The shark cage (adult females)

TRAUMA INFORMED 5 STEP PROGRAM - 8 weeks

This evidence based program is one of many that is out there for people who have experienced domestic violence and/or sexual abuse and may need some education and information to help them understand how to strengthen the bars in their own "shark cages",

For some of us, our lives have not ever been touched by experiences of abuse and we may have trouble understanding such things as to why victims stay, asking questions such as "so why don't they just leave?"... but it's like the analogy of placing the frog into cold water and turning the heat up gradually - the frog doesnt realise its being cooked.. its the same as victims of domestic violence, it rarely happens instantly. The water the victim is in is heating up very gradually over a long period of time (or not) and they are at a loss to understand why their partner, who was so loving to begin with is now so hard to please that they try harder to do things right and fail each and every time, hence the cycle of violence is now in play.

Sadly, many victims take on board the negative impacts from their experience & blame themselves saying things like "what is it about me that attracts these abusive partners". Victims need to understand that it was never anything they did or didn't do - I for one now have a very clear understanding from my own experiences that this is the absolute truth, it was never anything I said, did or didnt do that landed me in the relationships I was in. It was just that my own personal "Shark Cage" wasnt built strong enough to keep the "Sharks" out and so they were able to get in and take big chunks with each attack and it wasnt until family and friends noticed that I was changing and I got to a place where mentally I was unable to take any more of the abuse towards me and my children that I felt supported and brave enough to leave 🦈🦈🦈

• This program helps participants to gain the knowledge that we are all constantly surrounded by "Sharks" in our everyday life, and we need to be able to identify them so that we can reduce the likelihood of being involved in unhealthy relationships - we may still engage with them whilst doing this work but we will be able to identify them sooner and exercise our human rights to stay safe, and move away from them in order to regain our peace and happiness.

• The Shark Cage Program is a trauma informed 5 step program of interventions designed to heal and empower women, girls and men who have experienced repeated abuse such as family violence or sexual assault.

• The group draws on a human rights approach in assisting women and girls to develop or regain a sense of their right.

• This group will give you tools and the knowledge to identify what bars you need to strengthen in your own shark cage so you feel empowered to navigate your way around unhealthy/toxic relationships and ensure you remain safe and decrease the likelihood of further risk of abuse.