I think a few different questionnaires would serve this study best. We need to reach a number of different groups of people, to get a large scope of ideas and feedback.
--Questionnaire for shelter workers
-This would be a questionnaire for those who are currently working with victims of DV. What do these volunteers think would be helpful for the women they help? Are there library resources that they feel would be useful? Can they see using the library as a neutral space for meetings, or in other ways?
--Questionnaire/interviews of victims/survivors
-I would like to reach out to survivors of DV, as well as women who are in the midst of escaping such situations. Ideally this would be done with anonymous questionnaires to be distributed at shelters, but would be supplemented by interviews. Questions would focus around what these women feel would be helpful to someone getting out of a DV situation--what resources they wished they had had/been aware of, would they have used the library if they had felt this was an area of help/resource
--Questionnaire of library staff
-How open are library staff to incorporating this kind of help into their library? Are there additional personnel issues (increased security, etc) or concerns? What kind of education or training would need to take place? How aware are they of their existing resources, and how to repurpose those resources for DV victims?
Thursday, October 30, 2014
What can libraries do in the field of domestic violence?
The trend in libraries now is to move more towards being a community center. Many are looking at adding social workers to help with needs from the community. But these needs typically focus on issues such as homelessness. While a worthy need, I wonder if we couldn't use the library as a neutral place where women could feel safe gathering resources and meeting people who can help them.
A woman might feel intimidated going to a shelter or police station, or may not understand the legal options that she has for protection. But if she could meet with an off-duty police officer at the library, or with a social worker, or a shelter worker, she might feel safer. Plus, saying that she's going to the library wouldn't be a lie, and wouldn't be likely to raise the suspicions of her abuser. And in today's tech-heavy age, many abusers are using things like tracking their victim's GPS to keep tabs on them.
I'm shifting the focus of my research proposal (or rather, narrowing it down) to ask what role libraries can play to help improve the situations for at-risk individuals. Libraries are already set up to help with job hunts--perhaps we could assist at-risk individuals in not just job hunts, but looking for apartments or transitioning from shelters to regular life. People may need to move to a new area to be safe, and may need to do research on prospects in that area to make the move.
The trend in libraries now is to move more towards being a community center. Many are looking at adding social workers to help with needs from the community. But these needs typically focus on issues such as homelessness. While a worthy need, I wonder if we couldn't use the library as a neutral place where women could feel safe gathering resources and meeting people who can help them.
A woman might feel intimidated going to a shelter or police station, or may not understand the legal options that she has for protection. But if she could meet with an off-duty police officer at the library, or with a social worker, or a shelter worker, she might feel safer. Plus, saying that she's going to the library wouldn't be a lie, and wouldn't be likely to raise the suspicions of her abuser. And in today's tech-heavy age, many abusers are using things like tracking their victim's GPS to keep tabs on them.
I'm shifting the focus of my research proposal (or rather, narrowing it down) to ask what role libraries can play to help improve the situations for at-risk individuals. Libraries are already set up to help with job hunts--perhaps we could assist at-risk individuals in not just job hunts, but looking for apartments or transitioning from shelters to regular life. People may need to move to a new area to be safe, and may need to do research on prospects in that area to make the move.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)