During corona lockdown, safety planning is even more complicated for survivors of intimate-partner violence. In previous episodes, you learned what is (and what’s not) sexual violence, challenges in times of covid-19 pandemics, and how was Brianna’s professional experience of working with victims of rape. In this last episode of this series about gender-based violence, you will hear:
- Are the institutions failing in supporting victims of sexual violence during the covid-19 pandemics? Can victims count on health care, courts, jails as under normal times?
- Are perpetrators of these crimes less likely to be detained?
- How can we as a community help victims with their safety planning strategies?
- What about the kids that are witnessing or targets of domestic violence?
- How does financial stress caused by the global economic crisis contribute to the rise of intimate-partner violence and unhealthy relationship dynamics?
Check out also previous episodes on this subject, including what is intimate-partner violence and a specific focus on domestic violence in times of covid-19 lockdown.
Lucia Klestincova, your host of Lights on Europe interviews Brianna Hertford, who spent 6 years as an advocate for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in the United States. She has been a counselor for adults and children experiencing violence, a medical advocate for survivors of sexual assault, and has worked in emergency shelters. She currently works with a Brussels-based NGO that advocates for human rights at a political level. She manages two programs: women’s rights and gender equality; and LGBTQI people and human rights. Brianna has a MA in International Migration with a specialization in Human Rights Law from the University of Kent’s Brussels School of International Studies, and a BS in Psychology from Northeastern University.
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