The "CORRADO E BRUNO MARIA ZAINI" FOUNDATION supports the "Piccoli ospiti" (small guests) project of the "CASA DELLE DONNE per non subire violenza" (Centre for Women against domestic violence). It is an ONLUS (a non-Profit Making Social Help Organisation).
THE ASSOCIATION
The "Casa delle Donne per non subire violenza" is an association that is aimed at highlighting the ill-treatment and violence against women and minors inside and outside the family and offering tangible support to women and their children who find themselves in difficulty.
It has been active since 1990 in Bologna and the surrounding areas and works in conjunction with the Municipality of Bologna and the 43 Municipalities in the Province of Bologna. Since 2001 the Association has been registered as an ONLUS (a non-profit Social Help Organization). The continuity and quality of the service offered over more than twenty years of work in the field place it quite firmly among the organizations operating in the social economy sector, as is also demonstrated by its juridical nature.
The "Casa delle Donne per non subire violenza" offers a competent and qualified support and reception service for women and their children who turn to it for ill-treatment, sexual violence and forced prostitution.
THE PROJECT
The "Piccoli Ospiti" project is aimed at children and adolescents who, together with their mothers, apply to the "Casa delle donne" association, in order not to suffer further violence.
The idea is to offer the women who are received, and the women and children who are guests at the shelters, the opportunity to benefit from the support and educational pathways.
The hospitality facilities managed by the association contemplate the protection of mothers and children in situations of violence and social difficulty. In only one year, around 50 children are housed together with their mothers.
Based on the experience accumulated over the years of activity of the "Casa delle Donne", it has been noted how fundamental it is for the minors and their mothers (given the complexity of the situation from which they come and the changes they experience) to be able to have the opportunity to experiment with positive relational experiences which favor the expression of their emotional states.
Working with women who have been victims of violence is generally very complex and carefully structured and requires the involvement of various professional people. When these women are also mothers, the damage that the violence and severe difficulty may cause to the relational abilities and care which the children need during their development needs to be considered.
Domestic violence causes trauma both to the women who experience it and the children who live with it inside the family. Only by recognizing the trauma caused by violence to women and children can we design and organize effective treatments for recovery and help.
When the mothers and children find themselves outside the violent setting, in a protected situation, they need to be supported and helped to overcome the harm experienced emotionally and psychologically and in their relational abilities.
Experiencing situations of violence leads to women having difficulty carving out their own space for reflection about their role as mothers, the bond with their child, the needs that the children display, and the meaning and responses to give, considering what is happening in their own lives.
The project is intended to supply pathways of care and support to the women and their children, who are trying to escape from violent situations.
Through individual and group therapeutic sessions, it is intended to supply support directed at mothers in their daily lives and psychological-educational support to minors.
The support to the mothers enables them to take back their lives and fulfill their potential and responsibilities as parents which have been damaged by the violence. This has an effect on the bond of protection and care with the child and allows the child to be looked after through methods that are suitable to their developmental needs.
The psychological-educational support to minors is targeted at the emotional, affective, and relational consequences of the violence experienced in the family.
Person responsible for the Project:
Dr. Silvia Carboni (Psychologist, Psychotherapist)