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This two-day training is for community advocacy agencies, local government agencies, court personnel and judges, attorneys, guardians ad litem, visitation center staff and anyone who interacts with families post separation and wish to learn how to avoid colluding with batterers. Participants will learn how to identify common tactics batterers use to try to maintain control over their families and children when sent to court-ordered visitation and how practitioners can work with visitation center staff to ensure that battered women and children are safe.
Our society often blames women for staying in an abusive situation. The reality is that the most dangerous time for a battered woman and her children is when she leaves her batterer. And, despite all of the encouragement to leave, social services, the courts and even advocacy agencies often do not provide any long term assistance to meet the complex safety and other needs of a battered woman and her children. In order for a battered mother to leave an abusive situation and keep herself and her children safe, she needs a place where visits and exchanges with the batterer can be supervised and documented. However, when batterers are sent to court-ordered visitation and can no longer control the family in the home, they often try to manipulate legal and social service agencies and systems to control events with destructive effects.
Topics include:
- Ensuring on-going safety for battered women and their children by tying the work of visitation centers to the rest of a coordinated community response
- Legal issues that arise when batterers continue their abuse by bringing the battle to the courtroom
- Working with fathers who batter to shift their focus off of controlling her to parenting their children
- Creating agency protocols and policies that support safety for victims and accountability for offenders
- Developing effective community partnerships and referrals
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