Work with Survivor's Children

230 children accessed individual & group services at Swayam in 2019 – 20 

Children are the hidden victims of violence and need support to address the impact of the violence they witness/face in their homes to deal with any resulting physical and mental trauma.

Witnessing or experiencing domestic violence may result in children experiencing feelings or anxiety, stress, fear, shame and guilt, which may lead to behaviours such as self-harm, stammering, bed-wetting, performing poorly at school or dropping out of school all together.

Swayam aims to resolve these issues by providing the following individual services:

• One to One Counselling – available for all ages with and without the mother, providing space for the child to understand certain behaviours and responses and deal with the s of domestic violence
• Play Therapy – for children aged 4 to 10 years of age, used as a means of helping children express or communicate their feelings.
• Educational Aid - we provide limited financial support for education.

• Referrals for Vocational Training for adolescents

And our group activities include:

• Support Groups – these are based on the child’s age – the ‘play and child’ group and the ‘adolescent and young adult’ group. Support groups may discuss issues ranging from domestic violence, child sexual abuse, health and hygiene, anger management to group bonding.
• Workshops - on parent/child relationships, problems faced during adolescence, gender, sexuality and other issues. Inter-generational workshops and outstation workshops are also led by Swayam.
• Summer Camps – these provide a fun space to explore more ideas and topics, for example, addressing age-specific stressors and discussing self-sufficiency.

Picnics

“My 4 year old girl used to not speak at all and constantly clung to me. Thanks to the play therapy she is now talkative and quite independent” - Sriya