This is a very interesting discussion. I wonder if there is any research on the impact of economic/political initiatives for victims of domestic violence (I'm sure there is and I would appreciate any info on where I can access these); and how do the findings of these compare with the low impact of the counselling for abusers/men programs. At the same time, it is also known that women who are economically independent/educated etc. will put up with abuse. The important ingredient, it appears, is self-esteem and confidence per se, and not only self-esteem that is linked to earning power. Unfortunately, it is difficult to find support for programs that work specifically on this aspect i.e emotional health of women. I volunteer with an NGO that is doing just this, and know for a fact that donors do not find it easy to accept this rationale. As someone mentioned in an earlier message, there seems to be a rush towards appearing 'men-friendly' and supporting gender projects for men and women (as if the women specific projects/programs are necessarily unfriendly to men!).
As one outcome of this discussion I would certainly like to suggest as a recommendation that support/resources should not lose their focus on the victims of DV; this does not imply that initiatives to work at societal level or with men should stop. Yasmin Zaidi Social Dev./ Gender Consultant Pakistan E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***End-violence is sponsored by UNIFEM and receives generous support from ICAP*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe end-violence OR type: unsubscribe end-violence Archives of previous End-violence messages can be found at: http://www.edc.org/GLG/end-violence/hypermail/
