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UCL academics partner creation of mental health resource for female survivors of domestic violence
15 November 2023
Online training and support package GARiMA designed to equip mental health workers with tools to help survivors of domestic violence.
Online training and support package GARiMA is aimed at counsellors who meet with survivors of violence against women.
GARiMA was developed in India as part of the NIHR Global Health Research Group on a package of care for the mental health of survivors of violence in South Asia, led by Prof Delan Devakumar at UCL’s Institute for Global Health.
The mental health resource has been developed to equip counsellors, social workers and mental health professionals in public institutions or non-government organisations with the training and knowledge to help survivors of domestic violence.
GARiMA has been developed in two versions. The first addresses the mental health needs of survivors of intimate partner or domestic violence, the second addresses the mental health needs of survivors of human trafficking in sex work. Both versions are available in English, Hindi and Marathi, with plans for more translations.
The resource has been designed to support people who identify as women, regardless of sexuality, disability, class or caste, occupation, religion, or politics.
GARiMA was co-produced with specialists and NGOs and has seen great enrolment numbers in both face-to-face and online training.
The research group comprises colleagues in Afghanistan, India, Sri Lanka and the UK, including IGH academic researchers Dr Ayesha Ahmad, Dr Ligia Kiss, Prof Jenevieve Mannell, Prof David Osrin and Dr Alexis Palfreyman.
Over four years, the transdisciplinary group reviewed the literature, collected qualitative and quantitative data, developed and discussed iterations of the package with survivors, service providers and experts, and tested it for feasibility amongst a range of organisations and individuals, with positive feedback.
GARiMA was developed at SNEHA in Mumbai, where the team led by Dr Nayreen Daruwalla conceived the idea of a resource that would be freely available on the web and take the place of a printed manual. People would be able to access bite-sized chunks of information, move easily between them, look at pictures and watch videos, and look things up when they arose in the course of their work. The content and flow of GARiMA were developed by Nayreen Daruwalla, Rukmini Datta, Prarthana Lohia, Eaishwarya Natekar, David Osrin and Krishna Panchal. The user experience was designed by Siriti and implemented by koloursyncc and Benchkart. Apoorwa Gupta and Aishee Bhattacharjee worked on translation, adaptation, and training.
Individuals or groups interested in training or translating GARiMA should contact the team at mentalhealthmatters@snehamumbai.org.