Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 146 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

For Survivors of Violence and Their Kids, a Push to Prioritize Housing

Claudia Boyd-Barrett

June 25, 2020 |

California Health Report |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, California

Since 2016, California's Domestic Violence Housing First program has grown to 65 organizations that give victims the financial help they need to stay housed after leaving an abusive spouse. Financial and housing instability are major reasons victims stay with their abusers, and domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness. The program spends more than $20 million per year, or an average of $3,000 per victim, to help them and their children with rent, moving costs, utilities, and other needs. Typical domestic violence shelters usually lack the resources to help victims move to permanent housing.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Dad school: How to be a better father

Lily Freeston

June 18, 2020 |

BBC |

Video |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: Rwanda

Fatherhood classes in Rwanda teach men to be better dads and husbands, challenging traditional gender roles. Topics include taking care of babies, resolving domestic conflicts, sharing household decisions, and explaining sexual violence within a marriage. Participants report gaining new understandings and changing their behavior. One study found men who completed the class were half as likely to commit violence towards their wife in the future. 1,700 men have completed the course since it started in 2014, just a small fraction of the population, but there are plans to scale the program countrywide.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Europe offers creative ways to fight domestic violence during Covid-19. Why not bring them to Philadelphia?

Roxanne Patel Shepelavy

June 09, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia’s domestic violence shelters filled during the pandemic, emergency funding ran dry, and officials offered victims little recourse if they were trapped at home with their abusers. These gaps in protection could be remedied by copying what has been done in Spain and France, where pharmacists were enlisted to turn coded language – a request for a particular kind of mask – into a call for help, and pop-up counseling centers at supermarkets and funding for emergency shelter and counseling organizations expanded to keep pace with a spike in incidents.

Read More
Go to Original Story
With Abuse Victims Trapped at Home, Detroit Moves Restraining Order System Online

Jennifer Mascia Katlyn Alo

May 29, 2020 |

The Trace |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

Domestic abuse risks are on the rise, at a time of social isolation, economic disruption, and gun-buying, and so Wayne County, Michigan, court officials responded to the closing of their courthouses by allowing people to seek orders of protection online. A replacement for an onerous, face-to-face process, the new e-filing system processed fewer applications in its first month than before the pandemic crisis, but at least preserved a steady flow of cases that enable victims to block their abusers from possessing guns. Victim advocates hope the new system expands access even after the courthouses reopen.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Not just another statistic

Janice Cantieri

May 06, 2020 |

National Observer |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Lekungen Traditional Territory, Canada, Victoria, British Columbia

The number of missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada is high, so a group of Indigenous women formed an organization called Power Our Women (POW) to teach other Indigenous women across the country self-defense skills. Participants talk about their cultures, learn physical self-defense, build confidence, and learn situational awareness. Participants describe the program as healing but difficult. POW has now reached more than 5,000 women across Canada, including remote areas in northern Manitoba.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Sweden's male-only supper clubs...for feminists

Maddy Savage

May 04, 2020 |

BBC |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Sweden

Private dinners for only men to discuss notions of feminism and toxic masculinity have been picking up in interest across Sweden. What started in earnest following a string of assaults against women in 2016 has now become more commonplace after the #MeToo movement. Male participants testify to how comforting it is to be able to talk these issues out amongst men and figure out the best ways to act with people that they don't know as well as their own group of friends. The program now has served thousands of men across Sweden and is also publishing online guides for anyone to set up similar conversations.

Read More
Go to Original Story
As courts close for the coronavirus, officials and advocates adjust to protect domestic violence victims

Vinny Vella

April 06, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Network) |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Stay-at-home orders keep us safe against the risk of infection, but for those suffering from domestic abuse they are no safe haven. The city of Philadelphia is working to let people know that services are still available despite the pandemic, although these services have had to adapt to the new circumstances. Some examples include special hotlines and FaceTime calls with judges for hearings. They also have a rotation of judges on call to deal with protection-from-abuse applications. There are also advocates and services outside the court system, like Philadelphia Legal Assistance.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Our Bodies, Our Wen-Do

Hanna Liubakova

March 30, 2020 |

Transitions Online |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Belarus

A Belarus women’s-empowerment support group using the Wen-Do method ends each session with the students breaking a piece of wood with a chop of their hand, a literal show of strength that communicates how defending against men’s harassment and physical attacks may require physical force as well as assertiveness. In Canada, where the method began, the training -- a mix of martial arts lessons and support-group dialog -- is associated with a 46% reduction in rape and 64% drop in attempted sexual assault.

Read More
Go to Original Story
This Tiny Louisiana Police Force Is a National Leader in Taking Guns From Abusers

Ann Givens

February 24, 2020 |

The Trace |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Thibodaux, Louisiana

Despite a strong gun-rights culture in the state, Louisiana law enforcement agencies use aggressive gun-confiscation laws and procedures to disarm domestic abusers as part of a wider array of protections for victims. Thanks to the work of one abuse survivor turned cop in the small south Louisiana parish of Lafourche, new laws and local-federal collaboration have spread statewide, making convicted abusers less likely to have ready access to a gun.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Case-By-Case, Gun-By-Gun: Denver Investigator Is Removing Firearms From Domestic Abusers

Leigh Paterson

February 23, 2020 |

KUNC |

Radio |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Denver, Colorado

The Denver, Colorado, district attorney’s office assigned an investigator to methodically search for signs that domestic abusers possessed prohibited guns, and then uses that information to take the guns away. Firearm prohibitions are required by federal law or through protective orders issued by courts. But enforcement in many places is spotty to nonexistent. By taking an active rather than passive approach to enforcement, the office has confiscated dozen of guns from people deemed a threat.

Read More
Go to Original Story