You the man

Geetanjali Gangoli, from the School for Policy Studies, on a novel way of changing attitudes to gender violence

There is increasing interest in the role of bystanders in preventing gender-based violence. You the Man is a 35 minute theatre- production combined with workshop that promotes bystander engagement addressing the themes of: promoting equal and respectful relationships between men and women; promoting non-violent social norms and reducing the effects of prior exposure to violence (especially on children); and improving access to resources and systems of support. The project has been used internationally in the fields of education, workplaces, local government, health and community services and the community.

 The University of Bristol’s Centre for Gender Violence and Research hosted a You the Man workshop last month led by international contributors Professor Ann Taket from Deakin University, Australia, Professor Cathy Plourde and actor Glenn Maynard. It brought together an audience of 25 local practitioners and policy makers. This group comprised advocates (such as Next Linkthe BridgeBristol Rape Crisis),  local community networks and agencies (including Bangladeshi Association, the Barton Hill Settlement), youth organisers (such as the Prince’s Trust), Bristol City Council and representatives from Bristol University and UWE.

The 35 minute one man play is based on responses and fears expressed by six men responding to the dating violence experienced by a young woman university student, Jana. It highlights the seriousness of unhealthy relationships and dating violence and how early intervention by family and friends may be able to help victims in these situations.

The play was followed by a panel discussion involving Professor Ann Taket, Professor Cathy Plourde, Glenn Maynard, Dr Geetanjali Gangoli, Dr Christine Barter (expert in intimate partner violence in teenage relationships), and Shabana Kauser-Iqbal from Women’s Aid and the Sky Project, an expert in BME communities. Having originated in Australia, the play was critiqued by the audience as to its ‘translatability’ into a UK context and more specifically to BME and/or sexual minority communities. Having already been effectively translated from its original American setting to an Australian setting, it was considered to be suitable for adaption to a UK audience (with further consultation with minority groups) – and particular interest was shown in introducing the play in university settings.  The audience heard about evaluations undertaken showing that the play was effective in changing attitudes to sexual and domestic violence in both the short and long term. Queries were raised about the need for support services not only for victims of sexual and domestic violence, but also for family members and friends; such support was said to exist to a limited degree in Bristol.

The play is a powerful and simple tool, requiring minimal resource. It can be effective as part of the strategy towards prevention of gender-based violence, increasing awareness, providing resource information, and changing attitudes to sexual and domestic abuse. This workshop is the first step to enable us in the Centre for Gender and Violence Research to build on our existing networks with practitioners and policy makers. It could be effectively used in conjunction with existing local programmes on reducing and preventing gender-based violence. We anticipate that such an initiative has potential to demonstrate long term impact and to change local policies.

GGDr Geetanjali Gangoli organised and moderated the workshop on behalf of the Centre for Gender and Violence Research. The workshop was supported by PolicyBristol, where this post was first published

Progress on the FAB kids outreach project

FAB1Mark Edwards, Active7 Trial Manager in the School for Policy Studies, reflects on the first term of delivering the FAB Kids outreach workshop in schools. Mark previously blogged on this project here

It’s been a busy term. Aside from their full-time jobs, Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences (ENHS) staff and students have worked hard to get the FAB (Food, Activity, and Bodies) Kids project up and running in schools. Taking the workshop from drawing board to school hall has been an arduous task, but seeing the children (and teachers) learn from and enjoy the workshop activities makes the efforts worthwhile. It has been a rewarding process for FAB staff; going into schools and being in dialogue with small groups of children, learning from them and hearing their stories (sometimes fascinating, other times bizarre), and quickly(!) getting to grips with controlling groups of over-excited children.

Between May and early July, 13 staff and student volunteers have delivered the FAB workshop to 355 children. Workshops have been delivered in 8 mainstream primaries, one Special Educational Needs school, and one fee paying school. We’ve also taken FAB to the Big Bang (Cirencester) and Bridgwater Science Festivals.

What has been the impact?

FAB2

So what have the children learnt? At the end of each workshop we ask them just this question. As you’d expect (or hope) from a health-focused workshop, lots of children came away with the message that they should ‘always keep healthy and fit and drink what’s right for you’.  Many took away messages they can use in their day-to-day lives, such as ‘some drinks that appear to be healthy have a lot of added sugar’ and the ‘more you exercise the less likely you are going to have heart problems’. Others memorised interesting snippets  such as ‘Diet Coke contains an ingredient that is in fireworks’, ‘there are over 600 muscles in your body’ and ‘the average heart rate for children is 70-100 beats per minute’. One child was simply speechless (or ironic beyond his years); ‘Absolutely epic! I can’t get any of it out of my head because I learnt so much!’ Whilst most were more conservative in their comments, we hope and think that all children have taken something – however little – from the workshop that may help them to improve their lifestyle.

What did the teachers think?

School staff provide more formal evaluation of the workshop. The three individual workshop activities and the workshop overall (separate questions) were rated ‘very good’ by all teachers. It was interesting to see how teachers engaged with the workshop, with some using it as a way to develop their own knowledge, and experimenting with props and asking questions as if they themselves were participants. The qualitative feedback they provided is testament to the enthusiasm of the staff delivering the workshop. Comments from teachers include:

‘A perfect morning’s learning where the children enjoyed themselves! They loved learning the new facts. All brilliant, staff energetic and formed great relationships with children.’

‘All interactivity was brilliant! Children really enjoy learning in a different way with various approaches.’

‘All the activities were interactive, stimulating and fun for the children. They were enthusiastic and engaged throughout and certainly enjoyed what they were doing.’

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‘Really loved the jigsaw/children very engaged. Children liked the booklets and enjoyed all the activities.’

‘All members of the team had a lovely manner with children and quickly established a positive rapport. Not always easy! The resources were all well organised, interesting and engaging.’

Where next?

Although we are delighted with this term’s progress, we are not complacent and have identified several areas for improvement (which will be made over the summer). In September, MSc students will be invited to assist with the delivery of the workshop. As such, we will be designing training sessions and delivery manuals over the next few months. The plan is to allow trained MSc students to deliver the workshop, giving some supervisory roles, and gradually reducing the hands-on involvement of ENHS staff. In September we will begin to book in more schools to receive the workshop.

FAB_team

If you would like any further information on the FAB Kids workshop please visit www.fab-kids.org or email fab-kids@bristol.ac.uk.

FAB team members: Bethan Baker Williams, Rachael Pound (MSc student), Mark Edwards, Laura Pool, Kate Banfield, Byron Tibbitts, Jo Kesten and Sarah Harding.

ENHS is a research centre in the School for Policy Studies. Staff work on a variety of projects focusing on physical activity and nutrition, and their associations with health across the life course. Much research in ENHS is conducted with children in local schools.