VAWnet Event Calendar

Hosted at Chicago’s historic Palmer House, this year’s National Conference on Domestic Violence will bring together 700+ individuals from across the world for three days of discussion, presentations, learning, community, and fun.

Stalking is a prevalent, dangerous and often misunderstood crime that often results in lethal violence. The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) reports that about 1 in 6 women and 1 in 17 men have been stalked at some point in their lives, many of these as minors. Stalking is also a high risk indicator in domestic violence cases. And yet, taken without context, many individual incidents of stalking are made up of perfectly legal actions.

Abusers are often experts at manipulating peers, at presenting a charismatic facade that hides the abuse they may perpetrate against their victims on a regular basis. Often, serious and tragic incidents of domestic violence are portrayed in the media as anomalies, wherein an otherwise 'lovely person' just 'snapped'. Entertainment can still be seen portraying control, jealousy, and abuse as romance. The ways society speaks about domestic violence leaves victims at risk, hampers prevention efforts, and removed responsibility from perpetrators.

How do we balance our mission to provide safety and empowerment for victims of interpersonal violence, with the knowledge that our staff absorb the stories of those that they serve and over time may exhibit the same trauma symptoms we see in our clients? What does it mean to make our supervision with staff as trauma-informed as our work with victims? Is it possible to preserve our duty to victims while weighing our concern for staff?

The holiday season, while often filled with joy and celebration, can also be a challenging time for survivors and service providers alike. This skills-based webinar will delve into practical tools and techniques to enhance your wellness practices during this period. Participants will learn strategies to manage holiday stress, foster self-care, and support survivors more effectively. Join us to explore adaptive approaches that you can integrate into both your personal wellness routines and professional work with survivors, ensuring a healthier and more balanced holiday season for all.