Warrina Domestic & Family Violence Specialist Services has been running Shark Cage group programs for women in Coffs Harbour for the past five years. We run about four groups a year due to the consistent interest and demand. The Shark Cage Framework empowers women through educating them on their Human Rights, equipping them with skills to assert themselves, set boundaries and build their sense of self-worth.
These groups have been a wonderful resource for women in our community to access support on their healing journey after experiencing domestic violence repeatedly in their lives. The groups are supportive and run by our trained staff members over 8 weeks. In Coffs Harbour we have very high statistics for domestic violence. This is a problem in our community. The COVID-19 pandemic left our beautiful regional city socially isolated and disconnected. In the wake of this disaster, Warrina continues to support the women of our community in many ways, including group programs, such as Shark Cage.
We continue to receive positive feedback about the Shark Cage groups from participants who have attended and from women in the community that have heard through word-of-mouth how beneficial these groups are. We are continuing to grow the number of participants we receive each term and are planning to extend our groups to surrounding suburbs in the future, including Nambucca, Bellingen, Dorrigo and Woolgoolga.
Jacq
Crisis Intervention Worker
