Responders
Informal responses can facilitate access to appropriate resources but such responses may not be helpful because relationship abuse is a difficult problem and individuals may not understand the complexity of the issue. Training for Responders will make this clear, teach helpful and appropriate responses, and clarify the limits of the Responders.
Responder trainings are now being scheduled on the following dates:
PowerPoint Presentation for Responder Training
November 7, 2007 - 1-4:30pm in the Coe Room (Canceled)
December 5, 2007 - 9am-12:30pm in the Coe Room (Completed)
To register for Responder Training, go to:
https://www.umaine.edu/hr/emptraining/secure/index.php
Please note that the Login ID and Password for this online registration are the same as your PeopleSoft Login and Password. Please call Caitlin Hinkley at Human Resources, 581-1580, if you have any questions.
Responders: Who are they? Click here for a list of UMaine Campus Responders with their contact information. Please feel free to contact any one of our Responders.
Responder Description
To express your interest in serving in this important role or to nominate someone else, please contact Carey Nason at 581-2515 or carey.nason@umit.maine.edu
Significance of informal relationships
Research indicates that informal social relationships are a significant source of support for victims of relationship abuse (Hoff, 1990). In 1996, Kelly wrote about the emerging research on informal responses -- in addition to kinship and friendship networks, “neighborhoods and workplaces … may prove to be a key resource not only in establishing safety … but also in beginning to decrease the prevalence” of relationship abuse (p. 67). Studies conducted by the Maine Department of Labor (2003, 2004) show that networks of trustworthy and well-informed informal responders need to extend to the workplace to facilitate access to more formal resources such as victim advocacy through domestic violence projects or rape crisis centers, employee assistance, or counseling.
As detailed in the policy, the workplace response includes the development of a network of informal responders trained to make appropriate referrals. Responders serves as a key mechanism by which the university will “create a supportive workplace environment in which employees feel comfortable discussing relationship abuse issues and seeking assistance for relationship abuse situations.” It must be noted that the role of these responders will be very limited and does not include counseling or the services that professional victim advocates provide at Spruce Run, Rape Response Services and the Safe Campus Project. Rather, Responders are bridge builders; they facilitate connections, relationships, and a collaborative process. Their role is to make referrals to existing resources and thus facilitate access to them in a way that is appropriate considering the complexities of relationship abuse.
References:
Hoff, L.A. (1990). Battered women as survivors. London : Routledge. Kirkwood, C. (1993). Leaving abusive partners. London : Sage.
Kelly, L. (1996). Tensions and possibilities: Enhancing informal response to domestic violence. In J.L. Edleson & Z.C. Eisikovits (Eds.), Future interventions with battered women and their families (pp. 67-86). Thousand Oaks , CA : Sage.
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