GOOD PRACTICE CHECKLIST FOR INTERPRETERS WORKING WITH DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SITUATIONS

Transcription

1 GOOD PRACTICE CHECKLIST FOR INTERPRETERS WORKING WITH DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SITUATIONS I the sprig of 2008, Stadig Together agaist Domestic Violece carried out a piece of collaborative work o domestic violece with CITAS, the Hammersmith-based orgaisatio that provides commuity egagemet through iterpretig, traslatio, outreach ad advocacy i over 55 laguages. It is clear that there is a eed to use professioals who are well traied i iterpretig, ad ot to make use of family ad frieds to iterpret i domestic violece situatios. I our cosultatio, we idetified ad have aimed to fill a iformatio gap i terms of guidace for Iterpreters themselves about issues they eed to be aware of whe iterpretig for a rage of agecies dealig with domestic violece survivors or perpetrators. The work ivolved: Cosultig domestic violece practitioers ad Commuity Iterpreters about what they thik would be good practice whe Iterpreters are workig for a rage of agecies i situatios where domestic violece has bee disclosed or is suspected. Desigig ad ruig two traiig sessios for Commuity Iterpreters o the dyamics of domestic violece ad best practice. Twetyie iterpreters from Hammersmith ad Fulham, coverig 24 laguages, atteded oe sessio, ad eightee of them were able to atted for a secod sessio the followig week. Usig the results of the cosultatio to draw up a Domestic Violece Good Practice Guidace Checklist for Iterpreters. We are very pleased to share this Checklist with other agecies ad iterpreters i other boroughs, ad have put it o the Stadig Together website for free dowloadig. Domestic violece traiig for Iterpreters If you would like to discuss ruig domestic violece traiig for Iterpreters i your area or your agecy, please cotact Stadig Together. Details are at the ed of this Guidace. The quotes are from Iterpreters who atteded the traiig. I ejoyed the traiig sessios. The traiers were very kowledgeable, ad colleagues tured the traiig ito iteractive sessios. This brought about further discussio ad made this traiig eve more iformative. 1

2 1. The Iterpreter s approach: A importat poit to ote is that Iterpreters should discuss with, ad obtai, the permissio of the iterviewig officer before makig a proactive itervetio with the service user. The Public Service Iterpreters Code of Coduct defies stadards. Compassioate iterpretig was recommeded. What might this look like i practice? For example: Beig o- judgemetal Beig professioal Beig patiet (ot pressurisig the survivor to take a particular course of actio) Demostratig empathy with survivors of domestic violece (i demeaour/ toe/pace) Listeig carefully ad ot makig assumptios there is o typical victim/survivor or perpetrator Iterpretig accurately, seekig clarificatio o ay poits that are uclear Usig the right phrase ad meaig ad traslatig accurately Beig prepared to take actio if there is iappropriate behaviour by the staff member i the iterview The iterpreter ca oly stop the iterviewig officer for a techical poit. However, it was suggested that if the iterviewig officer was makig iappropriate commets, the the iterpreter ca ask the officer to rephrase questios o the basis that the cliet would ot uderstad the particular questio Sharig ay cocer you have about the cliet s safety ad risk factors with the professioal The iterpreter ca share ay cultural factors, safety cocers or evidece of domestic violece durig the briefig time with the iterviewig officer before the iterview A o-judgemetal approach, good traiig ad professioalism ca be more importat tha fidig a iterpreter of the same sex However, a same sex iterpreter may make disclosure easier for survivors. Before comig to the domestic violece traiig I ever thought it was as broad a subject as it is. Kowig the facts ad best practice to adopt is sure to help me i my career. 2. Before the iterview Be sure you are kowledgeable about the issue/dyamics of domestic violece Thik carefully about the words ad their meaig i coveyig key messages about domestic violece Uderstad the barriers faced by domestic violece survivors that may prevet disclosure of the abuse Kowledge of local ad atioal support agecies is helpful to sigpost survivors, (with the agreemet of the staff member) The iterview should be held i a private ad safe place. Some iterpreters reported that domestic violece iterviews have bee coducted i frot of other members of the family, but it is felt that this is ever safe practice. Babies ad very youg childre may have to be i the same room. The iterpreter caot themselves esure that the iterview is coducted i a safe place. However, if there are ay safety cocers, the the iterpreter ca ask the officer to step outside to talk about the cocer OR write their cocer o a piece of paper ad give it to the iterviewig officer. 2

3 3. Durig the iterview Remid yourself of the kow risk factors i relatio to domestic violece Use traiig to help you to recogise iappropriate commets/victim-blamig behaviour Challege or raise cocers with the iterviewig officer directly Cosider how a iterpreter may challege or raise ay cocers without upsettig the iterviewig officer. I most public service iterpretig, cocers ca oly be raised after the iterview. Make a formal complait if ecessary Formal complaits ca be made after the iterview Do ot give advice to the survivor or perpetrator but, with the permissio of the iterviewig officer, you could provide up-to-date iformatio about support agecies ad those who work with perpetrators, ad the atioal phoe umbers Ay iformatio o domestic violece services ca oly be give to the cliet after the iterview ad with the permissio of the officer 4 Behaviour towards survivors Show empathy ad respect, for example by demostratig you are: Geuie ad warm Respectful ad with a positive approach accordig to cultural orms, but this does ot mea excusig abuse No physical cotact with the cliet 4 Behaviour towards perpetrators Avoid uwittig collusio with perpetrators ad excuses for abuse Avoid casual coversatio with the perpetrator after the iterview The traiig gave me a better uderstadig of the differece betwee a uhappy relatioship ad a abusive relatioship. 4. After the iterview Do ot give out your persoal details It is the duty of the iterviewig office to esure the safety of their cliet, but you may, with the officer s permissio, check that the survivor feels safe ow e.g. to go home. If it is ot safe, ask the iterviewig officer to address this by re-assessig the risks ad safety measures. The iterpreter eeds permissio from the officer to ask survivors about their safety After the iterview, iterpreters may be asked by the officer about some cultural aspects e.g. body laguage, if both iterpreter ad cliet are from the same culture, ad ca give the officer their view/uderstadig. However this is ecessarily a matter of the iterpreter s opiio, ot ecessarily that of the cliet. 5. Cofidetiality ad safety What to do if a domestic violece survivor or perpetrator does ot wat certai iformatio to be disclosed to the iterviewig officer: Survivor: Make the survivor aware of the cofidetiality agreemet before the start of the iterview Respect the survivor s desire for cofidetiality Try to persuade the cliet to make fuller disclosure i their ow best iterest Try to hold a dialogue/explore the cliet s fear, with the coset of the iterviewig officer, ad iform the cliet what the iterviewer will do with the iformatio give 3

4 Perpetrator: With the coset of the iterviewig officer: Make the perpetrator aware of the cofidetiality agreemet before the start of the iterview This could be modelled o the clause i the Itegrated Domestic Abuse Programme (IDAP) cotract or aother similar oe, see some suggested elemets below. Iform the cliet at the start of the iterview that makig a full disclosure is i their ow best iterest Try to idetify/explore the cliet s cocers about disclosure, ad iform the cliet what the iterviewer will do with the iformatio give (this should be icluded i the cofidetiality agreemet/ cotract with the perpetrator). Cofidetiality Cotract with Domestic Violece Perpetrators: suggestios for key elemets to be icluded Limited cofidetiality offered No cofidetiality offered i relatio to: o ay disclosure about domestic violece icidets (past/recet & towards curret/ previous parters) o lack of motivatio to chage towards o-violet relatioships o iformatio relevat to kow idicators of risk of harm to survivors. This would iclude drug/alcohol use, crimial history, history of experiecig abuse as a child, employmet problems, breaches, etc, which perpetrators may wish to keep cofidetial. Iterpreters would eed briefig o those risk factors i traiig o iformatio idicative of risk of harm to childre ad others Cofidetiality may be offered by the iterviewig officer s agecy i relatio to commets made by the perpetrator about the survivor or previous parters that are assessed as ot beig idicative of risk of harm or of lack of motivatio to chage his behaviour No iformatio shared with agecies that are actively supportig the survivor about her experieces of domestic violece will be shared with the perpetrator. This will eed to be made explicit i the perpetrators cofidetiality agreemet. IMPORTANT atioal phoe umbers: Natioal Domestic Violece 24-hour Helplie Respect helplie for male perpetrators who wat to stop their abuse I will be better equipped whe workig i a domestic violece situatio with kowledge of local ad atioal support agecies to give out to victims or perpetrators if eeded. 4

5 Credits ad thaks This Guidace was put together by Piky Pradha (Iter) ad Peta Sissos (Traiig ad Iformatio Officer), Stadig Together agaist Domestic Violece. Thak you to all those who commeted o the drafts ad made useful suggestios. You are most welcome to use ad copy this Guidace, but please credit Stadig Together agaist Domestic Violece 2008 if you do ad give our website address for more iformatio about our work. If you have ay commets or feedback o this Guidace, please sed them to p.sissos@stadigtogether.org.uk Cotact iformatio Stadig Together Agaist Domestic Violece Stadig Together coordiates the operatioal partership ad respose of a wide rage of agecies to the crime of domestic violece i the Lodo Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham. Room 44D, 4th Floor Polish Cetre Kig Street Lodo W6 0RF T: E: admi@stadigtogether.org.uk W: CITAS CITAS recruits qualified Iterpreters to eable the health ad social care sectors i the borough to meet the eeds of the diverse commuities they serve. CITAS Paligswick House 241 Kig Street Lodo W6 9LP T: F: E: iterpretig@citas.org.uk W: 5