The Department of Gender Studies will be hosting a public lecture entitled 'Breaking the Silence and Shame of Abuse through Writing for Therapeutic Purposes'. The public lecture will be held on Monday 3 July 2017 from 10:00 till 12:00, in VC HALL 101 IT Services Building, University of Malta Msida Campus.
Speakers: Dr Ravi Thiara – University of Warwick, UK
Prof. Jeannie Wright – University of Malta
There is a widely recognised, international research base for the benefits of writing as emotional disclosure. This seminar will draw on interviews and a focus group with women who took part in a 10 week writing group, ‘Write Yourself’ at an organisation for survivors of rape and sexual abuse and their families in Warwick, UK. Through a mix of composite case-studies, poetic inquiry and key findings the presenters will explore how survivors use/d writing and the writing group as part of their journey of dealing with their experiences of sexual abuse and the ongoing consequences.
The general public is cordially invited to attend this public lecture.
For enquiries contact Ms Samantha Grima by phone on +356 2340 3808 or by email to samantha.grima@um.edu.mt.
Dr Ravi Thiara is a Principal Research Fellow and Director of the Centre for the Study of Safety and Well-being (SWELL) at the University of Warwick, UK. She has been involved in research, policy and practice development on violence against women and children for the last 28 years and has carried out this work at a national and international level. Ravi has published widely, including ‘Violence against Women in South Asian Communities: Issues for Policy and Practice’ (2010); ‘Disabled Women and Domestic Violence: Responding to the Experiences of Survivors’ (2012); ‘Violence Against Women and Ethnicity: Commonalities and Differences Across Europe’ (2011); and ‘Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls: Educational work with children and young people’ (2014).
Assoc. Prof Jeannie Wright has taught and developed practice-based research in counselling and writing for therapeutic purposes in seven different universities in Europe, the South Pacific and NZ.