Tackling teen dating violence and school-related gender-based violence among young people by supporting their mental health and equipping the whole school community with knowledge and skills on Comprehensive Sexuality Education.
Context
Considering the difficulty for young people to access Comprehensive Sexuality Education programmes (CSE) and to access health and psychological support services, and the consequent need to address the challenges posed by their exposure to all forms of discrimination and gender-based violence, as well to promote their well-being and mental health, the BOTTOM-UP TALKS project aims to actively tackle teen dating violence and school-related gender-based violence among young people by supporting their mental health and equipping the whole school community with knowledge and skills on CSE, focusing on intersectionality, evidence-based and trauma-informed approaches, while at the same time giving an active role to youth, being able to participate and have their voices heard. BOTTOM-UP TALKS will implement a number of interventions, which includes: counselling desks, staffed by professionals trained in early detection, prevention and protection from gender-based violence, which will be established in Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Lithuania and France to support to young peoples, teachers and families across a number of secondary schools and outside in other non-formal educational settings; peer-education activities, events and informative sessions which will provide them the competencies needed to tackle gender and sexuality stereotypes; finally, networking and awareness raising activities for professional and educational stakeholders, to suggest solutions and draft recommendations for educational policy makers.
Objectives
- To support young people who have experienced violence or might be at risk to address teen-dating violence or school-related gender-based violence and improve their psychological health, by establishing evidence-based replicable school counselling desks, also addressed to their families and school staff.
- To empower teenagers to build safe and healthy relationships and improve their wellbeing through the delivery of Comprehensive Sexuality Education programmes based on peer-education approaches and directly engaging youth.
- To improve knowledge and awareness in the general public on the needs of young people to be psychologically supported and trained on affectivity and sexuality, in educational and public environments, through positive actions including information campaigns and networking activities.
Activities
- Training for partner organizations on the REBOOT NOW methodology and its impact.
- Recruitment and training for BOTTOM-UP TALKS experts.
- Setting up, opening and running the counselling desks.
- Monitoring, data collection and reporting of lessons learned through the service involving schools, families and stakeholders.
- Establishment of a Youth Advisory Board (YAB) in each partner country.
- International Youth Advisory Board Camp.
- Peer-education and training activities, targeted at young people.
- “Job shadowing” experience for YAB members.
- Creation of country-based multidisciplinary Sex-Ed & Wellbeing Councils of relevant stakeholders working on the field.
- Joint Awareness-Raising Media campaign, online and offline.
- Specific advocacy actions targeted at policy makers from public educational authorities and EU level .institutions with the aim of lobbying for the needs of having more and better CSE programmes.
- Implementation of the national school festivals.
Resources
- Manual of Lessons Learnt from Counselling Services;
- Youth Camp Experiential Video;
- Peer-education and training Digital Guide for peer training activities;
- EU Manifesto of Policy Recommendations advocating for CSE.
Impact
- Strengthened peer support to deliver CSE and raise awareness on gender-based violence, through the establishing of 5 Youth Advisory Boards (YAB) of young people aged 16-18 years and organising a series of peer-education and training activities for and by young people, reaching to 1000 young people to enhance their ability to work on relationships, gender diversity, sexual health, interdisciplinary aspects such as culture and disability with relation to CSE.
- Increased access to concrete psychological services for min. 500 young people, especially those facing difficulties in relation to peer dating and SRGBV, and their families and school staff, by establishing 5 itinerant counselling desks (in Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Lithuania and France).
- Increased wellbeing and mental health of 300 (50% of the total) young people, their families and educational staff through access to counselling services and WP3 peer training activities.
- Increased awareness among +15k individuals/public educational authorities/policy makers/local NGOs/schools about the need to prevent school-related gender-based violence through the delivery of CSE, in educational and public environments, through networking, social events and campaigning leveraging on the Lettes of Support signed with Public Authorities.
Partners
- CESIE ETS (Italy, Coordinator)
- C.O.I.R.A.G. ETS – Confederazione di Organizzazioni Italiane per la Ricerca Analitica sui Gruppi (Italy)
- KMOP – Kentro Merimnas Oikogeneias Kai Paidiou (Greece)
- CSI – Center for Social Innovation (Cyprus)
- House of Diversity Education (Lithuania)
- FEA – Femmes Entraide et Autonomie (France)
