In 2012, EAVN conducted in Athens one Teachers’ Training Seminar (June 28th, 2012), in the framework of the project “Youth4Youth: Empowering Young People in Preventing Gender-based Violence through Peer Education” (with financial support from the DAPHNE III Programme of the European Union. The training was addressed only to teachers from 4 Lyceums in Attica who participated in the project during the school year 2011-2012. The aim of training was to raise teachers’ awareness and to provide them with necessary theoretical knowledge and to build their capacity in order to be able to conduct experiential “Youth4Youth” workshops with students of secondary education, and therefore to actively participate in awareness raising of young people towards primary prevention of gender-based violence.
More specifically, the seminar lasted 6 1/2 hours and consisted of three parts:
- Information about the experiential workshops “Youth4Youth” (sessions, activities, implementation methodology, etc.),
- Implementation of a short simulated workshop (simulation of 2 activities where teachers adopted the role of students), and
- Teachers’ theoretical training & sensitization about gender stereotypes and gender-based violence, child abuse and neglect, handling of cases of abuse (disclosed or suspected), etc.
In the first introductory part of the seminar, participants were informed about the objectives of workshops which were to provide adolescents with a safe space to explore their attitudes towards violence and their tolerance towards it, and empower them to recognize violent behaviors in relationships and become actively involved in developing an environment free from violence for themselves as well as for their peers. In addition, the four stages for the implementation of “Youth4Youth” workshops were described in detail:
- students’ awareness raising about forms of gender-based violence,
- students’ training on peer education methodology,
- implementation of experiential workshops to students by their trained peer educators, and
- exhibitions with students’ products from their participation in the workshops.
At the end of this introductory part, the activities conducted in the framework of students’ workshops in each school were presented in detail as well as how students -who participated in- evaluated the project.
In the second part of the seminar, participants were called to be actively involved in the training process via their participation in two activities of the experiential “Youth4Youth” workshops like the way they were implemented with students at schools. Teachers adopted the role of students in a simulated experiential workshop under the guidance of experienced facilitators. The aim of this approach was to provide teachers with a sample of how to implement a workshop, but also a “safe” place in order to think about which of their attitudes and behaviors may transfer or reinforce gender stereotypes or tolerance to violence and how they can be modified. This process offered teachers the chance to “live” the same experience like the one experienced by the students that took part in the “Youth4Youth” workshops.
The last part of the seminar focused on teachers’ theoretical training and further awareness raising in order to be able to perceive the impact of gender stereotypes and how they are linked with gender-based violence, to recognize cases of GBV or abuse and to be capable to handle them (disclosed or suspected cases of abuse). For that reason, teachers were informed about gender-based violence and intimate partner violence, gender stereotypes, child abuse and neglect, the legislative framework, what teachers should and should not do, reporting of cases of child abuse and neglect, etc.
