Social services comprise a range of services that are critical in supporting the rights, safety and wellbeing of women and girls experiencing violence.

2. Essential Social Services
 Social services comprise a range of services that are critical in
supporting the rights, safety and wellbeing of women and girls
experiencing violence.
 Manner in which services are provided has a significant impact on
its effectiveness.
- Are services women focused/survivor centered?
- Are the services provided with a culture of women’s
empowerment?
- Are services provided in a non-blaming, non-judgmental
manner?
- Do the service providers support women to consider the range
of choices available to them and support their decision?

3. PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The guidelines:
 designed to be a practical tool to assist countries to meet
their extensive international commitments to eliminate and
prevent violence.
 define the minimum requirements for a set of essential
social services that together provide a quality response.
The scope of these guidelines:
 The focus is primarily on the response to violence against
women after the violence has occurred and taking action
on the early signs of violence, or intervening to prevent the
reoccurrence of violence.

4. Key Terminology
 Essential services encompass a core set of services provided
by the health care, social services, police and justice sectors
which, at a minimum, secure the rights, safety and well
being of any woman who experiences violence.
 Social Services include services specifically focused on
victims/survivors of violence to assist their recovery from
violence, their empowerment and preventing the
reoccurrence of violence and, in some instances, work with
particular parts of society or the community to change the
attitudes and perceptions of violence.
 Social services sector may include government sectors, civil
society, community actors, or faith based organisations.

5. Essential Services and Actions: Social Services

6. Foundational Elements Specific to Essential Social
Services
Element Standards
Referral
pathways
- Protocols and agreements about referral process among
all sectors
- Clear procedures for information sharing and referral,
known by service providers and communicated clearly to
women and girls.
- Mechanisms for coordinating and monitoring the
effectiveness of referral processes
Risk
Assessment
and
Management
- Services regularly and consistently assess the individual
risks for each survivor using tools specifically developed for
responding to violence against women.
- Survivors seeking support receive an individualized support
plan that includes strategies for risk mitigation
- Services work with other sectors to coordinate risk
assessments and management approaches.

7. Foundational Elements Specific to Essential Social
Services
Element Standards
Workforce
development
- Staff and volunteers demonstrate an understanding of the
prevalence, nature and causes of VAW as well as ‘best
practice’ response to women experiencing violence
- Staff and volunteers receive ongoing training and
professional development
- Training programmes include modules on self care.
- Services provide a safe, supportive and respectful work
environment.
System
coordination
and
accountability
- Develop and regularly review protocols, MOUs and
agreements that clearly document roles and
responsibilities of each sector
- Create a collaborative and supportive system for all
sectors to work together

19. Discussion Questions
• Based on what you have heard in the Essential Social Services, do you
think the activities proposed in the second 5-year plan on National Plan of
Action on Prevention and Combatting of Violence against Women (2021-
2025) are sufficient?
• How does the plan address the needs of groups that are vulnerable or
marginalised such as women migrant workers, women in ethnic
minorities, women with disabilities, or LGBTI women?
• What do the responsible agencies for social service need to ensure timely
implementation of the proposed 5 year plan?
• What do the responsible agencies need from other sectors to ensure
harmonized implementation of the proposed 5 year plan