In order to have a recognisable brand for the project for the second phase of funding a competition was held in Clydebank High School to find a name and logo. S2 pupils led by the art department entered a competition and the name and logo ‘Reduce Abuse’ was the winning entry.
The aims of Reduce Abuse are:
- to prevent domestic abuse/gender-based violence by raising awareness of the issue among children and young people and those working with children and young people
- to prevent abusive behaviour through challenging children and young people's attitudes and beliefs and encouraging alternative coping strategies
- to assess support and service needs of children and young people affected by domestic abuse.
The objectives of Reduce Abuse are:
- to ensure that children and young people in West Dunbartonshire have an awareness of domestic abuse and related issues
- to increase the capacity of the Reduce Abuse project across all schools in West Dunbartonshire
- to work towards reducing domestic abuse in West Dunbartonshire by working in partnership with other agencies to deliver prevention work on domestic abuse and related issues to children and young people
- to ensure that domestic abuse prevention work is embedded in services in West Dunbartonshire at a strategic level
- the Reduce Abuse project to participate in a multi-agency framework to support children and young people affected by domestic abuse
- to continue to provide evidence that the Reduce Abuse project is meeting targets through creative and effective monitoring and evaluation processes.
Prevention
Prevention work around domestic abuse challenges attitudes in young people around issues of power, gender and relationships. The aim is to prevent domestic abuse from happening in the future, empowering children and young people to develop healthy relationships in their lives and enhancing their emotional well-being.
The project has worked in partnership with two local Women’s Aid groups, police officers from the Domestic Abuse Unit in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire Council cultural co-ordinators team and Terrance Higgins Trust to carry out prevention work in the area.
The Reduce Abuse project also trains teachers to feel confident in supporting children and young people who are affected by domestic abuse and distributes information on services in the community which support affected children and young people.
Training also aims to increase awareness of issues around domestic abuse in order for teachers to feel confident in delivering classes on domestic abuse to pupils. Increasing teachers’ knowledge and confidence builds the capacity of the Reduce Abuse Project enabling this work to reach more children and young people.
The structure of the lessons is as follows.
| Year | Lesson | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| S1 | 1 | Power |
| S1 | 2 | Violence |
| S2 | 1 | Gender and the media |
| S2 | 2 | Sexist language |
| S3 | 1 | Exploring the facts about domestic abuse |
| S3 | 2 | Healthy relationships |
| S4 | 1 | Domestic abuse – there’s no excuse! |
| S4 | 2 | The effects of domestic abuse on children and young people |
The programme is being delivered in five secondary schools in the West Dunbartonshire area, with 82 classes having been delivered to 1885 pupils in 2006.
Any of the exercises in the pack can be adapted to suit senior pupils (S5/S6) in school, and can be delivered as a stand-alone class lesson or as part of a health promotion event.
In addition to this, approximately 250 S5 and S6 pupils from each secondary school have attended a production of ‘To Have and To Hold’ by the Baldy Bane Theatre Company. The production is for young people and women’s groups and was originally commissioned by Glasgow City Council Education Department in association with Zero Tolerance and Rape Crisis. It is now widely taken up by councils across Scotland.
It is a touring play about respect in relationships, with particular relevance to domestic abuse in its many forms. The play is on offer to S4-S6 pupils and women’s groups. The performance is followed by a workshop discussion with the audience, which aims to enhance the understanding of, and attitude towards, mutual tolerance, respect for others and high self-esteem.
