Feminist Counselling and Domestic Violence in India

Mainstream counselling in domestic violence often fails to address critical issues, such as gender socialisation processes and the abuse of power that allows violence against women, and focuses primarily on the intra-psychic nature of individual women. In contrast, feminist counselling is an effective alternative model, owing to its ability to address the fundamental correlation of abuse with power. In going beyond the individual, it helps women locate the source of their distress in the larger social context of power and control, manifesting in intimate, interpersonal relationships, and enables them to resist systemic oppression. This volume offers one of the first systematic documentations of feminist psychosocial interventions in India. It situates the issue of domestic violence in the historical context of the women’s movement, and examines institutional factors such as family and marriage that perpetuate abuse. Using extensive case studies, it discusses the methods, principles, techniques, skills and procedures followed by feminist organisations across the country, and their role in women’s empowerment. The book will serve as a practical reference guide to practitioners such as social workers, counsellors and para-counsellors, health activists, grassroots workers, protection officers and service providers. It will also be useful to scholars and students of psychology, sociology, women’s studies, law and public policy.

Table of Contents:
List of Figures. List of Abbreviations. Glossary. Foreword. Preface. Acknowledgements. Introduction. Part I. Need for Feminist Practice in Domestic Violence Counselling 1. The Spirit of Resistance Aruna Burte 2. Why Feminism Should Inform Our Routine Interventions in Domestic Violence Manisha Gupte. Part II. Feminist Practice Models in Domestic Violence Counselling 3. Feminist Counselling for Domestic Violence: Some Issues of Theory and Practice U. Vindhya 4. Feminist Domestic Violence Interventions in India Sangeeta Rege and Aarthi Chandrasekhar 5. Healing from Violence: Integrating Feminism and Psychotherapy Aparna Joshi. Part III. Emerging Issues from Current Feminist Counselling Practice 6. Dynamics of Power in Counselling Relationships: Field Experiences Sangeeta Rege 7. Recognising the Social Weave for Effective Counselling Aruna Burte 8. Negotiating with Community-based Groups and Structures from a Feminist Perspective Ramesh Awasthi. Part IV. Need for Setting Standards for Feminist Counselling Practice 9. Enhancing the Quality of Feminist Counselling Radhika Chandiramani 10. Evolving Guidelines for Running a Crisis Counselling Centre Padma Bhate-Deosthali. Epilogue. About the Editors. Notes on Contributors. Index