MS 3: Staff Care and Support: Combatting burnout and vicarious traumatization for GBV staff in the time of COVID

Effective GBV programming depends on putting together a dedicated staff[1]who have specialized knowledge, skills and attitudes. Working with GBV survivors can be particularly stressful and it is common for staff to experience everyday stress, cumulative stress, burnout, and critical incident stress. Vicarious/secondary trauma, typically a cumulative process that builds over time after prolonged exposure to other people’s suffering, is also a risk and may contribute to a deterioration of staff morale and increased turnover in the GBV staff.

In this minimum standard, it is recommended that GBV coordinators and managers should be aware of their staff’s stress levels, and establish routine mechanisms for acknowledging and supporting staff safety and well-being.

Over time,without appropriate support and supervision, GBV staff may begin to feel overwhelmed and tired, and may even feel hopeless and helpless. After the unprecedented past months managing the COVID-19 crisis and the “shadow pandemic” of Intimate Partner Violence, many GBV actors are feeling the strain.

Join us and hear how different GBV AOR member organizations are working to prevent vicarious trauma and burnout and support GBV staff. Learn what tools are out there and talk to experts to help you learn how to support teams in the field.

Date: Tuesday, December8, 2020

Time: 8h Chicago/9h NYC-Bogota/ 14h Dublin-London/15h Abuja-Geneva/16h Amman/ 17h Nairobi/ 19:30Delhi/20h Dhaka/ 21h Bangkok/ 22h Manila

Register: https://unicef.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_QN5CGx6-Qpq-oi7-d7pSqw

The webinar will be recorded and stored on the GBV AoRwebsite.