title: Safety conferencing: toward a coordinated and inclusive response to safeguard women and children.
abstract: To reach out to women from different backgrounds, the battered women's movement needs to place women and their informal supports at the center of a coordinated response. This article shares the views of domestic violence survivors, staff, and supporters on how to create such a coordinated and inclusive response, lays a conceptual foundation for a decision-making forum called safety conferencing, and sets forth guidance for its practice. Safety conferencing is proposed as one means of building the individual and collective strength to reshape connections, make sound choices, and promote the safety of women and children from diverse cultures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Work, North Carolina State University, USA.
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pennell
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Francis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018585:Battered Women / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002669:Child Welfare; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D033262:Narration; D012449:Safety; D012944:Social Support; D012947:Social Work / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014481:United States; D016387:Women's Health; D014932:Women's Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration