Network Analysis of saving Bernice

The purpose of this assignment is to encourage an understanding of the complex network in which victims of domestic violence exist. Throughout the duration of their abuse they come into contact with multiple family and peer groups, formal institutions of support and control, and community organizations. There are multiple points of contact by individuals and institutions in which interventions may help to minimize or stop the abuse just as there are points of contact that may sabotage the potential to escape violence. Understanding the complexity of these overlapping networks provides the foundation of determining what will work in reducing violence within families and their communities. It will move us beyond over simplistic solutions and toward effective interventions and change.

Assignment: Read, Saving Bernice: Battered Women, Welfare, and Poverty. Create a network map depicting how Bernice is enmeshed in formal and informal networks. Depict how each contact between Bernice and her various networks may be positive and/or negative. Which points of contact provide support and hope and which provide sabotage and despair? Depict the primary points in which interventions would be most effective and who would be responsible for intervening.