Thursday, 6 February 2014

Decision of a wife and daughter to stop being victims in an abusive environment within the family 


Case profile

Arati who has completed her MA and B.Ed. (name changed) hails from a middle class family comprising of her parents and two older brothers aged 30 and 28 respectively. Father is retired as a lecturer in college while the mother is a home maker; one of her brothers is pursuing his MA in English literature while the other is house bound due to being a victim of polio.  

Her brother has been unable to clear his MA due to negative peer influence, indulging in viewing porn and circulating sms related the same.  He is also intimidated by Arati and her academic performance and holds a certain grudge and revenge against her.  He begins to send her obscene images on her mobile and harasses her emotionally, at time making sexual advances.  The mother is aware of her torments and informs the father about it; he turns a deaf ear to their plight; both the women are emotionally abused.  

The counselor of Sakhya reinforces Arati’s coping mechanisms by helping her focus on her various resources; seek alternate accommodation, look for a job till the time that the abusive environment has scaled down.  The counselor seeks a joint meeting with the father; who initially expresses a lot of anger and resistance for being called on the phone.  However he agrees to meet the counselor.  After a joint meeting with the mother and the father; the counselor enables the parents to understand their roles to support their daughter and not to reinforce or support the abusive behavior of their son.  Arati continues to reside in the family is now working as a teacher; and the father has stopped her brother from entering the house and troubling the family in any way.



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