Let´s put a stop to violence

CRWRC held a two-day seminar earlier this week on the topic of Family Violence here in Tegucigalpa.  They invited representatives from all five community development partner agencies as well as several members from various Christian Reformed Churches around the country.  We all came together for lunch on Monday at the Christian High School run by MCM (Christian Stewardship Ministries) in order to start off the seminar with a time of fellowship, worship, and prayer for the task at hand. 

The Association for a More Justice Society (ASJ) provided the training facilitators for this event as they are working tirelessly in search of justice and healing for the victims of all types of violence – especially rape and murder.  We heard from one of their psychologists about the importance of respect, shared responsibility and fair treatment within the family, between spouses, parents and children, and siblings, because the absence of such things is also a form of violence against the integrity of the family and not what God intended for His children.   We played a lot of interactive games that allowed us to dialogue in small groups about these issues.  The psychologist also went on to alert us to signs of child sexual abuse and how to respond in a way that encourages the child to speak out without experiencing even more trauma. 

The second day ASJ sent a few members of their “Project Rescue” team; a lawyer that represents victims of violence and two staff members that psychological support.  Together they educated us on the four categories of violence that they use to identify abusive situations within the family.  Violence can be physical, psychological, sexual and/or patrimonial (relating to the family´s resources and livelihood).   I could tell that these categorizations and their examples really challenged some of the participants to broaden their definition of violence.   We came to see that anything that constitutes a lack of respect for any member of the family is vicious blow and prevents the family from functioning as a team. 

Once we had defined violence, ASJ gave us a crash course on how to respond using “Emotional First Aid”, as they call it.   The five-step process begins with the initial psychological contact with the victim by encouraging them to express their feelings in a safe and supportive environment.  Next is to analyze the various dimensions of the problem which leads to the third step of searching for possible solutions for the immediate priorities, such as personal safety, and longer term tasks like reporting the crime and legal proceedings.  The fourth step calls us to react and realize concrete actions in accordance with the previous phases.  Finally, we should follow up with the case and verify its progress ensuring that the victim is safe and resolute in proceeding with the decided course of action.
 

In the end, we learned a lot about a great many forms of violence and how to react to them with compassion, empathy and wisdom.  After hearing about only a fraction of the cases they deal with in “Project Rescue” I also realized how much faith and courage it takes to confront these horrific and often dangerous situations.  ASJ´s mission describes a call to be brave Christians in the pursuit of justice and they are totally right.  I think that without the key ingredients of bravery and faith their handy “5-step Emotional First Aid” just won´t cut it.  All in all, I thank God for all the people working for justice and restoration here in Honduras and for the privilege of hearing their stories and learning from them.  I hope that all of us participants took home some valuable tools so we can help put a stop to violence in our own communities.