Improving gender-based violence victims support services and the access to justice through trauma-informed care

Abstract

The purpose of this Handbook of Practice is to develop a framework to address Gender-Based Violence with a Trauma-Informed-Lens and with a particular focus on access to justice. Furthermore, the handbook represents the final synthesis of the Care4Trauma Project.

Trauma-informed approaches are policies and practices that recognize the connections between violence, trauma, negative health outcomes and behaviors. These approaches increase safety, control and resilience for women who are seeking an access to justice and services in relation to their experiences of violence and/or have a history of experiencing violence.

The Handbook of Practice aims to be a guideline in the provision of trauma-informed processes with the specific goal of enhancing access to justice and to reduce harm to women victims of violence.

Throughout the Handbook, project partners make the case for the following three facets of an holistic response to Gender-Base-Violence:

1. trauma-informed procedural fairness;
2. trauma-informed practice;
3. harm reduction when women access to justice.