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Sharing Personal Experience, Strength and Hope

The handout “Women Talk About Substance Abuse and Violence” is based on a series of interviews with 10 women. All 10 had experienced some form of abuse: battering, rape or sexual assault, incest or child sexual abuse. In addition to the violence, all of them had experience with alcohol or drug abuse, either on their own part, on the part of their partner, or both. At the time of the interviews, all of the women had left their abusive relationships, and those with chemical dependency problems were in recovery. They talked frankly about the impact of the substance abuse on their efforts to escape the violence and heal from abuse. They also discussed how their experiences with violence affected their efforts to recover from alcoholism or other drug addiction. Ask participants to take turns reading the parts aloud. Pause between questions on the handout for comments from participants. This particular exercise usually elicits a strong response from participants because they identify with other women who have “been there.”

Handout

Women Talk About Substance Abuse and Violence

Getting Safe and Sober: Real Tools You Can Use
©Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault 2005

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