Scared Silent: When the one you love becomes the one you fear presented by Mildred Muhammad
Take this afternoon lunch and networking opportunity to visit the APOMM Studio
There is an inherent link between domestic violence and human trafficking because the dynamics used to establish and maintain power and control are very similar. For many trafficked persons, the original coercion stems from an intimate partner relationship. In fact, romantic interest or sexual attraction is a tool that traffickers may use to manipulate and control their victims. They make promises of love, marriage, and whirlwind romances to coerce the victim into commercial sex, forced labor, or involuntary servitude.
Learning Objectives:
- Attend this segment to learn more about the intersections of domestic violence and human trafficking and how similarities of the power and control in these relationships mirror those experiencing domestic violence.
- Participants will learn more educated about the cycle to exit this lifestyle as there stark similarities domestic violence and human trafficking.
Does your organization serve survivors? Do you consider yourself an ally? Are you unsure of how to incorporate lived experience expertise in your work? Learn the guiding principles of effective allyship for survivor inclusion and leadership. Shift the dynamics of power and ensure meaningful engagement with survivors in your work. Whether you work in an advocacy program, as a government official, academia, or in media and marketing, adopting guiding principles in your work can uplift Survivor Leadership and amplify voices with lived experience. Incorporating lived experience expertise significantly enhances organizational services and policies. Additionally, an update on the Nebraska Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence Survivor Leadership project will be shared, showcasing real-world applications of these principles in action.
Learning Objectives:
- Establish foundational principles for engaging survivor consultants in organizational roles such as providing program feedback, shaping policy, public speaking, fundraising efforts, and participating in councils.
- Learn strategies to create safe and supportive spaces for survivor consultants and staff in organizations.
- Learn the tenets of ethical storytelling and meaningful engagement to prevent harm and tokenization.
- Challenge myths and misconceptions about survivors in the work and shift the power imbalance.
- Review the Lived Experience Engagement Spectrum and Lived Experience Inclusion Ladder as a tool for organizational self-assessment.
Brain injury research in domestic violence is limited; however the targeting of head/face in assaults makes the likelihood of brain injury greater in those exposed to domestic violence. They may also have increased exposure to repeated brain injury.
Brain injury has an immediate cognitive, emotional, and physical consequence with lasting and potentially permanent repercussions. Single or repeated brain injury may make it more difficult to think effectively, be physically healthy, seek help, identify and utilize resources, make sound decisions, and be interpersonally effective. Individuals with brain injury may appear to be disorganized, aggressive, temperamental, or confused and have physical symptoms such as headaches, changes in vision, hearing loss, or difficulty with balance. If these symptoms are misunderstood the individual may not get the needed help or may be inappropriately classified.
In a 2018 project Brain Injury Alliance of Nebraska worked with domestic violence programs which screened individuals entering their program. 58% of those screens were positive for potential brain injury. 91% reported sustaining brain injury due to being hit in the head or strangled and 31% endorsed multiple events where their head was struck, or they were strangled. 88% reported some functional difficulty and/or physical symptomology related to the incident.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will be able to identify and define brain injury signs and symptoms.
- Participants will describe the intersection of brain injury and intimate partner violence.
- Participants will understand strategies which help individuals with brain injury.
This session provides an overview of the juvenile and child systems and how interventions could exacerbate harm or serve to promote healing.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will gain understanding of different systems impacting children.
- Session provides practical tips for providers on communicating with professionals including the Guardian ad Litem.
This course provides a foundational understanding of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), its importance, implementation, and the roles and responsibilities of correctional facility staff in preventing and responding to sexual abuse and harassment.
Learning Objectives:
Participants will gain insight into:
- Legislative background,
- Standards for compliance,
- Best practices for creating a safer correctional environment.
Participants will have an opportunity to learn and discuss the vital roles Survivors have within victim service organizations, legislative advocacy, and research. The combination of lived experience, education, and overall work history can offer these spaces exceptional opportunities to leverage different types of expertise. The healing journeys of Survivors offer profound insights into their needs and challenges when advocating for change with and for other Survivors. Therefore, having trauma-informed and Survivor-centered approaches can support Survivors and ensure their health and well-being while serving as an advocate.
Learning Objectives:
This workshop will provide participants with an overview of the current research and a critical dialogue on Survivor experiences, approaches on how to support Survivors, and strategies for Survivors on how to navigate their post traumatic growth.
Dogs offer unique benefits in providing comfort, support, and a sense of safety to survivors of trauma. This training is designed to equip advocates and professionals working in the field of domestic violence and sexual assault with an understanding of how certified facility dogs can be successful in advocacy work.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the role and benefits of certified facility dogs in domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy.
- Learn ethical considerations and best practices for incorporating facility dogs into advocacy services, ensuring the well-being and safety of both survivors and dogs.
- Gain knowledge of trauma-informed approaches to working with survivors and facility dogs, including recognizing signs of distress and implementing appropriate interventions.
- Explore real-life examples of successful integration of facility dogs into domestic violence and sexual assault advocacy, providing inspiration for implementing similar programs in participants' own organizations or communities.
This session will offer a comprehensive look at all types of intimate partner violence as well as a discussion of power and control.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will gain a better understanding of gaslighting and how this tool is used by abusers to control their victims.
- Participants will explore possible reasons why victims remain in abusive situations and why leaving is not as simple as some believe it to be.
Many of us think of self-care as a luxury and not something that is necessary. Making a commitment to show up for yourself and your well-being can not only affect your physical health but also your emotional and mental well-being. By incorporating a few daily practices, you can create a positive difference not only now, but for the rest of your life.
Learning Objectives:
Five self-care practices for your wellness
- Listen to your body. Finding a physical practice
- Mindfulness
- Self compassion
- Meditation
- Authentic connection
- Relaxation
RESPECT programs consist of educational theatre presentations paired with panel or group interactions led by community professionals and our actor-educators. Our Cracked, but Not Broken program focuses on teen dating violence. During the talkback, participants can submit questions to be answered by our panel.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants learn to take appropriate action in supporting a person whose boundaries are being violated
- Learn how to recognize positive uses of power and control
- Identify behaviors that can lead to conflict.
Participants will learn the fundamentals related to safety planning with victims of domestic and interpersonal violence.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will gain knowledge in recognizing the lethality risk to victims of domestic violence (DV) and intimate partner violence (IPV)
- Participants will learn about the danger assessment tool and how to interpret it when working with DV and IPV
- Participants will learn the fundamentals of domestic violence safety planning and how to cater the plan to a survivor’s unique situation and help them create a path to peace and safety.
Discuss obstacles that immigrant survivors may face when experiencing domestic violence and provide a broad overview of immigration process and forms of relief available to immigrant survivors.
Learning Objectives:
- Identify obstacles particular to undocumented survivors.
- Understand what an immigrant survivor can expect when applying for an immigration benefit.
- Understand how to connect an immigrant survivor to appropriate services.
Hear from a diverse panel of survivors who have transformed their experiences into tools for advocacy, resilience, and change. Lived experience expertise provides invaluable insight that can drive meaningful change for programs and policy. Panelists will share about their personal leadership journeys and the importance of centering survivor voices in leadership roles and creating safe and inclusive spaces.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will gain an understanding of how lived experience provides insight for meaningful change in programs
- Participants will learn how survivors can use their experiences to advocate for policy change.
Helping advocates and victims understand the legal tools available to address safety issues is critical to improving victim outcomes. Learn about extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs), whether they increase victim safety and barriers to their adoption in Nebraska.
Learning Objectives:
- This session will help participants define Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO).
- Participants will distinguish ERPOs from domestic abuse protection orders (DAPOs).
- Participants will learn to assess their effectiveness.
The DHHS DV unit has been changing their impact with survivors and children through the Safe and Together Model. This training discusses the impact of domestic violence on children through case mapping. This session will include information on the DHHS implementation of the Safe and Together Model.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn the impact of domestic violence on children
- Understand the basics of the Safe and Together model
- Develop understanding of DHHS decisions on DV cases through interactive mapping
This session explores gender-based violence and how harm, or threats to harm are committed against a person(s) based on actual or perceived sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression or other such sex/gender related characteristics.
Learning Objectives:
- Be able to define gender-based violence (GBV) and who it effects.
- Understand the intersectionality of gender-based violence.
- Learn how we can work together to end gender-based violence.
- Know of the various resources in their community to help survivors of gender-based violence.
In this session, participants will explore the unequal power relationships across social, economic, political, social and cultural dimensions for domestic violence victims/survivors from marginalized populations.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will gain knowledge in how domestic violence impacts marginalized populations.
- Participants will explore how marginalized populations experience discrimination and exclusion because of unequal power relationships across
- economic,
- political,
- social, and
- cultural dimensions.
We have a problem: Gender-based, sexual, and domestic violence.
Men are primarily responsible for perpetuating this problem. Since men perpetuate the problem, men must stop for the problem to end. However, men benefit from the problem in ways real and imagined. People are not motivated to stop something that benefits them.
Given this set of premises, how can we:
CONVINCE men that the problem is a problem,
CONVICT men to see themselves as responsible for the problem
COMPEL men to stop something that benefits them
We will explore these questions on four levels: consequence, operation, worldview, and foundation.
Learning Objectives:
- Examine Community and Systemic Responses: Participants will identify how different layers of society — including the community, legal system, healthcare, and educational institutions — respond to men's violence, discussing the immediate and often temporary effects these responses have on behavior.
- Understand the Regulation of Behavior at the Individual Level: Attendees will discuss how individual men act, think, and feel in relation to their violent behaviors and the role of self-monitoring and regulation in managing these behaviors while considering the limitations of such efforts if underlying values are not addressed.
- Explore the Construction of Worldviews: Participants will examine the deep-rooted values, attitudes, and beliefs that constitute men's worldviews and are the sources of violent behaviors, emphasizing the importance of addressing these elements for genuine change.
- Assess the Sociocultural Foundations of Violence: This part of the session will focus on the foundational messages from families, media, education, and peers that contribute to constructing a worldview that can lead to violence. It will highlight the cycle that reinforces societal norms and values that must be challenged.
This presentation will outline the complicated coercion and control Middle Eastern survivors experience navigating intimate partner violence and honor-based violence and recommendations for including cultural consideration in individual and systems level responses.
Learning objectives:
Participants will:
- Increase awareness of layered survivor experiences of intimate partner violence and honor-based violence.
- Increase knowledge of safety strategies for engaging with survivors experiencing honor-based violence
This session will offer a comprehensive look at all types of intimate partner violence as well as a discussion of power and control.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will gain a better understanding of gaslighting and how this tool is used by abusers to control their victims.
- Participants will explore possible reasons why victims remain in abusive situations and why leaving is not as simple as some believe it to be.
Other than a criminal prosecution for a domestic violence crime, how can survivors use the court system to protect their safety and to hold abusers accountable? In this presentation, Kate Cherney, J.D., will explain how the State Courts evaluate “domestic abuse” to qualify for a domestic abuse protection order (DAPO) as compared to the Court’s more comprehensive understanding of domestic intimate partner abuse (DIPA) when determining child custody under the Nebraska Parenting Act. Additionally, Ms. Cherney will discuss less commonly used civil lawsuits available to sue abusers for money damages, including for assault and battery, human trafficking, and unauthorized disclosure of intimate images.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will learn how a survivor qualifies for a domestic abuse protection order and what protections are available when a protection order is granted;
- Participants will learn how the court considers domestic intimate partner abuse in child custody cases and safeguards available to survivors through court-ordered parenting plans;
- Participants will recognize other forms of abuse for which a survivor may be able to sue for damages.
This session will explore the intersection of homelessness and domestic violence, as well as resources available to survivors.
Learning Objectives:
- Explore the intersection of homelessness and domestic violence, understanding its impact on survivors.
- Examine the approach taken by the Women’s Center for Advancement in connecting survivors to housing solutions.
- Provide tools and resources to aid survivors in the metro and surrounding areas in securing safe and stable housing.
Keynote presented by Amanda Lyon
This session will focus on the dynamics and effects of historical trauma, cultural abuse, and intimate partner violence against Native Americans and tribal communities, as well as offering best practices recommendations for working with Native American survivors.
Objectives:
By the end of the training, participants will learn:
- Dynamics and presentation of trauma and its related symptomology (psychological, physiological, and historical trauma).
- Common avenues for trauma that affect Native American populations, especially regarding crime victimization.
- Techniques and best practices for assisting Native survivors of trauma from a trauma-informed, survivor-centered, culturally relevant perspective.
This training provides a dive into the multifaceted effects of domestic violence on children, aiming to equip professionals with the knowledge and tools necessary to support and intervene effectively. The training begins by exploring the various forms of domestic violence, including physical, emotional, and psychological abuse, emphasizing the pervasive nature of this issue across different socio-economic backgrounds. In addition, the program addresses common myths and misconceptions surrounding domestic violence, such as the belief that it only occurs in certain demographics or that it is a private matter best left unaddressed. By debunking these myths, participants are better equipped to challenge societal attitudes and implement effective prevention and intervention strategies.
Ultimately, the training aims to empower participants to become advocates for children affected by domestic violence, fostering a collaborative network of professionals committed to breaking the cycle of abuse and creating safer environments for vulnerable youth.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the definition of domestic violence and cycles of abuse.
- Discuss commonly held myths about domestic violence.
- Learn how domestic violence can impact children.
- Learn resources to promote children’s protective factors and resilience.
A thriving organization is created and sustained by thriving employees. This workshop will offer tangible ways to create a thriving organizational culture which: honors the needs of each employee, including those with marginalized identities; proactively works to prevent burnout; and lives out your mission.
Learning Objectives:
- Participants will gain a better understanding of how to develop work culture that supports all employees, including marginalized identities.
- Participants will explore ways to be proactive in preventing burnout.
As helping professionals, sometimes it is hard to figure out how to leave work at work and maintain health boundaries with clients. In this training, we will explore how to identify when you are experiencing secondary trauma, personal boundary setting while remaining present in the moment with your clients and reducing burnout.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the importance of setting empathetic boundaries with clients
- Learn strategies for empathetic professional detachment to manage secondary trauma
- Identify personal values and beliefs that impact your work with those in IPV relationships.
In this interactive session, we delve deeper into improving our responses to mental health and substance use coercion. Through an examination of case scenarios, we aim to equip participants with the tools and knowledge necessary to navigate these complex situations with sensitivity and compassion. We will also explore safe conversations, safety planning, and referral strategies prioritizing empowerment and well-being. Join us to strengthen your approach to supporting survivors and families experiencing coercion related to mental health and substance use.
Learning objectives:
- Analyze case scenarios to build skills for responding to mental health and substance use coercion.
- Develop strategies for having safe conversations and safety planning when mental health or substance use coercion is present.
- Identify empowering referral options and approaches that prioritize survivor well-being.