The Pacific Violence Prevention Institute's Bullying and Harassment Prevention PROGRAMS FOR STUDENTS
Creating an
atmosphere at your school that makes it difficult for acts bullying,
harassment, and related school violence to exist requires a partnership
between students, faculty, and staff. An effective violence
prevention program requires cooperation between students and adults.
Students must be taught the skills to be effective allies, and adults
must be taught to better recognize and respond to the acts of violence
that they witness. Northwest Violence Prevention Solutions offers
a variety of programs specifically designed for students, adults, and
programs for students and adults.
Programs for Students
As we have
previously discussed, there is no greater influence on one’s behavior
than one’s peers. Therefore, the most effective prevention
programs are peer-based. PVPI has developed many programs that
allow students at your school to be trained as trainers, and present
programs to their peers. The following is a sample of workshops
developed by PVPI specifically for students to be trained to present to
other students. In many cases, it is an option for members of your
staff to be trained as “trainer trainers”, and who will then be able to
train an unlimited number of students to present these programs.
In addition, if these workshops do not meet your school’s needs, we will
work with you to develop specific workshops for your school that will.
Recognizing Violence in Your Community
Recognizing Violence in Your Community
is a workshop that has been designed to give students the skills to
recognize acts of violence around them. By participating in a
number of activities and facilitated discussion, students will become
familiar with the concept of the Violence Continuum, and will learn the
importance of intervening in “less severe” acts of violence on the
continuum in order to make it less likely that acts of violence will
escalate. Recognizing Violence in Your Community is
intended to be presented in conjunction with The Ally Inside You.
The
Ally Inside You
After
participating in the Recognizing Violence in Your Community
workshop, students will be able to be more aware of the acts of violence
occurring around them. The Ally Inside You has been
designed to give students the skills that they will need to effectively
intervene in the acts of violence that they recognize. Through
demonstrations and role-play exercises, students are given the
opportunity to practice those skills in a safe environment, so that they
will be more prepared to take action when they are ready.
Bridging the Gap
This program
is designed to provide an opportunity for participants from two separate
groups (i.e. gender, race, faith groups, etc.) to have an open and
honest conversation in a safe environment. Through group breakout
sessions, group presentations, and facilitated discussion, participants
will explore differences and similarities between groups that they
belong to.
The
Locker Room and Beyond
Most students
can identify the safest places in their schools—those places where they
are least likely to experience bullying and harassment. Likewise,
most students can identify the least safe places in their schools—those
places where they are most likely to experience bullying and harassment.
This workshop will help students identify the safest and most unsafe
locations in their school, and identify the motivation for the behavior
that takes place in each location. Students will then be given the
opportunity to practice ally behavior through role playing exercises.
Removing the Label: Deconstructing Cliques
Cliques are
prevalent in every school. In many cases, cliques are nothing more
than a group of friends enjoying each other’s company. However, in
many cases the cliques those students belong to (or want to belong to)
can contribute to bullying and harassment. Through a number of
activities, students are given the opportunity to explore different
cliques that may exist at their school, and are given the opportunity to
experience what it may feel like to be a member of a clique that they do
not belong to. Through facilitated discussion, students are then
able to discuss the negative and positive aspects of cliques, and
explore strategies that they can use to create a more open atmosphere in
their groups of friends.
Preventing Bullying and Harassment Against Gender and Sexual Minorities
Students who
identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, or questioning, in
other words, gender and sexual minorities, are often one of the most
marginalized and victimized groups in a school. In fact, many data
collecting organizations (i.e. the American Psychological Association,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) report that students who
identify as sexual minorities commit suicide at a higher rate than any
other group. Effectively preventing bullying and harassment
against this highly at-risk population requires creating an atmosphere
at every school that is accepting of all types of diversity. By
exploring some of the issues faced by sexual minority students, and by
exploring some of society’s prejudices towards this group, this workshop
gives students skills that they will need to help create a safer school
atmosphere for all students.
Performance Education
One our most
popular and effective programs, PVPI's School of Performance Education
will train students at your school as a peer-based, improvisational,
performance education troupe. Improvisational performance
education is an interactive method of encouraging student audience
members to explore issues such as bullying, harassment, and related
violence in a safe environment with facilitated discussion.
Through improvisational performance, student participants are given the
opportunity to explore the issues surrounding bullying, harassment, and
related violence.
Bullying and Harassment Prevention