. When it comes to close relationship violence, it´s always under a debate and there are always those who believe it should not be mediated at all. The close relationship mediation is only a part of the service provided by mediation office, we do mediate other kind of criminal cases as well dispute cases. I have been mediator about 8 years now, I started with regular crime and dispute cases. There´s a specialized course for close relationship violence mediation and it takes 1,5 years, I think I "graduated" in year 2011 and have been mediating close relationship violence ever since.
The tea cup has ♡
The cake is a ♡
even the handle of the cup has a ♡
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