Support Services and Resources for Women: A Comprehensive Guide
Support Services and Resources for Women
Combating Domestic Violence
In the past three years, numerous services have been established to assist and protect women who are victims of violence. These include specialized police units, reception centers, and victim assistance offices in courts and prosecutors’ offices.
Further work and resources are needed to combat domestic violence. The Second Comprehensive Plan against Domestic Violence focuses on four key areas:
- Preventive measures
- Awareness campaigns for the general public and the media
- Support services for victims
- Legal protection and prosecution of abusers
The Domestic Violence Act of January 2005 provides integral protection for victims, including physical protection, immediate legal protection (such as allocation of family housing and child custody), and social protection through benefits.
Victims, prosecutors, or the court itself can request this protection order. The new law recognizes victims’ rights to reduced working hours, geographical mobility, suspension of employment with job reservation, and contract termination. It also establishes a re-employment program, ensures the collection of active income, and provides disability benefits for absences due to aggressions.
Other initiatives include:
- Establishing caring services for battered women in all communities and municipalities.
- Adapting existing shelters into full recovery centers that offer counseling, legal monitoring, social support, and education.
- Creating specialized units within the National Police and Civil Guard.
- Enhancing the prosecution of domestic violence cases by creating dedicated courts, establishing a prosecutor against gender violence, and implementing harsher sentences (including suspension of visitation rights and disqualification from parental authority).
- Providing victims with free legal defense.
- Mandating education on equality and against gender violence in schools.
Social Intervention with Women
Women are involved in the social welfare system both as professionals and as recipients of services. However, their participation has traditionally been viewed through the lens of a patriarchal society.
Feminist critiques of the social welfare system aim to redefine social problems as consequences of unequal social relations, particularly male dominance over women. They also highlight the impact of societal expectations and stereotypes of masculinity on men.
Feminist social work seeks to:
- Empower women and enhance their control over their lives.
- Strengthen women’s identities.
- Facilitate the formation of women’s groups to foster awareness, mutual support, and problem-solving skills.
- Involve women in decision-making processes within institutions that serve them.
- Support women’s right to express their views and advocate for their needs.
- Develop and maintain essential support services to combat social isolation.
Both community-based and specialized social services should review their principles of action to address the needs of women not only as individuals but also as members of family units.
Centers and Resources for Women
One of the main resources for women is information about the opportunities that the welfare system offers them. From the visitor center or care for women, shows the routes of access to resources and employment programs, culture, health or welfare, while communicating to women with social problems and risks, with the network of to meet these needs in specialized ways.
Depending on the needs and the type of support and protection required for each case will have a different center profile.
The day centers are the main non-residential resources. They are places of welcome and intervention par to improvements in the quality of life, promote personal autonomy and responsibility, encourage mutual support and provide training and leisure.
Residential centers provide special attention to those women whose condition requires a longer stay by promoting the safety and welfare to allow their personal recovery.
The residences for pregnant or with young children, who for economic and family circumstances prevent them from staying in their midst, there are risks to themselves or their children. They provide room and board.