Rikke Ishøy, Chief strategic advicer, riish@rodekors.dk
Support Networks for victims/survivors of domestic violence in Denmark, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary
Since 2003 DRC has been running Aftercare Support Networks called Qnets for women and their children once they have left a shelter. The aim of the support networks is to improve the reintegration and social cohesion of female victims of domestic violence and their children and to build resilience and give solace in order to help them maintain a life without violence.
DRC have now 20 support networks involving 155 volunteers and 503 victims/survivors and their children. The volunteers facilitate group sessions as well as one-on-one mentoring with the women, supported by the expertise of Red Cross staff members.
Furthermore DRC have a partnership with National Red Cross Societies in Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria as part of a project called “Strengthening psychosocial methods and practices to build resilience of female victims of domestic violence”. The project has been running for one and a half year and it will continue until January 2018. It aims at developing training material, training volunteers, building new support networks and sharring experiences to build resilience for female victims of domestic violence. One year into the project, a total of 70 female survivors of domestic violence have found solace in one another and received kindness and help from trained Red Cross volunteers from the three National Red Cross Societies in Central Europe.