Social Intervention That Facilitates Recovery from Gender-Based Violence: Dialogic Reconstruction of Memory

Abstract

Services for victims of gender-based violence are an interdisciplinary work space where the recovery of women and, thus, preventing their social exclusion are among the main objectives. Although previous scientific literature provides some indicators of the social impact of these services, that is, the improvements in the lives of these women, and allow them to advance in their recovery, it is necessary to deepen and broaden this knowledge. One of the objectives of the SOLNET R&D research was to more comprehensively identify the indicators of the social impact of these interventions. This objective was achieved by carrying out 8 case studies and a total of 56 interviews—32 of which involved women who were victims of violence—in third-sector organisations that tend to women victims in 7 different regions of Spain. The results of our research show that the dialogical reconstruction of the memory of violence contributes to overcoming one of the main barriers to women’s recovery: emotional dependency. To achieve this impact, the dialogic reconstruction of memory should focus on changing the image these women have of the abuser and the conceptions of love associated with violence. These results have important implications for the design and evaluation of interventions carried out in services for women victims of gender-based violence. The application of these results can help these women successfully leave the situation of violence and build a violence-free future.