Ethics and Self-Care of the Intervener

Prevention of Vicarious Trauma and Empathic Attrition

Working on the front lines with domestic violence - whether from law, psychology or social work - carries an invisible but devastating occupational hazard: "Vicarious Trauma" or empathy burnout.

By hearing daily accounts of systematic cruelty, terror and human suffering, the professional absorbs a residual emotional charge that, if unprocessed, alters his or her own worldview.

Symptoms include nightmares, hypervigilance, cynicism towards the system or a sense of chronic hopelessness.

It is critical to distinguish this from simple job stress; vicarious trauma changes the neurobiology of the therapist.

Professional ethics demand rigorous self-care, not as an act of indulgence, but as a responsibility to the patient.

A burned-out professional loses the ability to connect humanely with the pain of others, falling into desensitization or bureaucratic coldness.

This can lead to serious errors, such as minimizing a lethal risk due to fatigue or treating the victim as just another number, inadvertently becoming part of the institutional revictimization mechanism.

Caring for the caregiver is essential to maintaining an efficient protection system, so regular clinical supervision, clear boundaries between personal and work life, and mandatory disengagement periods are recommended.

Professional Boundaries and the Savior's Trap

A common mistake, especially in novice professionals or close support networks, is to fall into the "Savior Syndrome": trying to rescue the victim at all costs, pressuring her to make decisions she is not ready for.

Intervention experts emphasize that the goal is not to forcibly rescue, but to empower.

Pressuring a victim to report or leave the home before she has a safety plan and the necessary internal conviction can be counterproductive, causing her to shut down, withhold information or break the therapeutic bond because she feels judged.

Ethical accompaniment implies respecting the victim's time, validating her autonomy and decision-making capacity, even if those decisions seem wrong or slow to us from the outside.

The right strategy is active listening without judgment ("I believe you, it's not your fault") and providing resources, keeping yourself available as a firm safety net for when she decides to take the plunge.

Taking responsibility for "saving her" not only infantilizes the victim, but burdens t