Wellbeing, care and kindness strategy
Doing research and activism to prevent and respond to – as well as analyze and describe – violence against women and violence against children can have an impact on the health and wellbeing of individuals and organizations working on these difficult and painful issues. This impact takes many different forms and labels – compassion fatigue, secondary trauma, vicarious trauma among other names.
In response to and care for this reality, SVRI Forum 2022 has developed a bio-psychosocial strategy to contribute to the well-being, care, and dignity of participants during the event, both at the individual and collective level.
Our multifaceted strategy incorporates activities for resting, connecting (and reconnecting) with the self and others, and fostering creativity. All are interconnected – aiming to address the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of conference participants, and include:
- Trauma sensitive yoga
- Dancing sessions
- Short chair-massage sessions
- Outdoor walks
- Silent refuges
- Emotional accompaniment sessions with specialized therapists
- Brave Room [1]
- Meditation sessions
- Arts-based activities
- Dialogue circles
- Restorative conversations
- Networking activities
These activities will be available from September 20-23, and are open to all Forum participants: speakers, participants, translators, Hotel staff, Forum service support staff and providers. They are provided in addition to the public spaces and activities offered to other Hotel guests.
We invite you to check out the calendar of activities and to pre-register through the Forum App. Please note, some activities are designed for smaller groups (and so will have size limit), so registration is required for these events.
For resources on researcher trauma and safety, click here.
[1] This space will be offered to participants for resting, reflection, relaxation and breathing when emotions feel overwhelming throughout the Forum conversations and discussions.
SVRI Forum 2022 wellbeing activities
The Covid-19 pandemic has generated atypical circumstances in which uncertainty and fear considerably reduce the bond with other people who, under normal conditions, would help us to overcome difficulties. These consequences accumulated over several months produce effects on the body/mind and on the emotions of human beings: stress, tension, anxiety, fear, uncertainty, and disconnection, among others. Besides this, the work in the field to prevent, research or reduce violence against women, children, or any other gender-based violence can also impact the body.
The stressors have impacts on individuals on the body, on the mind, on the emotions, as well as on behaviors and relationships. Our body might have entered into “survival” mode, blurring the sense of security and humanity shared with other people, making it more difficult for the body to relax, moderate its relationship with food and drugs, or regulate difficult emotions and return to balance. The feeling of calm and security is something that must first be felt in the body. When we are feeling the opposite, it seems difficult to imagine accessing a sense of calm and safety.
Body-centered (or somatic) approaches can positively change mental and emotional states. Whether due to confinement during the pandemic, or having lived through or witnessed a violent experience, or due to the accumulation of small doses of mental agitation or stress related to our jobs, the body accumulates tensions that sometimes become so heavy that the mind chooses not to recognize them, generating a disconnection between the body and the mind. When we do not recognize the sensations and needs of the body, it is more difficult to attend to them in time.
Through the practice of Yoga, mindfulness, dancing, arts-based activities, chair massages, restorative conversations, Dialogue Circles, and emotional support sessions, SVRI Forum 2022 participants are invited and encouraged to support balance in their physical, emotional, mental and relational wellbeing.
Schedule of Wellbeing activities
Time | Tuesday 20th | Wednesday 21st | Thursday 22nd | Friday 23rd |
6.30 am | Mindfulness
Venue: Mallorca 1 |
Mindfulness
Venue: Mallorca 1 |
Mindfulness
Venue: Mallorca 1 |
|
7:00 am | Trauma Sensitive Yoga
Venue: Mallorca 1 |
Trauma Sensitive Yoga
Venue: Mallorca 1 |
Trauma Sensitive Yoga
Venue: Mallorca 1 |
Trauma Sensitive Yoga
Venue: Mallorca 1 |
8:00 am | Dancing resilience
Venue: Tapies |
Dancing resilience
Venue: Tapies |
Dancing resilience
Venue: Tapies |
Dancing resilience
Venue: Tapies |
9:00 am | Wall of Hope
Venue: Hall near the main Conference room Foyer
Brave Room and Arts-based processing space available Venue: Tapies |
Wall of Hope
Venue: Hall near the main Conference room Foyer
Brave Room and Arts-based processing space available Venue: Tapies |
Wall of Hope
Venue: Hall near the main Conference room Foyer
Brave Room and Arts-based processing space available Venue: Tapies |
Wall of Hope
Venue: Hall near the main Conference room Foyer
Brave Room and Arts-based processing space available Venue: Tapies |
10:00 | Emotional support begins
Venue: TBC |
Emotional support begins
Venue: TBC |
Emotional support begins
Venue: TBC |
Talking circle 5: Self and Collective Care
Venue: Ribiera |
11:00 | Talking Circle 3: Power and Control in Research and Praxis in LMICs
Venue: Ribiera |
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11:30 | Talking Circle 1: Ethical Funding
Venue: Ribiera |
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12:00 | ||||
13:00 | 10 min massages avl for 1 hr
Venue: Hall near the main Conference room Foyer |
10 min massages avl for 1 hr
Venue: Hall near the main Conference room Foyer |
10 min massages avl for 1 hr
Venue: Hall near the main Conference room Foyer |
|
14:00 | Arts-based activity: Two worldsVenue: Tapies |
Arts-based activity: Tiny demonsVenue: Tapies |
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14:30 | Talking Circle 4: Accountability when Engaging Men in VAW Work
Venue: Ribiera |
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16:00 |
|
10 min massages avl for 1 hr
Venue: Hall near the main Conference room Foyer
|
10 min massages avl for 1 hr
Venue: Hall near the main Conference room Foyer |
|
16:30 | Talking Circle 2: Language on Justice and Kindness in the Field
Venue: Ribiera |
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18:00 | 10 min massages avl for 1 hr
Venue: Hall near the main Conference room Foyer |
Dancing resilience
Venue: Lanzarote 1, 2, 3
|
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19:00 | Restorative yoga
Venue: Ribiera
Dancing resilience Venue: Tapies |
Restorative yoga
Venue: Mallorca 1
Dancing resilience Venue: Tapies |
||
20:00 |