“FASA” project is a Strategic Partnership supporting innovation in the field of vocational Education & Training. It aims at Enhancing the Work-based skills of Social Care Practitioners in the field of Intimate Partnership Violence victim support, through Capacity Building on the topic of Treatment of Victims of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) with Substance Abuse problems. The project focuses on the creation of specialised training material & tools, to improve the work-based competences of social care professionals & to facilitate the implementation of innovative interventions based on the multi-agency approach. It addresses the necessity for the development & dissemination of comprehensive VET material (manual & course); as well as Online learning tools for practitioners, on victims support when working with victims of IPV with addiction. So far, despite the fact that there is significant correlation between IPV & substance (drugs, alcohol) abuse, the majority of support/treatment programmes operates on a separate level. It is not frequent for practitioners & volunteers to receive specialized training on addressing victims with addiction & there is no training material available that complies with ECVET principles & is openly accessible. FASA proposes the development of innovative tools to facilitate professionals apply substance abuse & victim support simultaneously, as problems of one multi-sided phenomenon. Through FASA training material & intervention methods as well as distant learning tools that will be relevant for organisations across Europe, will become available for free, online, in all project languages & English. The main aims of the project are: - Improve social care professionals’ work based skills; - Improve of the support services for women & children suffering from IPV through educational methods for professionals/volunteers; - Promote innovative & focused practices on victim support programs & substance abuse treatment; - Improve social care professionals’ skills in substance abuse treatment to early identify the violent behaviors &/or the risks of IPV; - Reinforce cooperation, exchanges & multi-agency collaboration between substance abuse & IPV organizations. FASA is lead by the Union of Women Associations of Heraklion Prefecture (UWAH) & brings together Civil Society Organisations engaged with victim support; Higher Education Institutions in the field of gender based violence & IPV; & VET provider experts.
FASA’s overall objective was to increase the Capacity of professionals working in the field of IPV, on the topic of supporting victims of IPV with PSU problems through the creation and dissemination of educational tools, which are relevant and replicable for all European societies. The main aims of the project can be summarised as follows: - Improvement of professionals’ work-based skills in victims’ support organisations; - Improvement of the support services for women and children suffering from IPV through practical educational methods for professionals/volunteers; - Promotion of innovative & focused practices on IPV and PSU treatment; - Improvement of social care professionals’ skills in PSU treatment to early identify the violent behaviours and/or the risks of IPV; - Reinforcement of cooperation, exchanges and multi-agency collaboration between PSU and IPV organisations. The overall objective of this project was to enhance the capacities and train IPV professionals (at partner countries and beyond) on the interaction of the phenomena of IPV and PSU, so as to maximise the efficacy of processes, but also to enhance the notion of collaboration.
“Free from Addiction, Safe from Abuse” (FASA) is a transnational strategic partnership that focused on increasing the capacity of victim support professionals, on the topic of co-existing Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and Problematic Substance Use (PSU). According to studies, women who have been abused by an intimate partner are more likely to use or become dependent on substances, as compared to women who have not experienced IPV. On the other hand, in studies of people who use or are dependent on substances, researchers have consistently found high rates of lifetime IPV. In terms of victim support, PSU issues should always be considered when making decisions about the safety of IPV victims. Although the correlation of IPV and PSU is indisputable; professionals in victim support are often not trained on how to support IPV victims with PSU and relevant material is not widely available. The FASA project addressed the need for freely available educational material on the topic, to facilitate professionals and improve the offered services for victims, including tools for the facilitation of the professionals in the field of PSU treatment on identifying IPV and responding to cases.