21 May 2010
Domestic violence and the relevance of wellbeing
Talking about positive wellbeing is all very nice, but people who face harsh realities every day, such as the effects of child sexual abuse or family violence, may question whether it’s possible to feel positive and flourish in such circumstances. It may seem naïve to come from the angle of ‘building a life that is worth living’ when your ex-partner is stalking you or your children see you being bashed about. How do you start promoting positive mental health promotion values in such a situation?
One thing we do know is that wellbeing values were born out of hardship and struggle. All New Zealanders come from communities where suffering occurs, but those same communities inspire and nurture the healing of its members too. Any wellbeing strategies have to first take into account the poverty, ill-health, violence or discrimination that confront people and then work towards empowering people within their communities.
One key group to develop such strategies is mental health service users. Their experiences mean that they know what it is like to feel emotionally vulnerable and therefore the importance of being connected to others, to be valued and secure. As such they have led a positive, recovery-focused approach, which is now the norm in this country.
Another sector combining realism and empowerment is those organisations representing people from refugee backgrounds. They know the reality of trying to build their own infra-structures where few resources are available and virtually no-one gets paid for the essential developmental work they do. Yet they have strong self-determination strategies and vigorous advocates. So the convergence of real-life problems and positive wellbeing strategies is happening everyday.
However domestic and sexual violence, usually aimed at women and children, are an open wound in our country and we are so good, so polished at ignoring such suffering and getting on with our lives. If the bodies of injured or dead women or children were lying in the street, propped up by rubbish bins or phone poles, would that make any real difference to our attitudes? To the attitudes of the courts, the police, the parents, or even the schools who keep socialising us in gender expectations and distinctions that make women and children sitting ducks for abuse?
Promoting mental wellbeing must be a combination of advocacy and social change as well as an individual mental health focus. Survivors of family violence would benefit from greater awareness and responsiveness to the issue, as well as ideas to support flourishing in their lives.
These two complementary approaches are translated into mental health promotion initiatives in various forms. As an example, abused women’s support and education groups in the family violence sector are magic for moving towards both individual healing and promoting social change.
This basic two-pronged methodology can be used across sectors and for all communities. We know, as mental health promoters, that strong, empowering communities are where wellbeing and healing starts.
Dale Little, Adult Mental Health Promoter
Comments
Posted by Ciaran 11:35 am, 21 May 2010 Reply
Well put Dale. And yet this govt has put a price (and a limit) on the counselling and support available to victims of sexual violence. They must face the indignity of 'proving' they have suffered a mental injury from their experience and then be dumped after their ACC runs out. Apparently counselling is a luxury the country can ill afford. How much does it cost to keep the convicted in prison? How about those tax cuts eh?