Sample Summary:

Sample 1

Presentation title: In the Aftermath of Violence: The Use of Facilitated Dialogues Between Victims and Their Transgressors Main Points:

1) The Restorative Justice and Retributive Justice approach the resolution of trauma/violence/crime in quite different fashions. The Restorative Justice approach is victim-centered and victim-sensitive.
2) Victim-Offender Dialogues in cases of Severe Violence (VOD-SV) is an intervention that allows for a direct human encounter between a victim and offender in an effort to bring about further healing fort eh victim and greater accountability in the offender.
3) The history of the VOD-SV intervention is fascinating and not without its controversies. It has been adopted as an intervention in over 15 states now and is steadily moving from the margins to the mainstream.
4) The people who engage in this intervention have incredible stories of survival and healing. The presenter has facilitated dialogues for and collaborated in research with numerous such people. Five of the families have allowed the presenter to write about/present their case studies for educational purposes.
5) As the intervention grows and becomes more widely available, there are practice issues that need to be addressed. These will be discussed as well.

Relevance to Attendees: Attendees are presumed to be interested in interventions for people in the aftermath of severe interpersonal violence and trauma.

Intended Audience: Anyone working with victims/survivors or victims/survivors exploring other possibilities to further their own healing.

How Session is Unique From Other Topics that Might Address the Same Topic: Presenter personally conducts the intervention and has researched/published on this topic.

Sample 2

Building multi-cultural proficiency with and within an organization that addresses domestic violence issues is essential. This is based on three multi-cultural realities; (1) The increasing non-majority multi-cultural make-up of communities; (2) The diverse employee make-up that is finding its way into the field of domestic violence and; (3) More organizations recognizing the need to provide more accessible services to people from non-majority cultural groups. There are three essential levels of focus to address these multi-cultural realities. First is that of the overall organization, the system itself, it’s services, processes, policies, practices and procedures and how it is set up to reduce, prevent or eliminate family violence. Second, when attempting to increase the accessibility of the services being provided for its intended program participants or clients it is important to assess the services as to what degree they are relevant for non-majority cultural groups. Third, attention must be given to the employees of the organization. Staff from non-majority community groups should be given opportunities to contribute to the organization in which they work from their combined professional and cultural experience. In addition, information and opportunities for all staff to develop and build their respective multicultural proficiency within their position is essential. This presentation will provide attendees a unique guide that helps them develop practical strategies to better address the concerns of people from cultures different from their own, especially as related to domestic violence.