Domestic violence

Thanks to Jason Goroncy for letting us know about the following:

The heads of churches in South Australia have produced a guide – a ‘field manual’ of basic information – to assist clergy and pastoral workers to respond to domestic violence.

The guide's title is Domestic Violence Handbook for clergy and pastoral workers. It's published by the Joint Churches Domestic Violence Prevention Programme.

The introduction begins: One of the most difficult things for a survivor of violence to do is to find the courage to tell someone they are being abused. If you have been chosen as the one to disclose to, there is a reason that this trust has been placed in you, so trust yourself that you are the most appropriate person for the survivor at this time!

And goes on: We encourage you to seek further training to enhance the skills you already have to deal with pastoral situations where violence is an issue. There are suggestions for further reading listed in the booklet. While domestic violence occurs across all types of relationships, the majority is male to female violence, so for simplicity of wording this booklet uses “she”/ “the women” to refer to the survivor of violence, and “he”/ “the man” to refer to the perpetrator. However, the principles apply regardless of gender, so are relevant to intimate relationships where violence is female to male, male to male, or female to female.

It's available as a download.