Young Change Makers can play an important role in changing the attitudes that support violence against women and girls. If you are in BC and between the ages of 12 and 18, we invite you to join our Youth Against Violence program!
Youth Against Violence: Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls will empower young people to take action on preventing violence in their communities. The Justice Education Society of BC, in support of the We Can campaign, has received funding from the Status of Women Canada for this project.
Image: Artwork created for Internaitonal Women's Day by youth team Ms. Understood (Prince George). To see larger version click on the image.
"We wanted to communicate a different way that people could and should interact, which is with kindness and empathy versus anger hostility and violence. The youth wanted to display a more passionate world versus one where hurt is common. The eyes on the ‘what doesn’t” work section represents witnessing violence and hostility and growing up in an environment where you learn and view that as a normal and acceptable behavior. The group felt that adults tend to forget that children are watching and learning from their behavior."
Youth Against Violence Toolkit
This toolkit for youth and mentors is meant to be used in group work with the main focus on youth-led activities. It can be used both by the adult mentors and youth participants. Depending on the time available and the size of the team, for each session you can pick and choose a topic from one of the three main sections: Leading the Way, Knowing It, and Reaching Out. They are designed to complement and build on each other. You can design your own approach to using them, which can be tailored to the activities, local events and team schedules. You will be working with the following sections of the toolkit: (please note that each document is password-protected so that it cannot be printed. If you would like a hard copy of the materials, please contact Tamarah.Prevost(at)JusticeEducation.ca.)
Introduction
This section contains the table of contents for the entire toolkit.
Leading the Way: Leadership Skills
This section will help you to reflect on yourself as a leader and to learn the skills and tips for effective leadership. It includes a leadership brainstorm activity; information on leadership theory; group and discussion facilitation tips; and fun communication and team-building exercises.
Knowing It: Learn About the Issues
In this section you will learn what violence against women and girls is and what causes it. You will also look at a number of facets of this complex problem, such as the role of the media, cyber bullying, dating violence and domestic abuse. Interactive exercises have been included. Understanding these challenging issues will help you to address them more effectively.
Reaching Out: Team Activities
This is the most important part! This section is designed to provide you with all the necessary tools you need to plan and organize violence prevention activities in your school or community. There are a number of suggested activities to choose from, or you can come up with one of your own.
Keeping Track: Team Management
This part of the manual will help you to organize and run your team while keeping track of all the activities. It contains manuals, forms and templates needed for the implementation of the Youth Against Violence initiative.
Mentoring: Adult Mentors
Mentors play an important part in this project. This section is designed to provide mentors with tools and resources needed to effectively support their teams and to build community partnerships.
Learning More: Resources and Information
Here you will find a collection of additional resources for youth and mentors. Make sure to check all of them out, as you never know what might come in handy!
Evaluating: A Look at the Results
This section will help you to evaluate the impact of your activities and events.
In 2011-2013 we will provide training and support students across BC to organize a series of events. We are currently looking for participants, as well as adult mentors. For more information and to register a team please call 604-660-7459 or email us.