Psycho-Social Approaches: A Handbook for Psychosocial Service Providers for Domestic Violence Survivors

In India, in the last few decades, there have been extensive investments towards addressing gender-based violence, especially in strengthening support services through coordinated response mechanisms like One Stop Centres (OSC). However, with the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown phases, there was a significant increase in reported incidents of GBV against women and children. It also emerged as a need to strengthen the capacities of first-hand responders further, especially functionaries from One Stop Centres.

To respond to this need, UN Women in partnership with the International Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care (PCVC), have developed a handbook for Psychosocial Service Providers for Domestic Violence Survivors.

The handbook serves as a resource for service providers to develop their understanding of domestic violence - its causes, manifestations and impact and reflect on their own practice and how to provide care, improve access to resources, connect to necessary services in a way that upholds the rights and choices of the survivor.

The handbook is primarily for service providers working with women and queer persons who have survived or are experiencing domestic violence and was conceived as a resource that might help plug the gap and allow various service providers - CSO’s, police, protection officers, OSC’s etc. - to adapt existing services and modes of approach to addressing the needs of survivors of domestic violence sensitively. This handbook is not focused only on counseling and looks at psycho-social support as a front-line support that can be offered by various stakeholders in the service ecosystem.