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Advocacy Workshop for Professionals Working with Victim/Survivors of Sexual

Violence

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Context

2 Literature Reviews Advocacy Roles & Advocacy Skills

Advocacy Standards & Advocacy Domains

Advocacy Role Workshop

WA participants and agencies National Opportunities

FaHCSIA Advocacy Project July 2012 - March 2013

Reference Group Virtual Tour and Consultations Research

George Jones Advocacy Centre March 2011

2 Child & Family Advocates MOU with Police, DCP, DoTAG, Health

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Sexual Violence context• Between 15 to 30% of females and 3 to 5 % of males are

sexually abused as children (Fergusson & Mullen, 1999).• About 1 in 5 women and 1 in 20 men have experienced sexual

violence since the age of 15 years (ABS 2006)• The trauma or impact of sexual violence can be extensive and

lifelong with physiological, psychological & social injuries: – reducing a person’s capacity to study, work– effects on building & maintaining friendship and family

networks– impact raising of children – Increased likelihood of suicide and self-harm, mental health

issues and drug use – doubling of the risk of adult sexual violence for women of

those who were abused as a child (54% versus 26%)

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Literature Reviews • Advocacy roles are well established in : Mental Health,

Disability Services, Aged Services , Domestic Violence

• Advocacy with victim/survivors of sexual violence is an emerging area of proficiency. USA Child and Family Advocate/Victim Advocates (1980s), UK Independent Sexual Violence Advisors late 1990s, Australia has some Counsellor/Advocate positions (Victoria, Queensland, WA)

• Victims of crime, particularly sexual violence are vulnerable because of the nature of the violence they have experienced as well as the nature of some services aligned with the criminal-justice (rather than victim-justice) system.

• Victims/survivors seek flexible and practical forms of support in the immediate aftermath of sexual violence. Support, advocacy and information were their priority requirements.

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• Advocacy roles have enhanced the work of multi-disciplinary or interagency teams, enabled service providers such as police investigators to focus on their core duties, decreased the attrition rates in justice systems and led to increased reporting to police.

• Full-time advocates emphasise independence of their role from the criminal justice system and importance of consistent, continued support from ‘report to court’ or for as long as required

• Despite increased understanding of the needs of victims of sexual violence and some changes to the criminal justice system victims/survivors mostly continue to choose not to report; conviction rates have gone down in Australia, Canada, England and Wales; victims/survivors generally don’t feel justice is served;

• There is an urgent and long-standing need for broad based, victim/survivor focused, advocacy type roles to complement and enhance existing justice, health and social-welfare services

Literature Reviews

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Benefits of ISVA Involvement• More positive experience for the victim

• Victim is well informed and therefore empowered to seek justice through the courts

• Victim feels integral to the case and is less likely to withdraw (less attrition)

• Confidence in the System increases (leading to wider public confidence)

• The victim is less anxious and more capable as a witness

• A support network ensures that the victim is able to access appropriate on-going support, leading to a healthy lifestyle

• “As a reform to a system that is effective, cost effective and affordable the ISVA is hard to beat”. “They have had a substantial impact on victims they have supported to date”

The Stern Review Home Office UK 2010

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Continue Learning in WorkplaceContinue Learning in Workplace

Connect with Own RoleConnect with Own Role

Practice Issues for Each ElementPractice Issues for Each Element

Learning Outcomes

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3

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Elements of Advocacy RoleElements of Advocacy Role1

Peer Support - NetworkingPeer Support - Networking5

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Workplace Learning

Reflective PracticesCoaching, Mentoring, SupervisionFlexible Learning Opportunities

Pre-Workshop

Preparation

Course context

Professional Qualification

Advocacy knowledge

attitude skills

Strength based

Child abuse

Cultural

Systems

Trauma & Attachment

Sexual Violence

Role Legitimacy

Role Adequacy

Role Support

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Workshop goals

Focus During Workshop.

Confirm

Your text in here

Challenge

Confirm what you

know & do

Collect something

new Challenge your ideas

and practice

Collect

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Advocacy Elements

Advocacy

Key Elements

FeedbackComplaints

Empower

Interagency

JusticeSupport

InformedDecisions

ClientLed

AccessibleKnown

Practical EmotionalSupportIndependent

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Definition of AdvocacyAdvocacy is an approach which aims to protect the personal, legal, and societal rights of an individual..

“Advocacy is taking action to help people:• say what they want• secure their rights • represent their interests and • obtain services they need. Advocates and advocacy schemes• work in partnership with the people they support and• take their side. Advocacy promotes • social inclusion, equality and social justice.”

The United Kingdom’s Action for Advocacy definition is:

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Types of Advocacy

IndividualIndividual

SystemsSystems

SelfSelf

PeerPeer

Professional representation & support

Advocate for selfMay require support

A cause or broad political, legislative, community system

Support from someone who has/had similar

issues

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Other Types of Advocacy

LegalLegal

SmileSmile

CitizensCitizens

ProfessionalProfessional

Legal representation Volunteer community member

Because you can … Paid & trained in advocacy & related field

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Role Boundaries

• How much of your role centres around advocacy?

• Are there any tricky boundary areas within you role or across professions?

• How is advocacy work and professional development supported (or is it just taken for granted staff know how to do it)?

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Tip…

“The most important principal to remember is effective support requires all workers to ensure a survivor’s active choices are made BY the survivor, not FOR the survivor.”

(South East Centres Against Sexual Assault, 2012)

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Advocacy within in various roles

Advocate Role Independence AccessibilityParticipationConsistency Wellbeing Choices

Advocacy

Advocacy

Advocacy

Counsellor RolePast Trauma

Recent TraumaRecovery

Justice/Protection Roles Child Protection

Police Prosecution Investigation

Court Support Safety

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Scenario

Court preparation officer*14 year old Aboriginal girl

Small rural community

Wants to give evidence

*

*

*Pressure from grandmother & community*

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Kathleen’s Advocacy Practice

Engaging – built trust*Respectful of prosecutorBelieved concerns

Followed client’s lead

*

*

* Decision making technique

Stated role boundary*

Facilitated self-advocacy

Genuine

*

*

*

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Independence & Bias

Cultural Independence

Organisational Independence

Operational Independence

Professional Independence

Psychological Independence

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C) Don’t KnowB) AboriginalYounger, Rural

What you know…

A) Middle Class

Who will have a more difficult time dealing with and healing from a sexual assault?

A 35 year old, white, middle-class woman with many social & agency supports

A young Aboriginal girl, small country town, minimal agency supports

????

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C) Don’t Know

What you know…Every person is differentIndividual prediction = prejudge = bias

C) is the correct answer

You really just don’t knowtill you learn from them…

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Intersectionality

• Intersectionality looks at the intersection of things like culture, gender, class and education; their relation to oppression and how this manifests in individuals.

• It also asks professionals to critically review themselves as part of the dominant culture which is also part of the intersectionality of the victim/survivors experience

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1) Ordering, commanding, directing

2) Threatening, warning

3) Advising, giving solutions

4) Lecturing, arguing

5) Moralizing, preaching

Dr Gordon’s 12 roadblocks

You’re not smart enough

It’s not safe / I’m uncomfortable

There’s something wrong with you

6) Judging, blaming, criticizing

7) Praising, agreeing

8) Name-calling, ridiculing, shaming

9) Interpreting, diagnosing, analyzing

10) Reassuring, sympathizing

11) Probing, questioning, interrogating

12) Withdrawing, distracting, humoring

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Advocates follow the R.U.L.E.

Resist the “righting reflex” or need to fix it

Understand victim/survivor’s motivations

Listen to the client

Empower

More engagement skills

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Informed decision-making• It reflects the ethical principle that a person has the right

to decide what is appropriate for them, taking into account their personal circumstances, beliefs and priorities.

• This includes the right to accept or to decline the offer of services and to change that decision.

• In order to exercise this right to decide, people require the information that is relevant to them.

Queensland Health

Guide to Informed Decision-making in Healthcare

2012

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Empowerment• em·power v.

1. invest with power, especially legal power or official authority.

2. to equip or supply with an ability; enable

The word empower arose in the mid-17th century with the legalistic meaning (1) Shortly thereafter it began to be used with an infinitive in a more general way meaning (2)

www.thefreedictionary.com

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Voice of a 13 year old Survivor

“People just think because you are younger,

what you have to say isn’t as important as

what they have to say because they are

older, which I don’t believe in at all. My

advocate definitely takes what I have to say

seriously. She doesn’t treat me as if just

because I’m younger that my say isn’t

important. She actually does the opposite.”George Jones Child Advocacy Centre

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Parent of a 5 year old Survivor

“I liked how they introduced themselves to

both of us – and they included my daughter

as much as me in all of our interactions

together. She was involved in all the

conversations when we were together as a

group; you know I could tell they thought she

was important.”George Jones Child Advocacy Centre

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Summary Client-Led

Conscious Use client focus skills – e.g. listening

Bias Reflective practice & supervision .

When to lead, when to take charge.Sensitive

Info Well packaged information & options.

Decisions Facilitate decision-making

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Implications of ‘justice’ statistics

Detention

Convicted

Prosecution starts

Reported to police

Victims/Survivors

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

4.5 (0.7%)

11.5 (1.8%)

28 (4.3%)

100 (15.5%)646 (100%)

Adapted from Daly (2011) Conventional and innovative justice responses to sexual violence pp 4-5

Data from Australian victimisation surveys and findings from Australian attrition research 1990 - 2005

What are the implications for advocates and the most vulnerable?

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Accessible and known

Who are these victims ? why don’t they report?

Who are they most likely to tell?So…?

Do you have a role with unseen clients?How? What?

Your Role

?

What has your agency done to reduce barriers or outreach?

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False

Forensically astute advocate

True

Advocates should know enough about the law to be able to help a victim/survivor work out which offence the offender should be charged with and which charge should be filed in court.

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False

Forensically astute advocate

Advocates don’t give legal advice !!

- The police gather evidence and lay charges

- The prosecutor decides what charges are filed in court

www.advocacyrole.org

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Feedback

• “I think an advocate is so vital at investigation – or pre-investigation stage- when survivors are grappling with the issue of whether to report or not.” Adult survivor

• “For many years, I think, police saw us as likely to

contaminate the evidence or say something stupid … Once the police realise our role is not interfering in the process but supporting the victim through the process, and that this actually gives them some space to do their work … then they see the benefit.” (Director, Gold Coast CASV in Parkinson 2010)

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Advocate’s legal/forensic role

Maximise legal benefits Maximise legal benefits

Information & supportInformation & support

Minimise harmsMinimise harms

Liaise & representLiaise & represent

SafetySense of justiceCompensation

Re-traumatisationPerpetrator danger

Loss of controlLoss of voice

Processes & StepsInterviews, investigations, Medical & forensic evidenceSupport through processes

Facilitate connectionsVictim focus not forensic focus

Present client wishesKnow what’s going on

AdvocateAdvocate

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Amy’s Story

• 13yr old girl

• Challenges – adolescence– older parents– older siblings parenting her

• History of school bullying, school refusal• Counselling• Incident of SA by older peer at school

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Current Mainstream System• Interview

– Police Station– Specialist Child Interviewers

• Investigations– Child Protection– Police

During Investigation Bullying worsens

Amy asked to print off emails related to

Offender

2 serious suicide attempts

Refused to continue with counselling

Family struggling

Amy acting out

School refusal

Bullying continues

Charges laid

Referral to Child Witness Service

Dept Child Protection,

Police

Investigating Officer:

6 months

• Criminal Justice Process• Court Support and Preparation• Trial• Victim Impact Statements

Co

un

sellor

Ch

ild W

itness

Service

Amy’s Story Cont…

Counselling re bullying, not involved in planning

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Ch

ild an

d F

amily A

dvo

cate

Alternative System• Interview

– George Jones Advocacy Centre– Advocate support from day of interview– Specialist Child Interviewers

• Investigations– Child Protection– Police

During Investigation Bullying worsens

Amy to print emails related to Offender

2 serious suicide attempts

• Support Amy during Investigations Family Support

• Tutoring• Practical Assistance• Information provided about CJS

Introduced to a new counsellor at her pace

Criminal Justice ProcessAdvocate Liaises PoliceAdvocate Liaise CWSDPP and Court inputTrial and Follow up Support

Co

un

sellor

Amy’s Story Cont…

Ceases counselling

Family strugglingAmy acting outSchool refusalBullying continues

Charges laidReferral to Child Witness Service

Dept Child Protection

Police

Investigating Officer: 6 months

Ch

ild W

itness

Service

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Justice: more than conviction

Information

Validation

Voice

Control

Outcomes

Justice:more thanconviction

Justice:more thanconviction

Haley Clark

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Crisis Intervention

Defining the problem1

Ensuring survivor safety2

Providing support3

Examining alternatives4

Making plans5

Obtaining a commitment6 Prins & Ruzek

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Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

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Feedback

• “In my previous contact with services they have just closed the case without any support offered or referrals made…. [At this centre] I liked the continuity of the service, the constant reassurance, and the communication – all the time I felt like I knew what was happening. Also how they have involved the other networks in my daughter’s life – the school, GP and day-care” (Parent of child victim, George Jones Child Advocacy Centre).

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• P61 (VS4): I mean I’ve got to say, the whole organization, they’re so there for you all the time. You know, [ISVA] supported me all the way through with the Police and everything. She reported it for me, came to the interviews with the Police, she’s been to hospitals and doctors with me, she helped me get off alcohol, and drugs. I just can’t, you know what I mean, without these [people] I truly wouldn’t be here today. And I say that with my hand on my heart. And even when my husband’s phoned a couple of times to try to see what he can do, they’ve even tried to help him. They’re so supportive all the way down the line…

Feedback

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• P43 (VS3): If I hadn’t had any support I really, to be honest I think I’d have ended up losing the plot, and me kids would have been in care, because I’d hit rock bottom with what had happened. I needed to be strong for me daughter and me family, and [ISVA] helped me do that (Robinson, 2009).

Feedback

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Workshop goals

Focus During Workshop.

Confirm

Your text in here

Challenge

Confirm what you

know & do

Collect something

new Challenge your ideas

and practice

Collect

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Workplace tasks

1

2

3

Link with supervisor re today’s issues including reflection on bias

Review the Advocacy Role Webwww.advocacyrole.org

Note work advocacy practices

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Advocacy Role Day 2

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Advocacy Domains

Advocacy

Key Domains Empower

JusticeSupport

InformedDecisions

ClientLed

AccessibleKnown

Practical EmotionalSupportIndependent

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Action planningAction planning

Children, young people & familiesChildren, young people & families

System’s advocacySystem’s advocacy

Today’s session

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3

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Interagency support & collaboration Interagency support & collaboration 1

Skills self-assessment & Prof DevSkills self-assessment & Prof Dev5

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Advocacy Domains

Advocacy

Key Domains

FeedbackComplaints

Interagency

Children and Families

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Po

ssib

le A

dvo

cacy

Inte

r A

gen

cyR

ole

sDevelopmaintain

teamsSurvivorcomplaints,

praise &ideas

Feedbackexplain

decisionEnsureagenciesSurvivorfocused

PresentSurvivor

needsrights

Case tracking

Liaisewith your

Supervisor

Broadersystemsadvocacy

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Victim/survivor’sexpectations

Info

rmed

cho

ices

Expertise & confidence

Victim/Survivor

Timely independent support

Contact

Closure

Acc

essi

ble

to s

ervi

ces

Hon

esty

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Interagency Collaboration• Tony Morrison classified collaborative responses into 5 groups:

1. Communication: individuals from different disciplines talking together.

2. Co-operation: low key joint working on a case-by-case basis.

3. Co-ordination: more formalized joint working, but no sanctions for non-compliance.

4. Coalition: joint structures sacrificing some autonomy.

5. Integration: organizations merge to create new joint identity.

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Interagency Work

What kind of interagency, multi-agency multi-disciplinary or client focused planning groups are you involved in?

What is working well within your groups?

What could be improved?

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Challenges

• What are the challenges in advocating for victim/survivors

• Within your own agency ?

• Within multi- agency teams ?

• Within multi-agency settings where you are not part of a MDT ?

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What can help?

• Protocols (examples)

• Being clear about Confidentiality & Information Sharing

• Relationships (video)

• ? Other

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Interagency partnership

“I guess partnership working would be key… because we have such a cohesive communication strategy with paediatricians, social workers, children and adults services, probation, crown prosecution service, the voluntary agencies. If any agency saw that there was some kind of problem or had an issues or needed to discuss an issue, they would know exactly who to phone up to, and we would resolve things together” (ISVA in Robinson 2009.)

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Interagency relevance for me?

Role now

Approach,Skills

StoriesSuccess

Discuss what’s happening for you and your agency re interagency work. 5 min small group, 10 min large group .

MyWorld

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Reception

Intake process

Non direct work with Children/YP

Children seen with family

Direct work with children

Evaluation/Feedback/Complaints

Child/Family Centred Practice

Awareness/recognition of workers/agencies strengths, limitations and biases

Marcus McKay ‘Through a child's eyes’

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Children & young people’s feedback

• 6 year old girl “she was great, she helped me to get my anger out”.

• 12 year old girl “my advocate is perfect we do things to help heal things from the past. I had been told I was lying at another place because all I did was play. Here my advocate believes me and that makes me happy”

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Children & young people’s feedback cont…

• 14 year old girl “ The advice she gave was really helpful and she understands me and everything. Like she told me what I could do.... and gave me tutoring and stuff and said I could come here whenever I wanted to if I felt down or anything. She is always happy and smiling, bubbly and everything. She is probably the best person I have ever spoken to. I could trust her more and felt more comfortable.... not under any pressure. She’s really nice and easy to talk to and she is a good listener.

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Children & young people’s feedback cont…

• 16 year old girl “It was helpful just having someone to talk to and we did some drawing and wrote stuff down... it was easier cause I didn’t really wanna talk about it. She listened and gave me good advice and different things to do. She helped me and my sister with strategies on how to deal with stuff... which was helpful. She just changed it and made everything seem easier to deal with and helped build trust between me and my mum and dad and just made everything easier with having someone to talk to.”

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Feedback

• “I liked how they introduced themselves to both of us – and they included my daughter as much as me in all of our interactions together. She was involved in all the conversations when we were together as a group; you know I could tell they thought she was important. Staff of the advocacy centre understand that families go through unforeseen circumstances everyday day”. Parent of a 5 year old girl

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• “The Advocate was like a rock and supportive and listened to us. Basically she listened to all of us individually then worked with all of us and gave us strategies to work through it all. She was a really good mediator between the family, she kept the peace between the family and it was just really helpful. She pointed us in the right direction, giving strategies for the individual and the family. She spoke to me and my husband as well about having time to ourselves to keep our sanity..... it was good how she spoke to us all individually and also as a family.” Parent of 14 & 16 year old girls

Feedback

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Child & Family Advocacy

Key Concepts

Issues

Rights based advocacyChild, Parent, Community

Child Inclusive

Child Informed

Consent & Privacy

Child Protection

Mandatory Reporting

Best Interests

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Consent & Privacy

Clear explanation Understanding• Clear, simple language

• Verbal & written

• Development

• Language

• Consequences

• Age & Maturity

• Mental state

• Alcohol, drugs

• Hear back to confirm

• Language

• Signature• Mature Minor

• Trauma & Severity

Consent

Know your agency’sPolicy & Procedures

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Gillick Competency

• "...whether or not a child is capable of giving the necessary consent will depend on the child’s maturity and understanding and the nature of the consent required. The child must be capable of making a reasonable assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of the treatment proposed, so the consent, if given, can be properly and fairly described as true consent”. Mr Justice Woolf

• See NSPCC Factsheet for more details

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Summary: Advocacy Role with

Children and Families• Your comfort with working with children

• Child inclusive / child informed approaches

• Rights based advocacy

• Supporting the right of the non-offender parents

• Child protection and child safety

• Consent and Privacy – Parents, tweens &teens

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Advocacy Domains

Advocacy

Key Domains

FeedbackComplaints

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Domain – Client Feedback• Before: Service Design

• During: Checking in re services being received, client led? Meeting needs?

• After: Client Feedback on services provided, outcomes achieved

• Feedback to whom? Service provider/MDT/others?

• Complaints/Concerns, Praise/Suggestions

• Utilising opportunities/systems in place

• Systems Advocacy

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Ideas for Client Feedback

• Surveys

• Interviews

• Computer based surveys

• Others……..

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Workshop goals

Focus During Workshop.

Confirm

Your text in here

Challenge

Confirm what you

know & do

Collect something

new Challenge your ideas

and practice

Collect

L/O/G/O

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Thankyou for your attendance, your participation and your passion !!!