Main objective
The project’s objective was to develop recommendations for a national strategy in training interdisciplinary staff within the field of violence in intimate relationships, in order to provide better service for victims and perpetrators.
The target group was those who worked in both the municipalities’ first and second line of health- and social services. The goal of the training was to contribute to employees’ knowledge, skills and sense of security when working within the field of “violence in intimate relationships.”
Another aim was that the training would stimulate better cooperation within the interdisciplinary fields, type of service and level of service.
Method
The strategy was developed on the basis of a review involving reports on relevant public institutions and plan documents (predominantly Norwegian), evaluations of training programs and experience from regional conferences.
In addition we have collected and evaluated information from interdisciplinary training programs from two University Colleges and from one community program. All of the programs were based on school credits. Furthermore suggestions regarding content and agenda for this type of training was gathered from the regional resource centers on violence, traumatic stress and suicide prevention (Norwegian abbreviation RVTS). The suggestions mainly talked about the need for practical, critical and subject competency for all of the interdisciplinary groups.
Other documents and plans of interest that were studied in connection to our project were; the National implementation plan for basic-, advanced and specialized training, the Study on the knowledge level of teachers from a selection of University Colleges, last year students studying to be child welfare officers and pre-school teachers, together with a project on building competency initiated by Alternative to Violence (ATV) and The Center for Crisis Psychology (Norwegian abbreviation SFK) concerning “Children who live with domestic violence”
Further information
In the memorandum it was suggested that the training measures should be modified to suit the three target groups: 1) supervisors, 2) coordinators/teachers and 3) those that work directly with clients, all of which have different duties and areas of responsibility.
The strategy describes learning goals, important subjects and how to organize the different training measures for these groups. Cooperation amongst different assistance services, better coordination of aid and different perspectives of understanding are all central themes of the training. In the strategy it was suggested that the subject of “violence,” the practical knowledge and cooperation building would all be given the same importance and amount of time within the training course.
“Violence in close relationships” is a subject which involves many vulnerable groups of individuals, perpetrators, grown-ups and children. This subject is vast and in continual development.