EDUCATION AND TRAINING KIT
to guide the Kit
Thoughts behind the contents
of the educational kit is to get men and boys thinking about their and others’
actions and attitudes; to get them to change their actions, and to challenge
violent actions by other men or boys. The
ultimate goal of working against male violence against women is to change
society in such a way that a campaign against male violence against women is not
educational kit designed to educate on male violence against women – and by so
doing, to help to eradicate it – is part of a greater project aimed at
establishing a culture of peace. Eliminating
gendered violence is a key, if not the key, to bringing about such a
culture of peace.
exists in both overt and structural forms, and has permeated our culture for
centuries. Much of this structural
violence is invisible, and permeates society.
Those working to eliminate violence – and especially men working
against male violence committed against women – need to take great care,
therefore, to avoid unconsciously perpetuating the very system that they are
working to eliminate.
principles set out below are a combination of ethical formulation and
operational imperative. They are
necessary, but not necessarily sufficient in themselves, to avoid making these
mistakes. They should inform
decisions taken in working towards developing an educational kit.
social change, of the kind that would have to happen for male violence,
especially against women, to be eliminated, cannot happen by revolution or
decree – it will happen by evolution, and over time. This means that a set of guiding principles that all can
agree on is a very important reference point.
A set of
principles should facilitate the reaching of the goal of a peaceful society.
Like monastic life in Buddhism, however, care must be taken that what is
in the beginning a facilitating feature not become an impediment later on.
Positive peace is the goal
more than ‘pax,’ an absence of war. It
is positive peace, a concept implying neither saccharine friendliness nor
uniformity, but rather absence of violence in both actions or relationships.
Violence against women by men is based to a large degree on the casual
and often unconscious objectification of women.
Living in a state of positive peace requires development of a state of
being in which each person is treated as a subject rather than an object.
Violence is not inevitable
belief that violence is inevitable makes it easier to justify and accept
violence against others, in a wide variety of situations – especially male
violence against women. Violent
images are used very often, in all elements of life, and the belief that
violence is inevitable has an almost mythical-religious base.
There is evidence that potential for aggression is inherent in humans,
but aggression is not the same thing as violence. Conflict is not the same thing as violence, though they are
often confused. Conflict is an
important element of social change. Society
can live with conflict, but not with violence.
as education is concerned, violence is perpetuated through the education system
by what has been called the ‘banking’ system of education – the teacher
depositing knowledge into students, which is received, memorised and later
repeated. The educational kit
developed for the Euro WRC must avoid pedagogical banking; and therefore develop
tools that are interactive, encouraging those using them to think for
will be used in diverse situations. Whether
a ‘facilitator’ will introduce the kit or whether the kit will be used by
people within each workplace is an important question: either way, care must be
taken that each individual component of the kit avoids ‘banking.’
involved in the WRC project are at risk of perpetuating the violence they are
working against. This has two
facilitating and/or designing the educational kit should examine themselves
and their motives to the fullest extent possible.
tools in the education kit should encourage self-reflexivity in those using
them. If a tool in the kit
results in understanding but no integration of this understanding into
change in everyday lived practice of the users, then it will have failed to
fully achieve its aim. Encouraging
change in individuals is the goal of an education kit, and this will not be
reached without a measure of reflexivity.
the kit also need to focus on wider society.
discourse resulting in social norms or imperatives for action are ethical, each
person involved in or affected by the creation of a particular norm has the
right to take part in its creation. Simply
put, all affected must create a norm if it is to be valid.
They must be able to challenge the claim to validity of particular
statements of social norms.
individual person or group is competent to construct acceptable norms that
affect a wider society than those involved in their creation.
For existing norms, this means that those affected have the right to
assent or dissent, though they are obliged to give compelling reasons for
dissent. An intersubjectively
recognised norm is not valid if the space does not exist for it to be brought
into question in a way that allows all affected to argue their case and to be
convinced of the rightness – or moral force – of the norm.
clearly not been the case for the social norms that allow violence against
women, who have typically been excluded from their generation.
tools developed for the educational kit should therefore avoid assuming
agreement on normative claims. They
should encourage men to enter into peaceful, non-violent, dialogue with women
over social norms, that is open to changing these norms.
Attention to narrative
tools developed should encourage users to become aware of the ‘stories’ that
are embedded in the language that we use, and which partly structure the way
that we see and interpret the world. When
we talk of anything, we draw on shared meanings, and the underlying assumptions
of these shared meanings regulate what is visible and correct.
example, Freud and his contemporaries did not take child abuse seriously,
believing that reports of abuse were not literally true.
Now we know that child abuse actually does occur.
attention to the narratives that we use is a way of laying these underlying
assumptions bare. Changing the
stories will allow for a change in reality.
Huxley said that the first thing that educators need to do is to heighten
the resistance of young people against the “devices of propagandists.”
The educational tools need to do exactly this, by encouraging the
analysis of words being used in the media and other arenas of society.
Concern for the other
involves seeing each person as a subject in his/her own right, and not reducing
them to their usefulness. It means
seeing oneself as part of a community, that one cannot exist without the other.
One therefore has a level of responsibility for the other.
the kit should encourage this view.
many possible futures. Simply
recognising the problems of violence against women is not enough: there also
needs to be the realisation that change is possible.
Using the tools in the education kit should leave the users feeling a
sense of possible action. It should
avoid generating the ‘fallacy of restricted alternatives’ which young people
so often feel and which leaves them apathetic.
encourage creative critique, tools should expand the ‘literacy’ of those
that use them; should aim to expand social imagination to beyond what seems
immediately possible. Literature is
a good example of how creativity can be encouraged in critique.
tools are to be used by many different people in numerous situations, they
should be as simple as possible.
in mind that many people do not have access to computers and the internet, an
educational tool that can be used by all, in an variety of settings, is
absolutely necessary. This means a
number of ‘low-tech’ tools.
- What would be the ideal contents of an education kit?
that the kit would be used in one or both of two situations – with or without
a facilitator. With a facilitator
is more resource-intensive and would involve a manual, but may be more
effective. In schools, the
facilitator would probably be an interested teacher.
also that the exact contents of the kit would vary according to the target users
– so the version for use in schools would have to be slightly different from
the version used in the workplace, if only because the specific concerns would
be different. Also, the place of
the kit within the setting needs to be clear – if it is in a school, for
example, will it be part of the syllabus so that teachers can set assignments,
or will it be something that one or more of the teachers will undertake to
introduce in their classes? So: the
exact contents of the kit cannot be described or discussed until the
‘audience’ is clear – who will participate, etc.
question is whether the tool would be used in all-men settings, or whether it
would be used in mixed-sex settings. I
favour both approaches, ideally, but men-only groups if only one focus is
possible. Suggestions below are
therefore made with men-only groups in mind.
Some non-exhaustive suggestions follow
of those aspects of the Canadian “Education and action kit” manual that are
applicable to Europe.
with common statements and/or actions that occur in society.
of participants would choose a card: each take a card and role-play. One man to act as the man and the other as the woman;
the goal being for the man role-playing to put himself in the position of
the woman. The partners would
then take another card and swap roles.
this time role-play involves one man playing his close female relative –
wife, mother, daughter etc
depicting social situations. It/they
would be the starting point for discussion.
of best practice from all over Europe – presented in short written form,
and/or in visual form.
men with the results of actions, both ‘harmless’ and overtly violent: short
stories from women of their experience.
– the picture of a bride with a black eye is extremely powerful, and similar
pictures provide an immediacy that is difficult to reach with words only.
Presentation of pictures would have to be followed with discussion.
with pictures. Similar to above.
The question would be to interpret the situation depicted.
A few possible answers could be included.
(only with facilitator). Participants
stand in middle of room. Facilitator
makes a statement and participants then physically position themselves in the
room according to the level with which they agree with the statements: one side
of the room denotes “strongly agree” and the other side, “strongly
disagree.” Facilitator then asks
random participants to explain their position.
involving two male characters – one with authority and with none: to show the
role of power in structured violence.
that non-physical tools would be included in a manual: this is therefore a tool
in its own right.
also that no change will occur unless the male participants feel themselves to
be both in a safe space and accepted: without these elements there will be no
change in behaviour.
White Ribbon Education Kit
1. The need for a gender-based approach
we encourage peaceful relations today? If
we want to engage people in educational approaches which facilitate a change to
peaceful relations, then we have to make our programmes relevant to those we are
trying to reach; as well as to any facilitators involved.
Not only must it be relevant to the daily lives of all involved, it must
also be a useful ‘line,’ which encourages the peaceful relations we are
trying to build.
that an overtly gendered approach is a good way to go about this in contemporary
There are two main reasons.
the differences and divisions – both perceived and real – between male and
female are among the fundamental issues in contemporary society, and they are
perennial and universal.
is typically at the core of people’s identity.
gender identity, discrimination and violence are among the main barriers to a
society which is sustainably and positively peaceful.
makes sense to take a gendered approach when trying to foster a peaceful society
a gendered approach is also extremely interesting. Whether a particular approach is aimed at young or old, the
issue of gender attracts people’s attention.
People are therefore more likely to be interested and to want to become
involved in a gendered educational project.
authorities responsible for educational approaches like STOP/VIRAJ have found
that those approaches based on conflict reduction alone attract very few males,
whereas those with an explicitly gendered approach tend to be far more
gender-balanced. The gendered
approach is particularly relevant to adolescents, who typically want to learn
more about what they have been brought up to regard of as the ‘other’ (the
are statistically far more often involved in physical violence, and as partner
abuse by men is a huge problem, it is extremely important to adopt an
educational approach which encourages males to be involved.
Belgian partner; who has done some gender-based work in schools, has found that
the gendered approach does not work if the facilitators are women. When only
women facilitate a gender-based educational intervention, almost no males
participate (the vast majority – over 90% – of participants in this
voluntary project are female); while when a woman and a man facilitate together,
many more males choose to participate. It seems that males, especially
adolescents, need role-models to encourage them if they are to want to become
involved, and to take responsibility for gendered violence.
final point is worth noting: it is important to adopt a good educational
approach, and a gendered balance in facilitation: otherwise the work risks
backfiring and being seen by participants as a waste of time.
This is one reason for compiling the kit
2. About this kit
This education kit is a resource for those interested in pursuing
education on gender-based violence: these could be teachers, NGO workers, city
and local authorities, or policymakers.
It should be seen as a ‘starter-pack’, which makes available a set of
useful information and shows the interested reader how to go further.
Its purpose is to advertise the existence of tools and the importance of
a gender-based approach, rather than to propose one or more
‘one-size-fits-all’ tools for use across Europe.
The kit therefore sets out the general principles by which educational
initiatives to counter gender-based violence should operate.
We felt it important that the kit start with a set of basic principles,
as it is from basic principles that peace-building projects stand or fall.
The principles set out here are, we believe, necessary for any
educational process which works towards sustainable peace, and which hopes to
avoid recreating the existing problems in a different form.
Education on gender-based violence is surely one important part of
educating for more peaceful futures for us all.
After the general principles have been set out, the kit provides a brief
overview of two useful gender-based educational approaches for schools presently
available in Canada. This country
is investing significant resources to tackling the malignant problem of
gender-based violence and must be seen as a leader in this field.
We then provide an overview of what electronic resources are presently
available to those interested in pursuing the issue. The kit lists a number of audio-visual resources available
across Europe. Although these are
primarily targeted at school-level interventions, there are also resources
available to those wanting to work elsewhere, such as in the work-place.
The electronic version of the kit mentions a number of other educational
projects, in some cases including a number of pages from the respective manual
which has been scanned and made available.
One such programme is worth particular mention – STOP (En) /VIRAJ (Fr)
– a project in two languages for younger children from the Québec regional
government in Canada. It is widely
used in schools in Québec and is already being applied in some Belgian schools
by the Euro-WRC’s Belgian Partner, Collectif de la Louvière.
Euro-WRC has been given full rights to this programme for educational
produced the kit primarily in English and French, with some documents in other
languages where possible. We have
left it up to our partner organisations across Europe to translate it into their
own native languages.
There is clearly a wide scope for a far more comprehensive education kit,
which devises a thoroughly-researched set of programmes based on European
realities and circumstances. We
believe the kit at hand is a good start, however, and we hope you find it
Mayerl and Stephanos Anastasiadis
Brussels, November 2000
Guide to existing education methods
existing methods are briefly described below.
The Youth Relationships Project is included as it is a high-quality,
research-based programme. And the
Canadian White Ribbon kit is a good example of an education kit produced by a
campaign-based organisation, with the input of experienced teachers.
Youth Relationships Project – YRP – is designed to address the contexts of
violence and thereby reduce its occurrence.
It especially targets the use of violence against women. It works through interventions at school-level which
encourage equitable and peaceful relationships between individuals; not least by
helping young people understand power, power processes and the abuse of power.
project’s goals are gender-specific: it is designed to help young men identify
and express feelings assertively, recognise and respect personal rights of
partners and take responsibility for their own behaviour.
The programme is meant to help young women understand their personal
rights, take care of their own safety and express themselves assertively.
was developed by a team of researchers based at the University of Western
Ontario, London (Canada), in collaboration with the Centre for Research on
Violence Against Women and Children, in the same town.
Most of the research team are psychologists. A manual has been developed for the application of the
project in schools.
is it for?
has been designed for use in schools. It
focuses on male and female adolescents between 14 and 16 years of age.
project runs on a voluntary basis, either during or after school-hours, and is
based in the school setting. It has
been designed to be conducted on a weekly basis with small groups of students
– both male and female, numbering between 8 and 15 per group.
Each session runs for two hours, and the whole project contains 18 weekly
sessions. The programme developers
emphasise strongly that the full programme and all sessions need to be followed.
strong youth focus (the manual calls it a ‘teen-centred environment’) means
the group is to be kept informed and consulted about the entire process, and
that the group’s wishes are to be respected: the group belongs to the
participants. This is because, as
the programme developers stress, “More important than the content of
information and skills is the integrity of the facilitators in their modelling
of non-controlling communication” (pp8-9).
are four sections, each one progressing from the more general to the more
specific. Section A is “Violence
in close relationships: It’s all about power.”
B: “Breaking the cycle of violence: What we can choose to do and what we can
choose not to do”
C: “The contexts of relationship violence”
D: “Making a difference : Towards breaking the cycle of violence”
section is the longest, containing seven sessions each dealing with concrete
actions to combat violence.
is based on thorough research: the project has been shown to work.
very clear in its rationale and explanations, and concrete in its
recommendations for class actions.
contains good opportunities for evaluation; as part of an ongoing improvement
manual is self-sufficient in written material: a facilitator needs no more
written material than what is included in the manual, with some exercises even
being intended for photocopying and distribution.
project is expensive, containing six videos in addition to the manual.
Perhaps these would be available in local libraries in north America, but
not in Europe and they would anyway need adaptation (see below).
features which make it a powerful model for those who participate (highly
structured, many sessions, voluntary basis) also make it more likely to
discourage all but the most interested; thereby decreasing the number of people
it reaches and almost certainly not reaching those who are most at risk of
displaying violent behaviour.
modules call for a lot of preparation, in some cases involving bringing in extra
people; and for six sessions requiring the extensive involvement of community
agencies. This may prove too much
of a time burden on potential facilitators for them to undertake the
(extracurricular) project. Also
(and this is not relevant to the EU setting), the agencies called for may not
exist; or if they do, may be unwilling or unable to provide input to the
Compatibility in Europe
deals with issues which are universal in the western world, so the approach and
issues raised, as well as the vignettes mentioned in the manual are imminently
applicable to the European setting. The
only issue is therefore the recommended materials: translating and adapting the
videos will prove expensive and therefore need some form of government funding.
a well-researched and powerful programme. Its
main weakness is that it is long and potentially expensive.
The strong research basis of the project and the research background of
the developers means the project has been carefully thought out and is therefore
likely to work powerfully with those who choose to participate.
Canada, education kit
Canadian White Ribbon Campaign, WRC, education and action kit is designed to
address the range of issues around violence to women. It is meant to inform teachers and students alike; and to
empower them to work against violence against women.
The goal is to encourage healthy gender relationships between
adolescents, which will carried over into later life. The focus is therefore specifically both social and
individual. As its name suggests,
it is specifically designed to encourage activism in those it touches.
which is made up of a book of just over 100 pages, is meant to be used
progressively, to move from understanding to action. It was made with significant teacher involvement.
is it for?
is designed for use in secondary schools with both male and female students.
Canadian WRC manual is pragmatic and action-focused. It is concerned with participants getting a good enough
understanding of the issues, and moving to action in their everyday lives.
To this end, it appends some useful resources at the end of the manual,
such as additional information on the problem and a section on what every man
can do to help end violence against women.
is split into four parts. The first
provides the context to both students and teachers, giving an overview of the
problem, giving ideas on possible action, and tips to the teachers on how to
approach classroom discussions.
second part deals with the issue of male violence against women, with one or
more activities per heading. Headings
include: socialisation; gender communication; sex stereotyping; sexual
harassment; and dating violence.
third part is action focused. Once
the student has been introduced to the issues, the “Moving forward” section
has five activities which students undertake to encourage action in everyday
life against gendered male violence. These
fall under headings on violence prevention; healthy relationships; and what are
women and men doing?
final part is a set of plans for possible action which individual students or
groups can undertake. It is a set
of concrete templates for social action on the local level.
appendices include additional resources, information about the Canadian WRC and
an evaluation form. This latter is
important, as the kit is open to constant improvement based on users’
is strongly action-focused. Its aim to foster understanding and then action
means it addresses the issue in a very practical way; making it widely
is very widely available. While
this is also a weakness (see below) the fact that it is accessible to all means
that, in theory, it can have a wide influence.
is inexpensive: the book costs only a nominal fee and no other materials are
short and easy-to-use.
casts its net very wide, attempting to reach as many people as possible; and
there is a resulting lack of clarity and focus in its approach.
It is therefore strongly dependent on the individual teacher/facilitator
for the quality of the programme in each individual school.
While this will always be the case with educational approaches for which
there is no formal teacher-training; the large amount of flexibility students
and teachers have in the project, mean there is little guarantee of success.
not clear when the programme would be introduced; resulting in the teacher
deciding whether to introduce it after school hours for volunteers; or to bring
it into a ‘general studies’ class. Again,
this is strongly teacher-dependent. The success of the programme will also
depend on the specific school system, into which it is being introduced.
Canadian WRC manual is too concentrated on the annual white ribbon day, December
manual is very Canadian, resulting in a number of compatibility problems for
European contexts. See below for
Compatibility in Europe
is strongly action focused, addressing everyday problems such as dating
violence. While this is a significant
strength, making the kit relevant to students, it also means there are
‘translation’ problems. As the
kit is strongly Canadian, it is at risk of failing to deal with specific
everyday problems and issues experienced by European teenagers.
will need adaptation for European realities.
This could be easily done by teachers, but they would need to take the
time to do so before starting to use it.
specific actions suggested in the section on action plans – such as the “in
the name of love” dance – are very North American and would be inappropriate
in most European contexts.
statistics given as examples are Canadian: the relevant European or even
national statistics should be given instead.
Having said that, Canada and the EU are both western areas, so the
Canadian statistics could be used as an illustration until the relevant European
figures have been found.
was produced in French and English in Canada.
The language used in the French version of the kit was so different from
European French, however, that we decided to re-translate it from the original
English. All the general intricution has been also translated in German.
overall introduction to violence and control issues, the manual can easily be
used with few resources. The
political and campaigning background of the Canadian White Ribbon organisation
means it has been designed with immediate application in mind and is cheap to
Overview of electronic resources
websites eurowrc + CD-ROM
Final comments on existing education tools
the most useful aspects of all approaches reviewed here is that it shows
violence is unexceptional: that is, it is something which permeates everyday
life and needs therefore to be addressed by everyone in normal life and not just
leaders or project-makers.
to be a key aspect of every approach which tries to deal with the question of
violence in society – both in general and against women in particular – and
especially in contemporary European society, where uncertainties and
technological changes can easily give young people the feeling that they lack
personal agency and therefore responsibility.
general principles have been mentioned at the start of this paper, but in
dealing with young people, the principles of reflexivity, or taking
responsibility for one’s own actions, is perhaps the most important.
paper sets out a set of simple but crucial principles which it is argued need to
be consciously borne in mind for any peace-building process to be successful,
with sustainable results. They are
a good tool, but may not be sufficient in themselves: the point of writing them
is not to appear arrogant, but rather to stimulate a debate in the perceived
lack of one.