describing the barriers

Other effects of violence that affect a woman's ability to learn include:

inability to concentrate. A woman may not be able to focus on material at hand, even if she wants to. She may be distracted, pre-occupied. She may have trouble remembering detailed instructions. Because survival is most important, learning becomes secondary. "When you learn, low self-esteem and guilt hit you and you have a problem concentrating; the memory is slow and you think you will not be able to learn."

difficulty listening. Listening is not hearing. It is taking in and understanding what you hear; this requires concentration. If a woman has trouble concentrating, she might have equal difficulty listening.

sense of detachment. A woman may be unable to focus on immediate events. She may feel she is watching everything from a distance.

lack of trust. Violence creates a lack of trust both in one's self and in others. Learning is done within relationships, either internal or external; violence blocks this learning.

difficulty in beginning new things. A woman may lose her sense of her place in the larger scheme of things as she is always pre-occupied with her safety and damage control and is frightened to initiate projects.

less willingness to initiate things or to take risks. A woman who has experienced violence may well have a lack of experience as a risk taker or as a learner. For good reason, she may fear being punished, humiliated or rejected for making mistakes.

difficulty in assimilating new information. The abused woman's reality is so far removed from information being taught that the information seems to lack any value.

fear. It is difficult to do anything when you are afraid or intimidated. Some women in upgrading programs, for instance, are intimidated and psychologically abused by male students in their program. Others may bring fear from home.

uneasiness with new people. A woman may be scared when meeting new people and may need assurance that they are safe before she can focus on learning. This has obvious implications for classroom or group education programs.

tiredness. "One client reported that she could not sleep when it was dark outside, even as an adult, after experiencing sexual abuse as a child. She failed at school because she was always tired. As an adult she tried upgrading and re-training, and could sometimes get through a morning of studies, but never could concentrate or focus in the afternoon. She could only sleep during daylight, so would drop off frequently in the afternoon."

Even if a woman has adequate sleep, fatigue may set in sooner for a woman who has experienced violence. Women with good learning experiences find that learning new things is invigorating and energizing; survivors may find learning draining and tiring.

multiple personalities. Some survivors have developed multiple personalities as a way of surviving the abuse in their life. What they learn in one personality may not transfer to another.

panic attacks. A woman who is a survivor may experience a panic attack, characterized by faintness, dizziness, shaking or feeling out of control. She may be extremely nervous and anxious in the classroom.

misplaced anger. Women may focus their anger with their abuser onto the teacher. This makes it difficult to develop a relationship of trust in which the teacher might be able to help the woman.

violence toward others. Women who have experienced extreme violence may see such behaviour as normal. As we know from the cycle of violence, violence begets violence.