The Prevention Project

At WRASAC Dundee & Angus we offer free interactive workshops for young people aged 11-25 where we go out and talk to young people about the kind of issues that are affecting them and discuss their understanding of sexual violence. Our workshops have been designed to allow young people to explore these issues in a safe, informative environment and are delivered as part of the Rape Crisis Scotland National Prevention Pack, which is delivered by local Rape Crisis centres in schools across Scotland.

Workshops:

Workshops are made into age appropriate sessions for S1/2, S3/4, S5/6 and 18-25 year-olds. The following are the topics we can cover:

Gender –gender norms and inequality, and the harmful impact of these pressures for young people.

Consent –legal definition of consent and rape, pressure, mutual enthusiasm, respect and addressing rape myths.

Sexualisation – the power of marketing and images to influence gendered behaviour and self-image, how this links to inequality and the sexual pressures young people face.

What is Sexual Violence? – looks at the various forms of sexual violence, including rape, sexual exploitation, grooming, stalking, sexual harassment, etc. It also looks at sexual bullying and homophobia, and the impacts of such experiences on young people.

Social Media – looks at sexting and the distribution of nude images, pressures on young people and the law.

How can we Help Prevention Sexual Violence? – considers the attitudes, beliefs and common myths surrounding sexual violence and the impact of these attitudes, particularly those which are victim blaming.

Sexual Violence: Impacts and Support – considers the impacts of sexual violence on survivors, how to be supportive of someone who has experienced sexual violence and respond effectively to disclosures.

The pack itself has been devised to support and develop the education programs delivered by Rape Crisis Centres in Scotland, to increase young people’s access to high quality sexual violence prevention education linking in with:

A Curriculum for Excellence

Getting it Right for Every Child

Equally Safe: Scotland's Strategy to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls.

Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework

Scottish Government Single Outcomes Agreement

Here is some of the feedback we’ve received from young people who have been involved in our workshops:

The most important thing I learned was that putting peer pressure on people is really bad and I would tell people where they could go to for support – 14, male

The most important thing I learned was that if you’re in the middle of sex and you change your mind and the other person keeps going it is classed as RAPE! – 17, female

The most important thing I learned was more in-depth knowledge of consent. I think that these workshops are very important to be given out and young people should be given a proper education in school about this topic – 16, male

Some of the teachers and youth workers we’ve worked with had this to say:

This is a fantastic resource

What a brilliant resource, you can tell whoever designed this has had experience of working with young people

The kids were talking to me after the class and they were really positive about the workshops

Really informative and the young people seem to engage really well. The young people talk about the topics after the sessions.

Contact:

If you are a teacher, youth worker or other professional, and you have concerns about sexual violence where you work, WRASAC can provide awareness raising workshops for young people and help them understand sexual violence and its consequences. Alternatively, if you would just like some more information, or to book any workshops pleased contact Lauren McLachlan – lauren.mclachlan@wrasac.org.uk