By Kyle Christian - Thursday, September 13th, 2012.
September 13, 2012, St. John?s, Antigua ? There are a number of resources to help persons facing the stress that comes with the end of a serious relationship to deal with their emotions in a healthy way.
The general perception is that most gender-based violence assistance tends to offer help to the would-be victims of violence and rarely the perpetrators. Two of the country?s officials who deal with domestic violence on a regular basis have said that there are resources available for men, though they rarely utilise them.
Alexandrina Wong, president of Women Against Rape (WAR), said that the idea is to deal with unresolved issues and to learn conflict and anger management in relationships.
?There are a number of agencies and individuals that can help with conflict resolution and anger management and prevent the issues from going as far as somebody being physically hurt,? Wong said.
On the other hand, she admitted that she did not know how aware the populace is of the available services nor did she know the barriers to seeking these services.
?For a woman it is much easier for her to seek this assistance but for a man it is difficult because of our entrenched patriarchal values; because of militarism as an ideology where the man is the head of the household, the man is the stronger one, and so he should not display his emotions or go to anyone for help,? Wong noted.
?So a number of times men do not normally seek out these kinds of services, they are more likely to discuss it with their friends,? she said.
Wong added that those having difficulty in their relationships should begin by calling 463-5555 for the Gender Affairs crisis hotline. She also encouraged them to speak with pastors and ministers ?even if you don?t go to church on a regular basis, find a church nearest you and see how they can help or (talk to) somebody that you can trust in the community.?
Director of Gender Affairs Sheila Roseau said that her organisation has services for persons experiencing gender-based violence as a whole including counselling and support, court advocacy, and preventative work.
?If someone would like to have that kind of help, where they would like to finish a relationship, we would offer them counselling,? she said. ?If we cannot offer the type of counselling based on the assessment of their needs, we would refer them to the appropriate services. There are lots of counsellors out there who can offer one-on-one therapy,? Roseau said.
She too confirmed that women were more likely to ask for help but that the services were just as available for men.
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Source: http://www.antiguaobserver.com/?p=80920
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