International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 

25 November 2020

Ahuva Good Shepherd – Small Group Care, Singapore

When my colleague and I found out that we would be doing a workshop about the elimination of violence against women, we were nervous. Although this was an extremely important topic, we were worried that it might be a triggering subject given the backgrounds of some of our residents. However, this ended up being an opportunity for a meaningful afternoon of activities.

Firstly, we discussed what violence was, and different examples of violence against women, such as trafficking, partner violence, and even killings. We used this opportunity to share about some current affairs concerning violence against women, such as a woman in Afghanistan getting shot and blinded after getting a job, as her attempt to get independence was viewed as dishonourable by her family! Our residents were shocked that these kinds of injustice still occurred, and shared that they felt this was extremely unfair!

We then watched a video entitled ‘Don’t Confuse Love & Abuse’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L6HB97lbrQ) to give our residents some practical insight into what an abusive relationship looked like. We wanted to make sure they would not confuse an abusive, controlling relationship with a loving one. When we discussed the video afterwards, we were happy that all the residents were able to pick up on abusive behaviours, and we reminded them never to tolerate being treated that way! We also did a short exercise where we got the children to write short letters to a fictional friend who was stuck in an abusive relationship, some snippets of which were shown below. We were proud of our residents for being able to show such empathy towards others in difficult situations!

Letters from residents to a ‘friend’ in an abusive relationship

Finally, to wrap up our workshop, all the staff and residents made bracelets together. Around the world, many women and girls continue to work hard in factories producing clothes and accessories. We thought the bracelets would be a nice tribute to the work of these women around the world who have been working hard to support themselves and their families. We hope that our residents will look at the bracelets they have made and be reminded that they are strong, independent and capable individuals!

Jewellery making activity

Conducted and written by:

Nora Pang                                                     Jamie Chen

Social Service Associate                          Student Intern (University of Sydney)

                      Ahuva Good Shepherd – Small group Care