1. Defining a Woman Centered Approach May 20, 2008
Back to Basics
Defining a Woman Centered Approach
May 20, 2008

2. Back to Basics A Look at Our Services Women centered
Empowering/Disempowering practices
Feminist perspective

3. Empowerment
Empowerment comes from within: we cannot empower another person other than ourselves.
Definitions:
Equipping oneself with the knowledge, skills and resources in order to change and improve the quality of your own life.
Having the right to make one’s own decisions, uncoerced and the ability to act on them.

4. Autonomy/Independence
Cannot feel empowered without feeling independent.
5 aspects to autonomy/independence:
Knowledge*
Decision-making
Physical
Emotional
economic/self-reliance*
Jejeebhoy 1996

5. Self-Efficacy
Reduces the trauma reaction experienced by people who were victimized.
Women who believe in their living skills= more likely to leave abusive relationship.
The faith in ourselves and our skills greatly affects our coping behaviours.
Self-efficacy is integral to behaviour change.

6. Empowerment Revisited
To help someone become
empowered, build:
Autonomy
Self-efficacy
“Empowerment is the expansion
of freedom of choice and action.”
“…an increase in personal power.”

9. Women Centered Approach
System
Services
Woman

10. Woman Centered Approach
Feminist: recognize that historically women have been controlled by a patriarchal system of others telling them what to do.
***We do not want to duplicate this.
Women need to be the centre of the solution/intervention so that the help is tailored to their needs.

11. What can you do?

12. Questions?
Thank you.