About the program

Home: K to 12: Respect Protect Connect Program: About RPC

Aims

The project was developed in response to an identified need for young people to have increased information about the impact of domestic violence and ways to "look after" themselves. It was important that the aims of the project were well defined, so as to allow peer educators to be well informed in a number of health-related areas.

First, for young women, the program set out to raise awareness of, and define, domestic violence. To achieve this, basic information was given about domestic violence and its relation to young women's health. From this base, it was then possible to provide young women with skills to deal with domestic violence. It was also important to provide a language and framework that empowered young women to identify violence, and encourage them to be pro-active in gaining help and support if they were facing a situation involving domestic violence. We wanted to break down the feelings of guilt, shame, fear and loss of trust, which often surround the topic of domestic violence, by approaching the topic in a non-blaming way. The topic was discussed without making judgement, thus allowing the young women in the sessions the opportunity to establish their own belief system, based on clear and accurate information.

Second, for young men, there were different aims. We wanted to discuss healthy and respectful ways for young men to deal with confrontation and interact with young women. It was also seen as important for young men to develop more effective and non-violent ways of relating to self and others, and to develop within themselves a broader understanding of masculinity. Research tells us that men are the perpetrators of the majority of violent acts against women and other men, and of sexual violence, mainly against women (Anleu, 1995). Based on a pro-feminist model, we thought that if we could approach young men with these issues in a safe, non-blaming, non-shaming way, they could acknowledge the damage that these behaviours cause, and gain personal benefits from learning different interaction styles based on non-violent ways of coping with confrontation.

Third, another equally important aim of the program was for the peer educators to benefit in a variety of ways. The project workers identified that it was important for peer educators to increase their participation through leadership roles within their communities and to gain a sense of ownership of the program. The program also aimed to increase peer educators' skill levels to a point where they could gain employment within their fields of interest while being remunerated for their time and input.

Target group

The programs target young people in year 7-10 of secondary schools in 11 Local Government Areas. At times, however, when requested, we have presented to years 11 and 12 as well. This flexibility has enhanced the programs' reputation and desirability within schools to Student Welfare Coordinators and Principals. In the early days of the project, workers would contact schools to offer the program. Now we find that schools will ring us if they have a particular issue needing resolution. A typical request, for example, would be a situation where the Student Welfare Coordinator has noticed that one of the year levels within the school is exhibiting strong homophobic behaviours. Respect, Protect, Connect can work within that year level, utilising a workshop program specifically concerning homophobia to develop students' awareness of the issue, and work towards resolution of the situation.

Involvement with schools has also come about through indirect linkages of local service providers and the project reference group, collaborative arrangements between WHISE and SECASA, promotion through the Department of Education, educational support agencies, media coverage and pre-existing linkages with schools from previous and current projects. While the project aimed to make contact with all schools within its Local Government Areas, its continued involvement with nearly every school it has worked in from the first year has made expansion into "new" schools a difficult proposition.

Sessions

The program was originally developed to deliver one-off workshop sessions of 80-100 minutes duration to 15-25 participants. Typically, this involved an introduction and warm up activity followed by an activity in which definitions of violence were discussed. This involved participants coming to an understanding that violence was not just physical, but also emotional, sexual, financial, and social. Participants also came to understand that all types of violence could impact on personal health in various ways, including school performance and self-esteem.

An activity was then used which highlighted how violence might impact upon a person's health (in the case of young men this was extended to how violence can also impact upon those around us). Finally, participants were given printed information regarding where and how to get help. The crucial message of the workshops was that there are no excuses for violence. Each person is responsible for his or her own behaviour. The students discover that respecting and protecting themselves, as well as those around them is important in avoiding harm and building healthy relationships.

Recently, the program has expanded to provide more ongoing support in schools. A number of four, six and ten-week programs have been undertaken in schools, dealing with specific themes such as anger management, positive relationships, dealing with problems and self-esteem. These programs have been judged by all involved to be highly successful.

Getting started

Initially, the program had two excellent manuals and adequate funding. Peer educators had been recruited through local youth networks and university employment services, and trained by the project workers and agency staff from SECASA and WHISE. The next step was to procure bookings from schools. Several schools within the region recognised the benefits of this workshop model, and allowed us to work with their students. Feedback was positive, both from students and staff and the project workers from SECASA and WHISE set about soliciting bookings in earnest for the 1999 school year.

Anyone who has worked in a secondary school will know the amount of information, offers, requests and general paperwork that comes across the desks of Student Welfare Coordinators and Principals. In general, it seemed that our offers of no-cost workshops were getting lost in the ever-growing pile, as we had sent out information to over 100 schools within the region, with very little response. This led to revised strategies for accessing schools. We found that the best way to get our program into schools was to make personal contact with key teachers (Student Welfare Coordinators, Year Level Coordinators, Principals) and then to follow up with telephone calls and letters. Often we would make several trips to the one school to explain the philosophy and benefits of our workshops. Although at times frustrating and time consuming, the legwork paid off. By the end of 1999, the workshops had run in over 50 schools, accessing over 8000 young women and young men from years 7 to 11.

Sponsor

SECASA

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