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Our Model
A professional and passionate team working in a centre of excellence, dedicated to the healing and empowerment of survivors of sexual violence.
Empowerment
Rape Crisis Centres have developed a specialised therapeutic model for working with survivors of sexual violence called the empowerment model. We work with the empowerment model across all of our services. This is a holistic model which aims to facilitate a woman’s ability to take back choice and to develop trust in herself. At Rape Crisis South London, the women we support are identified as survivors of sexual violence. They have had a moment or many moments of victimisation at the hands of a perpetrator, but they have survived it and that is why they have decided to access the support of our specialist services.
The empowerment model facilitates survivors to take control of their own direction, connect with and access her own power, and trusts her to make the right decisions for herself.
Empowerment is about:
- Exploring options without providing direction.
- Valuing the essence of being a woman and the resources that that in itself brings.
- Believing that a woman can care for and nurture herself.
- Supporting her to draw on all resources available to her as a way to heal.
- Believing that she is the expert in her knowledge of herself.
We support this by:
- Demonstrating belief in survivors ability to know what is right for her.
- Helping set goals, focus and creating structure.
- Providing education/information and knowledge, sharing our information and tools.
- Supporting her find and develop other tools through us and others (so she can use the resources at hand).
We use the Empowerment Model by:
- Putting the survivor in touch with her own power, i.e. allowing her to identify the fact that she has choices and to decide on the choices she makes for her own life.
- Never telling a survivor what to do or advising – she is the expert of and on her life.
- Pointing out constructive actions and ideas and giving positive affirmations.