Specialized psychological care for women victims and / or survivors of violence in the “Unidad Delegación de la Mujer del Instituto Nacional de las Mujeres

Abstract

Violence against women is a violation of human rights with a major impact on public health. In commitment to international conventions on women's human rights, in Costa Rica the Instituto Nacional de las Mujeres was created, to which the Unidad Delegación de la Mujer belongs as specialized care unit for women victims and/or survivors of violence. However, it has a reduced staff due to the high demand for care; therefore, the objective was to provide greater human resources to this service through specialized psychological care, from a human rights-based and gender sensitive approach. The work that was carried out was individual psychological care, brief group interventions to women waiting in the waiting room, and group therapeutic care. In addition to role care (which is the initial assessment of women seeking first time care in the service), planning and implementing psychoeducational workshops, and participating in an interview with a victim of human trafficking.