Principles of Advocacy
The feminist approach to advocacy developed because traditional approaches have proven inappropriate and ineffective in dealing with violence against women. Traditional approaches reinforced sex roles without recognizing that these roles sanction violence against women. A feminist approach views battered women and rape victims as survivors with remarkable strengths.A feminist style of advocacy is based on the goal of helping to empower women. With each advocacy interaction we need to ask ourselves,"Will this help her gain understanding in order to more effectively address or cope with her situation and make necessary changes?" We want to encourage self-reliance and provide information that will enable women to do for themselves rather than doing things for them. A battered woman will benefit much more if we respect her ability to control her own life and help her develop tools to advocate on her own behalf.