Employment 'essential' to break cycle of poverty

Seventy-nine per cent of one-parent households were headed by women, Social Policy Minister Lawrence Gonzi said yesterday.

Over a quarter of these had children under the age of 18.

Speaking during the awarding of certificates in connection with a training programme on domestic violence organised by Appogg and funded through the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation, the minister said that only 14 per cent of single parent households were engaged in gainful employment.

Breaking the cycle of poverty depended very much on employment and this needed to take high priority when devising a care plan.

The training programme was addressed by Dr Arlene Vetere, chartered consultant clinical psychologist and family therapist, and Dr Jan Cooper, a family therapist.

The two are co-directors of Reading Safer Families, an organisation specialising in working with families where violence is of concern, by providing specialist risk assessment and therapy for family rehabilitation and reunification in the aftermath of violence or where violent behaviour is suspected.

Dr Cooper and Dr Vetere said domestic violence was a worldwide problem. The World Health Organisation identified domestic violence as a public health priority for members of the United Nations.

The training programme brings together multi-disciplinary personnel including magistrates, police officers, social workers, psychologists, shelter staff, psychotherapists and representatives from the voluntary sector. It aims to assist participants in their commitment to working with survivors and perpetrators of domestic violence.

Appogg chief executive Joe Gerada said the workload at the agency's new shelter Ghabex increased by 36 per cent last year.

The shelter caters for some 15 people although it often takes more.

Mr Gerada said it was important to clear the backlog of cases before the court, to ensure abusers could not gain access to their families. He said social workers who worked with victims of domestic violence saw their work increase by 40 per cent in the past three years.

At the same time, 100 men had enrolled for a special "anger management programme for perpetrators of domestic violence".

Mr Gerada said the agency welcomed referrals of men who needed training in anger management and appealed to the courts to use this facility.

He said the agency was now working on the setting up of a group therapy programme for children who witnessed domestic violence.