Women educating each other ... women in safe and equal relationships.
Rawsthorne, Margot ; Hoffman, Sonia ; Kilpatrick, Eliza 等
Introduction
Adolescence is a critical time for the development of attitudes and
skills that underpin healthy relationships for young women. It is a time
when many young women begin to form intimate relationships as well as
being a time of increased risk of interpersonal violence. Responding to
this, Liverpool Women's Health Centre, a non-government feminist
women's health centre, developed and implemented a peer education
program targeting young women in relation to healthy relationships and
violence. The program became known as 'WEEO WISER', an acronym
for 'Women Educating Each Other ... Women in Safe and Equal
Relationships' (the name was developed by the project's Young
Women's Advisory Group). This article reports on aspects of the
project evaluation undertaken jointly by the Centre and the University
of Sydney, notably the importance of partnerships and supporting peer
educators. The overall objectives of the project were:
* To use a peer education model with young women to build a
supportive culture of non-acceptance of abusive relationships.
* To reduce the likelihood of young women entering or staying in
abusive relationships by building knowledge, skills and attitudes that
support nonviolence.
* To maximise the impact, spread and sustainability of the project
by using a partnership approach.
Literature
Over its 30 year history Liverpool Women's Health Centre has
strongly advocated for women experiencing violence. This project arose
from a desire to prevent violence against women, focusing on a time when
many young women are beginning to form intimate relationships.
Adolescence is a time of significant health risks with potential long
term implications for young women including risks associated with
teenage pregnancy, unsafe sex, depression, violence and eating disorders
(Alston et al, 2004, p. 51). Alston et al (2004) go on to argue that:
Young women are negotiating sexual relations with boys in a context
of unequal power relations, lower status, a need to conform to male
expectations, a need for approval and a pursuit of enhanced self
worth (2004, p. 55-56).
For many young women negotiating this complex terrain is fraught,
exposing them to violence (Rawsthorne, 2001; Alston et al, 2004).
Australian data within the 2002-2003 International Violence Against
Women Survey indicates that 34% of respondents had experienced violence
from a male partner during their lifetime (Mouzos and Makkai, 2004).
Women in the youngest age bracket (18-24 years) reported the highest
rates of physical and sexual violence (Mouzos and Makkai, 2004).
Whilst research has provided much greater knowledge and
understanding of the extent and nature of violence against women,
preventing this violence remains challenging. Despite the extensive use
of education in prevention strategies there are few Australian
evaluations of what strategies are most effective, what changes can be
expected and whether these changes are sustainable over time (Carmody,
2005). Carmody (2005) critically reviews current sexual violence
prevention strategies, highlighting their tendency to encourage
avoidance strategies and place responsibility for male behaviour on
women. She further argues that existing evaluations of education
prevention programs are hindered by methodological difficulties and
implicit assumptions that change in knowledge will lead to change in
behaviour (Carmody, 2005).
Chung, drawing on in-depth interviews with young women, identifies
a number of elements of domestic violence prevention with young women.
In her view successful prevention programs would highlight the common
nature of violence against women, develop young women's awareness
that violence reflects gender inequality not individual pathologies and
that male violence is a choice not genetically inherited or inevitable
(Chung, 2007). She also points to the importance of non-judgmental women
friendships in providing support and a general reluctance among young
women to use formal services (Chung, 2007). Research also suggests
schools are an important site for feminist intervention as the
"hegemonic masculinist discourses in schools can construct the
boundaries of gender" (Bagshaw, 2006, p. 4).
WEEO WISER adopted a peer education approach. Peer education has
been identified in previous research as a prevention strategy with great
potential for changing young women's experiences (Chung, 2007;
Rawsthorne, 2001, 2002; PADV & Strategic Partners, 2000). McDonald
et al (2003) describes peer education as occurring
through a messenger who is similar to the target group in terms of
characteristics such as age, gender or cultural background, has had
similar experiences and has sufficient social standing or status
within the group to exert influence (2003, p. 13).
Peers are usually seen as more credible by young people, have
greater influence than adults as they share characteristics and life
experiences directly with those passing on the information and skills
(McDonald et al. 2003). Peer education has been shown to act as a
catalyst for helping friends, which is important as a key goal of the
program was to build supportive friendships among young women (McDonald
et al, 2003). Peer education is optimised by quality, regular support
and debriefing (Mulroney 2003). Focus groups undertaken during the
development of the program strongly endorsed girl-only groups. As a
strategy for examining relationships peer education is particularly
effective with young women as they generally consult peers more than
young men and
talking to each other is important for young women's identity
construction and maintenance of their relationships. It can be
self-affirming and possibly culturally more appropriate to certain
groups in a girls only setting (Silk, 1999, p. 62).
Research (McDonald et al, 2003, p. 33) also suggests there are a
number of positive outcomes for the peer educators themselves,
including:
* Increased self-esteem & confidence
* Ability to voice own thoughts and opinions
* Enhanced sense of self efficacy
* Increased knowledge and skills about relationships
* Development of planning and presentation skills
* Development of leadership skills
* Development of skills to access and assess information and
resources
* Valuable experience that may facilitate later employment
opportunities.
Whilst research and consultations strongly supported the adoption
of a peer education approach by WEEO WISER, there were also a number of
limitations that needed to be considered. Importantly in terms of the
WEEO WISER longer term goals, research suggests that peer education is
most effective in changing knowledge (at least in the short term) but
less so attitudes, skills or behaviours (McDonald et al, 2003).
Additionally from an organisational perspective, peer education is very
resource intensive. This resulted in a rationing with WEEO WISER
workshops being offered to some young women in a limited number of
schools. There is also less scope to deliver evidence-based health
information within a peer education model, as peer educators are not
health workers or educational professionals. A structured school-based
approach (used in this program) is unable to meet the needs of early
school leavers or marginalised young people (Prendergast and Miller,
1996, cited in McDonald et al).
A key objective of the project was to build partnerships with other
organisations with a view to making the peer education program more
sustainable. Working collaboratively, be it in the form of coalitions,
partnerships or networks, has become one of "the most defining
approaches to social problem solving over the last decade" (Chavis
2001, p.309). The complexity and interrelatedness of individual,
community and environmental problems has demanded newer forms of working
(Bright, 2001). Liverpool Women's Health Centre, a nongovernment
agency, took the lead on this project based on a partnership with other
NGOs, government agencies and schools.
Most writers are aware of and acknowledge that working
collaboratively is "a notoriously difficult enterprise, and many
attempts at it fail" (Riccio 2001, p.340). Bardach (1998) notes
that it is not only difficult but it can also be time-consuming and
divisive. Other writers argue that the diverse nature of the
'partners' can bring both strength and complexity (Chavis
2001). This diversity (in interests, history and power) creates more
complexity and conflict than any other form of organisation (Chavis
2001). The partners brought together by Liverpool Women's Health
Centre in this project have a chequered history of working together.
Schools have a reputation (rightly or wrongly) of being difficult to
'get into', particularly among NGOs. Chavis (2001) argues,
however, this diversity, complexity and conflict need not be negative
but may be seen as an opportunity or challenge as it mirrors broader
community conflict and complexity. If partners are able to transform
this conflict through collaboration, they provide a model for
transforming broader community conflict and unequal power.
The program
WEEO WISER is a prevention and early intervention initiative which
sets out to get information and skills to young women at the critical
time when many are forming intimate relationships. This acknowledges the
foundation of adult women's social and material relations "in
the heterosexual coupling practices that commence during
adolescence" (Chung, 2007, p. 1293). The World Health Organisation
states that primary prevention must be based in empirical-research about
the causes and consequences of domestic violence, as well prevention
methods (cited in Carmody et al, 2009). WEEO WISER uses a feminist
framework acknowledging that domestic violence is a gendered crime and
requires a gendered approach, one that has successfully been used and
employed in a number of programs nationally and internationally.
Feminism is "a powerful discourse in providing women with choices
and a position from which to resist a subordinate and disempowered
position" (Alston et al, 2004, p. 56). Feminist understandings
include: violence is commonly perpetrated against women, not by
strangers, but by known men; violence is an expression of unequal gender
power relations, embedded in historical, social and political contexts
that support greater male control and access to resources; and
women's experiences of violence will be shaped by a range of
dimensions of women's lives that 'intersect' with gender,
including age and culture (Laing, 2008, pp. 67-68). The adoption of
women only programs, delivered by women of similar life experiences, age
and cultural backgrounds reflects these theoretical underpinnings.
Feminist perspectives focus on the structure of society, gender
constructions and power, highlighting why young women are at risk
without using these factors as an excuse for the behaviour of
perpetrators. These perspectives encourage young women to be aware of
their own internal warning signs to act to protect themselves, rather
than changing a perpetrator.
The program aims to equip young women with knowledge, skills and
attitudes to reject violent, abusive relationships and to expect
healthy, safe, equal relationships. As argued by Chung (2007), the
program views violence against women as embedded in gender inequality.
It also seeks to circumvent what Carmody (2005) describes as
"avoidance strategies", instead focusing on the building of
supportive relationships among young women and between young women and
supports in schools and the community. Accordingly, specific objectives
included:
* Creating a safe space to talk about violence and abuse issues and
healthy relationships
* Examining gender roles and describing the difference in the
socially constructed expectations of young women and young men
* Using a gender-based perspective to understand abusive
relationships
* Defining relationship violence and the different forms of abuse
and violence
* Identifying and listing the features of a healthy relationship
* Identifying personal sources of support and formal support
services that can assist young women in abusive relationships
* Beginning to demonstrate the knowledge and skills to provide
non-judgemental support to other women
The program is designed to cater for twelve to fifteen young women
from Year 9 in five two-hour sessions. The National Standards for the
Primary Prevention of Sexual Assault (Carmody et al, 2009) recommends
multiple sessions to support primary prevention and attitude change
rather than one-off programs that raise awareness only. The WEEO WISER
program utilises the five sessions to create a safe environment to
discuss such an intimate issue as domestic violence. The structure of
each workshop allows time to digest information between workshops, and
review the information in the following session. Each session focuses on
an element of prevention that makes up the overall picture to create
change. The program aims to increase young women's understanding of
gender and power, providing a more complete understanding of domestic
violence thus enabling young women to identify warning signs and,
ideally, seek help (see program outline in the Appendix). As part of
using a feminist framework it is important that each of the young
participants feel valued. One of the ways this is achieved in the
workshops is by using a small number of participants. This allows each
young woman to feel listened to and have their say.
An Evaluation Framework was developed through a research
collaboration between Liverpool Women's Health Centre and Dr.
Margot Rawsthorne, University of Sydney (Rawsthorne, 2008). This
framework aimed to be comprehensive, enabling the triangulation of data
and included: project reports; stakeholders' focus group; peer
educators focus group; school feedback; and pre and post-program
questionnaires for program participants (for more information see
Rawsthorne & Hoffman (2009) and the project website at
www.weeowiser.org.au). The evaluation aimed to build our knowledge about
the best types of interventions with young women that may prevent
violence or violent relationships (Davies, Nutley and Smith, 2000). It
also sought to enhance the sustainability of the project by documenting
what works and why as well as the processes in place to support
partnership building.
This paper particularly focuses on the partnership and relationship
building aspect of the project as well as the experiences of peer
educators.
Partnerships and relationship building
To maximise the impact, spread and sustainability of the project by
using a partnership approach.
The ability of Liverpool Women's Health Centre to work in
partnership and build relationships was central to the success of the
overall WEEO WISER project. Partners in the project included: Western
Sydney Area Assistance Scheme (initial funding agency); local
women's and youth organisations; young women; schools; Department
of Education and Training; Police; domestic violence services;
University of Sydney; FLYHT (Fairfield Liverpool Youth Health Team);
government, as funders and policy makers. Stakeholders brought many
things to the program, including expertise, skills and knowledge,
resources and commitment.
The active engagement by the project of stakeholders established
credibility for the program. Some of the engagement strategies included:
participation in peer education training; using staff of stakeholder
services in training peer educators; adapting resources for the program
with the assistance of stakeholders; group as well as individual
meetings; and feedback and liaison via regular phone contacts.
Ongoing consultation has been a mark of the program, even in the
pre-submission phase. This generated a great deal of enthusiasm and
joint ownership of the program among stakeholders. Consultation was
undertaken consistently throughout the various phases of the project,
including importantly with young women.
Implementing the program successfully within the school system was
a major challenge. Involvement of specific people within schools was
critical to the success of the project (there are fourteen public high
schools in the Liverpool Local Government Area). This assisted in
understanding timetabling issues, embedding the program within current
curriculum and policy, getting the program through relevant school
committees, gaining parental permission, promoting the program and
identifying the 'right' liaison person in the school. The
project held a Principals' Breakfast as a key partnership strategy,
which proved very important in the pick up by schools, due to the
attendance and endorsement of the regional director. The long term
engagement with local schools by Liverpool Women's Health Centre as
well as their reputation was also highlighted as important. Feedback
from schools about the program and peer educators included:
I felt that this workshop program fitted into our 'Relationships'
unit of work currently being studied.
I am very pleased with the program and would encourage other
schools to use it as well.
The mentors (peer leaders) are fantastic. They make the girls feel
safe to talk about the 'heavy stuff'.
I think the girls identified with youth leaders. They enjoyed
having young presenters of this program. The presenters were easy
going, approachable and cool, which made it easier for the girls to
open up and discuss their own problems.
Of particular importance in engaging schools was the time allocated
to consultation and participation in the steering committee. This meant
school staff could be involved in content development, ensure the
program slotted into the curriculum and ensure that the program met the
needs of DET. The time for development meant the program was able to
'chip away' at resistance within schools to outside programs.
Trust between the program and the schools has been an outcome of the
time allocated for the development phase. In practice this means when
key school staff change (such as welfare teachers) information about the
program is passed on, embedding the program into the school rather than
having it reliant on relationships with individual teachers. The program
also effectively engaged DET both at a local and regional level. Support
and endorsement from DET was integral to the subsequent enthusiastic
support from individual schools.
Participants in the stakeholders' focus group commented on the
effectiveness of the community development approach adopted by the
program. The approach enabled young women, peer educators and
stakeholder involvement in decision making about all elements of the
program. Focus groups were held with young women and youth services
during the program development phase. These focus groups identified peer
education as the best strategy. Extensive research was undertaken of
Australian and international examples of peer education and violence
prevention programs. The best practice guidelines developed by United
Nations and the Youth Peer Education Network (2005) were used to develop
and implement WEEO WISER.
Peer educators
To use a peer education model with young women to build a
supportive culture of nonacceptance of abusive relationships.
Over the four years of the evaluation fifteen peer educators have
been trained and run programs in Schools. WEEO WISER adopted pro-active
support strategies for the peer educators, including: extensive
training; co-facilitation of groups; in-program support (via a trained
support person); debriefing; and participation in the program
evaluation. The peer educators were paid for running programs. An
advertisement was distributed calling for expressions of interest to be
trained as a Peer Educator as part of the program. In recruiting peer
educators, efforts were made to ensure the WEEO WISER peer educators
reflected the cultural diversity of the local community. Liverpool Local
Government Area (located in the disadvantaged region of South Western
Sydney) has a high proportion of residents who were born overseas (37.8%
compared to 22.2% nationally) (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2007).
This diversity was important in enabling peer educators to be accepted
within very diverse schools. Schools and other stakeholders identified
this support as essential to the success of the program.
Your selection of young women (peer educators) was excellent--they
were extremely easy for our girls to relate to and had an excellent
manner and rapport.
The presenters were organised and well prepared. They arrived
early. They also appreciated that school dynamics keep changing and
adjusted to this.
Prior to running programs the peer educators received nine full
days training, including a camp in September/October 2006. The training
for peer educators took place over a nine-day period. As peer educators,
the young women were not experienced workers in the field but rather
peers who have knowledge and passion. The nine days were used not to
position the peer educators as experts, but equip them with the
knowledge of why the WEEO WISER project exists and how best to
facilitate the project. The training program was developed by a
contracted highly experienced health educator and trainer, with project
staff and partners. The program was extensively piloted and changes made
to the program accordingly. The peer educator training moved beyond
learning the content of the program to provide a holistic approach to
understanding domestic violence. All peer educators have been trained in
child protection and mandatory reporting to benefit the young women
participants but also as security for the peer educators.
The peer educators' training used a range of adult education
techniques to develop the young women's competency and confidence
to facilitate the program and make the knowledge and skills accessible.
Strategies included activities to learn by doing and to practice skills,
structured feedback from a strengths based approach, debriefing,
relevant guest speakers (workers from key agencies and women who have
experienced violence), case studies, small group activities, problem
solving, brainstorming, reflection, discussion, relevant audiovisual
material (high quality, recent and local), individual worksheets, and
group/ team building exercises including icebreakers, energisers and
games. The topics covered in the peer educators' training included:
group facilitation, domestic violence and child protection, the peer
educator role and continuing professional development, vicarious trauma
and self-care, support and networking, evaluation and working in a
school environment.
The peer educators were supervised and supported by experienced
workers in the field who were trained to undertake this Support Person
role. The Support Person role proved valuable in the peer education
process, allowing peer educators to draw on that expertise rather than
'going it alone'. Codes of Ethics were developed for both the
peer educators and the support person role.
Peer educators reported that participation in the program affected
their own relationships with family and friends. They found they were in
a position to provide advice to friends more confidently. A number have,
most likely as a direct result of their work on the program, assisted
family members to seek refuge from violent relationships. Many peer
educators saw their participation in the program as having long term
benefits in terms of their future careers and studies. There were also
some unforeseen outcomes from being Peer Educators including: greater
awareness of their own abilities; greater understanding that knowledge
is power; becoming passionately committed to women's safety;
greater sensitivity to inappropriate jokes and humour; increased
understanding of the distress experienced by some young women; and
developing greater clarity about what they wanted in relationships.
Peer education was seen by the peer educators as a very effective
strategy as it was empowering to both the young women in the classroom
and the peer educators themselves. It meant that young women in the
classroom were not afraid, more relaxed and hence engaged.
Peer educators observed that the less teachers were involved the
more young women were involved and willing to ask question. Over a five
week period they felt they became quite close to the young women and
sometimes took on a 'big sister role'. This could involve
asking questions about sex and other subjects young women felt teachers
may not want to answer. Young women became peer educators for a range of
reasons, including:
Because I've been through a lot of experiences in life in a very
young age it would help or relate to the young women in this
project.
I think I would be a good peer educator as I can relate to young
women in all different types of situations. I have had many
experiences, especially with relationships, throughout my teens and
remember not always having someone in a similar situation to talk
to.
The peer educators identified a number of lessons for other
non-government agencies wishing to undertake a peer education program
included: the importance of good training and support; the importance of
matching peer educators to the demographics of the local community;
taking a developmental approach, particularly allowing time for
relationships to build; ensuring you have good relationships with
schools but don't replicate the school learning environment; and
building a supportive network of people around the peer educators and
the issue. Most of all they advocated the importance of action--just do
it!
Some of the challenges of peer education in practice have been the
peer educators dealing with disclosures; unrealistic expectations put on
the peer educators at times by young women, schools and the peer
educators themselves (boundaries/role clarification); and at times
challenges around the accuracy and consistency of the information passed
on by peer educators, for example on the details of relevant
legislation.
Impact on participants
To reduce the likelihood of young women entering or staying in
abusive relationships by building knowledge, skills and attitudes that
support non-violence.
Pre and post self-administered questionnaires were collected from
all young women who participated in the program. The questionnaires were
distributed and placed in an envelope by the peer educators in the first
and last group of each program. Completed questionnaires were matched
for analysis by first name and birth dates. The questionnaire was
piloted with two groups of young women, resulting in the addition of one
question and the reformatting of another. The questionnaires were
approved by the NSW Department of Education and Training. In order to
increase the reliability of the questionnaire (Kumar, 2005) a number of
the questions were adapted from the Young People's Survey on
Violence (National Crime Prevention, 2000). Data from the Commonwealth
Attorney General's Report Young People's Attitudes to and
Experiences of Domestic Violence is provided below to enable comparison
with a broader youth population. Data provided from the 1999 study is
likely to be slightly skewed due to the inclusion of both male and
female participants. When data is provided in the report by gender,
young men tend to hold more violence-supporting views than young women.
The questionnaires aimed not to evaluate the program content but to
gauge changes in knowledge, attitudes and to some extent skills. This
quantitative data complements existing qualitative studies of young
women's experiences of violence (Chung, 2007; Rawsthorne, 2001).
Self-administered questionnaires have a number of strengths, including:
ease for participants; less costly to administer; quicker to administer;
the absence of interviewer effects and interviewer variability (Bryman,
2004). Data was analysed with the Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences Version 11 to provide descriptive statistics. The significance
and strength of changes pre and post program were tested via either
t-test or McNemar nonparametric test for paired data as appropriate.
McNemar enables data collected from the same individuals on two or more
occasions to be compared (Field, 2007). Dichotomous variables were
created and missing responses were excluded.
Questionnaire data was collected from 449 young women over a three
year period (20052008). These young women participated in 32 groups in
eleven schools. Paired (pre and post) data was obtained from 271 young
women, with the remainder completing either a pre (146) or a post (32)
questionnaire only. Those young women who completed only a pre
questionnaire will be treated as a 'control' group for
comparison purposes. The young women range in age from 13 to 22,
although the mean age was 14.7 years. The older participants all
attended one group offered through a specialist education unit.
Knowledge
In relation to knowledge, the questionnaire asked participants
whether they felt a range of behaviours constituted violence or not
(don't know was also an option). Figure 1 shows generally high
levels of awareness in relation to physical violence, a pleasing outcome
of over 30 years of feminist activism. It is interesting however that
the 'non-completes' express lower levels of awareness on all
physical violence scenarios than the general population. This suggests
that feminist messages concerning physical violence against women may
not be reaching young women from diverse cultural backgrounds and lower
socio-economic backgrounds such as those living in Liverpool Local
Government Area. Completion of the program had a clear and strong impact
on young women's knowledge and awareness of the violent nature of
emotional abuse and controlling behaviours (see Rawsthorne &
Hoffman, 2009 for greater discussion).
Attitudes
Participants were also asked about their attitudes towards dating
violence on a scale from "definitely agree" to
"definitely disagree" (don't know was also an option). A
very pleasing result was the marked increase in the number of young
women who completed the course rejecting notions that women
"provoke" violence. What is also evident in Table 1 below is a
shift among those who completed the program to a stronger position (from
"generally" to "definitely") as well as a reduction
in those who "don't know". This would suggest that
completion of the program provided young women with greater certainty
and confidence to state their beliefs.
Supporting the findings in relation to increased knowledge of
emotional abuse and controlling behaviours, the tables below indicate
completion of the program increased young women's ability to reject
common violence-supporting myths. Table 2 shows marked differences
between young people generally (1999 data) and those who completed the
program. This was once again particularly in relation to the strength of
the young women's statements (definitely disagree).
Behaviours
The questionnaire tested intended behaviour asking participants to
indicate what they would do if they found themselves in an abusive
relationship (using an age appropriate case study). It is recognised
that this can only be an indicative indication, with further follow-up
research important in establishing actual behavioural changes. The
questionnaire provided a series of options from which participants could
choose. Analysis reveals amongst those young women who completed the
program a reduction in avoidance strategies (avoid anger, ignore,
forgive him), an increase in assertive behaviour (leave him, tell him
it's not on) as well as an increase in help seeking behaviour (talk
to a friend, talk to an adult, seek help from a community agency or
community worker). Those young women who did not complete the program
(non-completes) were in general more likely to adopt avoidance
strategies, less likely to use assertive behaviours but more likely to
seek support from services. It may be that these young women were more
familiar with support services from previous experiences.
In addition to this data the survey contained a number of
qualitative questions designed to explore intended behaviour. These
findings show that upon completing the program young women are more
confident in speaking to a support service and friends/family.
Conclusion
The WEEO WISER peer education program, built on collaboration with
young women and other agencies, has been highly effective in improving
participants' knowledge and changing their attitudes. Of particular
note, those young women who completed the five session program developed
a much broader understanding of violence. Importantly in terms of
warning signs this broader understanding of violence included
emotionally abusive and controlling behaviours. Pleasingly the
non-acceptance of physical violence appears widespread among young
people however there appears to be a need for greater education and
awareness raising about non-physical forms of violence.
There are many useful lessons from WEEO WISER for others concerned
about violence prevention. Resources--in terms of funding, staff and
networks--were central to the success of the program. Adequate funding
enabled Liverpool Women's Health Centre to provide appropriate
training, resources, support and financial reward to the peer educators.
As a result the peer educators were well placed to successfully engage
with young women in schools. The skills and passion of the staff
involved in the program ensured the program was developed on the best
available research and that young women were valued in the process. The
developmental approach adopted by the project built on the strong
goodwill and networks of the Centre, established over many years. The
partnership approach adopted in the project has enabled a great sense of
common ownership, continued the strong relationship with local schools
and sustained the project well beyond its initial funding.
The peer educators' call to just do it is instructive in the
need for action, rather than talk. Violence supporting or tolerating
behaviours are so widespread in our culture that no one intervention
will 'solve' this. What is required are people of energy and
commitment women and men, younger and older--prepared to demonstrate
respectful and healthy alternatives.
Appendix: Program Outline
Workshop 1: Introduction: creating a safe space to talk about
violence and abuse issues and healthy relationships
Objectives:
--Introduce the program structure and purpose, and the peer
educators
--Introduce the key messages of the program
--Create a safe learning environment
--Introduce discussion about relationships, their impact and place
in the lives of young women
--Collect data on young women's current knowledge, behaviour
and attitudes about relationships violence and healthy relationships
--Begin to challenge cultural assumptions about women, men &
relationships (includes assumptions within all cultural communities).
Workshop 2: Gender, roles & power
Objectives:
--Examine gender roles and describe the difference in the socially
constructed expectations of young women and young men
--Develop a gender-based perspective that participants can use to
understand the common dynamics of abusive relationships, explored in
later workshops. For example that power and control are key processes
and that it is usually men who are perpetrators and women who are
victims.
--Challenge stereotypes about gender and relationships, such as
that women need to be submissive to men.
--Identify and list the features of a healthy relationship
--Begin to identify the features of unhealthy relationships,
including the warning signs of abusive relationships_
Workshop 3: Abuse & respect: what is it, power, control &
the law. Looking at healthy, equal relationships.
Objectives:
--Define relationship violence and the different forms of abuse
& violence
--Identify the control and manipulation as forms of relationship
violence
--Continue to identify & name the warning signs of abusive
relationships
--Use a gender-bases perspective to understand abusive
relationships
--Identify abuse as unacceptable in all situations
--Describe the basics of the legal framework for responding to
violence in relationships (including DV, child protection, sexual
violence)
--List the features of unhealthy relationships
--Describe the "cycle of violence" as a common pattern
that violent relationships often follow and the likelihood of violence
escalating over time
Workshop 4: The impact of abuse & creating healthy
relationships_
Objectives:
--Describe the impact (short-term and long-term) of unhealthy
(violent/abusive) relationships
--Place the responsibility for violence with the perpetrator
--Identify & name the external & internal warning signs of
abusive relationships
--Explore strategies for creating healthy relationships
--Identify the signs of feeling good in relationships
--Begin to demonstrate a sense of their self-worth in relation to
intimate relationships
Workshop 5: Action: what you can do for yourself & others &
available supports_
Objectives:
--Describe what good support is and what makes support helpful
("good" support)
--Identify that some forms of intervention in a relationship where
there is violence & abuse what are not helpful ("bad"
support)
--Identify a range of sources of support. This includes identify
personal sources of support & name support services that can assist
young women in abusive relationships
--Identify at a basic level how the service system, including the
legal system, can be used to support women experiencing abuse.
--Begin to demonstrate the knowledge and skills to provide
non-judgmental support to other women
--Begin to demonstrate a willingness to intervene in abusive
relationships of others, if this can be done in way that doesn't
compromise her own safety.
--Begin to recognise & describe the barriers that can keep
women in unhealthy relationships/ prevent women from leaving
--Collect data on young women's knowledge, behaviour and
attitudes about relationships violence and healthy relationships at the
end of the workshop program_
References
Alston, M., Duncan, G. and Boetto, H. (2004) Empowering Rural Young
Women: The provision of a social work service for young women in a
disadvantaged school, Women in Welfare Education, No. 7, pp. 51-63.
Attorney General's Department (2000) Young People's
Attitudes to and Experiences of Domestic Violence, Canberra:
Commonwealth of Australia.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (2007) 2006 Census QuickStats:
Liverpool (C) (Local Government Area), Commonwealth of Australia.
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primary prevention of sexual assault through education, National Sexual
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Sydney, Australia.
Chung, D. (2007) Making Meaning of Relationships: Young
Women's Experiences and Understandings of Dating Violence. Violence
Against Women, 13 (12), 1274-1295.
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London: Sage Publications.
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beginners, 2nd edition, Frenchs Forest: Pearson Education Australia.
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Education: From Evidence to Practice, National Centre for Education and
Training, Adelaide: Flinders University of South Australia.
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Violence: Findings from the Australian Component of the International
Violence Against Women Survey (IVAWS), Australian Institute of
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Mulroney, J. (2003) Australian Prevention Programs for Young
People, Australian Domestic & Family Violence Clearinghouse,
Kensington: Australian Domestic Violence & Family Violence
Clearinghouse.
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Rawsthorne, M. & Hoffman, S. (2009) Supporting safe and healthy
relationship choices: A peer education approach. Violence Against Women,
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Rawsthorne, M., & Hoffman, S., (2007) Young Women's
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Liverpool Women's Health Centre available at www.weeowiser.org.au.
Rawsthorne, M. (2008) Beyond the sandstone: community sector and
academic research partnerships, Communities and Change Conference,
University of Sydney
Rawsthorne, M. (2002) 'Creating Healthy Sexuality for Young
People', paper presented at Expanding Our Horizons: Understanding
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Rawsthorne , M. (2003) Social Work and the Prevention of Sexual
Violence in Rural Communities: The Ties that Bind, Rural Social Work,
Vol. 8 (1), pp. 4-11.
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Young people's experience and understandings of sexual violence,
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Authors: Margot Rawsthorne Phd, Lecturer, Social Work and Policy
Studies, University of Sydney Email: m.rawsthorne@edfac.usyd.edu.au.
Sonia Hoffman and Eliza Kilpatrick are from the Liverpool Women's
Health Centre.
Table 1: It's okay for a boy to make a girl have sex, if she's flirted
with him or led him on
1999 * Non-completes Paired Pre
Definitely agree 3% 1% 2%
Generally agree 5% 1% 3%
Generally disagree 16% 19% 16%
Definitely disagree 65% 74% 73%
Don't know 5% 4% 7%
Paired Post
Definitely agree 1%
Generally agree 5%
Generally disagree 11%
Definitely disagree 79%
Don't know 5%
* Source: Attorney General's Department (2000) Young People's
Attitudes to and Experiences of Domestic Violence. These figures
include both young men and young women.
Table 2: Abuse within the family is a private matter that should
be handled within the family
1999 * Non-completes Paired Pre
Definitely agree 9% 8% 5%
Generally agree 18% 21% 17%
Generally disagree 31% 30% 28%
Definitely disagree 33% 36% 41%
Don't know 7% 4% 9%
Paired Post
Definitely agree 4%
Generally agree 13%
Generally disagree 24%
Definitely disagree 53%
Don't know 6%
* Source: Attorney General's Department (2000) Young People's
Attitudes to and Experiences of Domestic Violence. These figures
include both young men and young women
Table 2: Abuse within the family is a private matter that should
be handled within the family
1999 * Non-completes Paired Pre
Definitely agree 9% 8% 5%
Generally agree 18% 21% 17%
Generally disagree 31% 30% 28%
Definitely disagree 33% 36% 41%
Don't know 7% 4% 9%
Paired Post
Definitely agree 4%
Generally agree 13%
Generally disagree 24%
Definitely disagree 53%
Don't know 6%
* Source: Attorney General's Department (2000) Young People's
Attitudes to and Experiences of Domestic Violence. These figures
include both young men and young women
Figure 1: Knowledge of physical violence
1999 Non-complete Pre Post
Threaten to slap 83 76 84 91
Slap 85 76 87 95
Slap regularly 90 79 86 93
Force to have sex 87 80 84 95
Note: Table made from bar graph.
* Source: Attorney General's Department (2000) Young People's Attitudes
to and Experiences of Domestic Violence. These figures include both
young men and young women
