At Safe Horizon, we believe that our clients are the experts in their own lives. We offer support, information, and expertise so that each client can exercise his/her right to make informed decisions and choose their own path. This survivor-defined practice is characterized by an emphasis on client choice, collaboration, and a sensitivity to the unique needs, risks, and resources of each individual.
To understand whether survivor-defined practice contributes to safety-related empowerment among intimate partner violence survivors, Safe Horizon partnered with Dr. Lauren Cattaneo and Dr. Lisa Goodman to conduct a longitudinal study in Safe Horizon’s Community Programs.
The preliminary data consisted of 119 survivors of IPV seeking community-based services from Safe Horizon’s Community Programs. The study focused on the first session between the survivor and the advocate. A pre-survey was conducted prior to the survivor meeting with the advocate and the post-survey was conducted immediately after the survivor completed his/her first session with the advocate.
Participants filled out MOVERS (Measure of Victim Empowerment Related to Safety; Goodman et al., 2014) before and immediately after the first session with the community-based advocate. MOVERS is a validated measure capturing the extent to which a survivor (a) has developed a set of safety-related goals and a belief in his/her ability to accomplish them, (b) perceives that s/he has the support s/he needs to move toward safety, and (c) senses that his/her actions toward safety will not cause new problems in other safety domains. The survivor-centeredness of the interaction was measured with the Survivor-Defined Practice Scale (SDPS; Goodman et al., 2016) which survivors completed immediately after the first session with a community-based advocate. The SDPS measures survivors’ perception of the degree to which their advocates helped them achieve goals they set for themselves, facilitate a spirit of partnership, and show sensitivity to their individual needs and styles.
The preliminary results showed that (1) Survivors who received services from this survivor-centered agency reported improved safety-related empowerment following one advocacy session; and (2) The more survivor-centered the advocacy, the greater the improvement in victim empowerment related to safety.
This is the first study to examine the impact of survivor-centered practice with survivors of intimate partner violence over time. The preliminary data demonstrate that IPV survivors receiving one survivor-centered session with a community based advocate increases the survivor’s sense of safety-related empowerment, and specifically increases the survivor’s knowledge of community resources and options and increases the survivor’s sense of confidence in increasing his/her safety. This study provides evidence for the effectiveness of survivor-centered community-based advocacy and support.
Stay tuned to learn more about the results of this study. And check out the Policy & Research page to learn more about our work at Safe Horizon.