Social work interventions in disasters have focused on the variety of ways that such events affect individuals, families, organizations and communities. Areas of concern have included traumatic stress, resources for disadvantaged and vulnerable populations and coordination of various intervention systems (Zakour, 1996). Disaster practice is arguably a reflection of the mission of social work itself (Zakour, 1996). A core and often neglected element of disaster recovery has been the rebuilding and community development phase. A review of the literature showed that social work has been less involved in this phase than in traumatic stress intervention and the coordination of relief efforts.Research shows that low-income and marginalized communities are likely to suffer a downward spiral of deterioration after a disaster (Morrow and Peacock, 1997). Sundet and Mermelstein (1996) analyzed the association between community characteristics before a disaster and the survival or failure after disaster of eight communities that experienced the Midwestern flood of 1993 in the USA. They found that high poverty rates in communities were associated with the failure to survive. Scholarly work on disasters in the Philippines, Turkey and other countries demonstrate similar results
Drawing on data from a study conducted in Wyoming about the community response to domestic violence, this article focuses on an unanticipated finding: how religion is paradoxically both a source of assistance and a barrier to women surviving domestic violence. The results indicate that although religious institutions are a resource for emotional comfort and provide practical assistance, they may also perpetuate silence. The article concludes that many religious communities are not adequately equipped to respond to the problem of domestic violence in a way that is safe for women. Implications for social work, particularly for recent faith-based initiatives, are discussed.
The authors offer three narratives of women survivors who are engaged in organizing around issues of gender-based violence. Common themes include experiences of the cycle of violence, a wide range of control tactics used by abusers, the difficulties of breaking free, economic injustice, the complexities that children bring to leaving, and multiple barriers in community and public services, particularly for low-income and immigrant women. The narratives also demonstrate how the survivors found their voices and stand in solidarity with other survivors. The stories are analyzed from a policy perspective using a capabilities lens.
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