Self-care guide for professionals working in the field of gender violence

Professionals working in the field of gender-based violence are exposed and exposed to a greater probability of suffering burnout or professional exhaustion, something that, without a doubt, from the perspective of occupational risk prevention is an issue to be considered.

The first step for this is to be able to empirically verify that these effects occur, that they are verifiable. In this way we are not only recognizing the value of a profession and the hardness that its performance entails, but we are also in a position to look after the workers by offering, on the one hand, the ability to detect these pernicious effects, and on the other hand, possible tools for self-care training, as a way of facing and mitigating the effects that working with victims of gender violence can have on their physical, mental and social health.

In this Guide, we have collected some of the main variables related to well-being, extracted from both quantitative and qualitative research, to make professionals aware that they are not the only ones who experience such feelings and symptoms, know how to identify and address them, and thus be able to improve personally and in turn, their intervention with victims. Through this practice of self-care, the professional will improve his or her well-being and quality of life, interpersonal relationships, promote personal fulfillment by giving meaning to the work he or she does, increasing job satisfaction, as well as improving the care provided. We hope it will be useful.

The VIGIA Association (Gender Violence, Intervention and Counseling) chaired by Francisca Expósito, is a non-profit association formed by a group of professionals who combine their teaching work with research and intervention in issues related to gender, being gender violence one of the most relevant issues because of the consequences it generates. Our maxim is to try to offer society the results of the research we develop, in order to contribute our grain of sand to the understanding of processes such as discrimination and violence, and to intervene in their prevention at primary, secondary and tertiary level.

Editorial: UNIVERSIDAD DE GRANADA

Year: 2022

ISBN: 978-84-338-6965-4