EVAW Coalition Urges Department For Children, Schools And Families To Prioritise Teacher Training To Protect Young Women From Violence And Prevent Violence In The Long Term (Press Release 8th March)
March 10, 2010
Whilst the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW) welcomes today’s response from the DCSF to the Violence Against Women and Girls Advisory Group Report to protect against VAWG in schools and prevent VAWG in the longer term through education, it falls far short of what we expected and what is needed. EVAW has as one of its core aims to prevent violence and abuse, and for the first time government agreed with us that this has been neglected, and that one focus should be work in schools, supporting young people to develop respectful relationships.
But the Coalition warns that the DCSF measures will only be effective if all teachers are given the training and support they need to work effectively with a complex issue. The DCSF’s planned investment in training will reach very few teachers and is thus doomed to fail to meet the needs of teachers and young people.
Professor Liz Kelly, EVAW Chair, said:
We now know that violence against young women in intimate relationships is as high as in the adult population . Today young people develop their social and sexual identities whilst being bombarded by images and messages that objectify women, celebrate sexual exploitation and normalise abusive behaviour. Young women and men are crying out for opportunities to explore relationships, but are not even receiving basic messages about what is and is not acceptable behaviour. Crucially, teachers are not given the training and ongoing support they need to do this.
We welcome the recognition by DCSF that schools play an important role in shaping young people’s attitudes towards violence. The need to train teachers on violence against young women and girls is crucial so that they are able to create a safe environment where girls and boys are helped to develop respectful relationships. We know that currently teachers do not feel confident to talk about these issues which are at the heart of young people’s emotional and physical development. However, the DCSF’s commitment only covers training on the new PSHE curriculum. Just 20 teachers will be trained this year as PSHE specialised teachers. This is woefully inadequate and fails teachers, young people and the delivery of the new government strategy on violence against women and girls. We urge the Teacher Development Agency to strengthen references to gender equality in current Qualified Teacher Status standards and guidance when they are reviewed this year so that protecting and preventing violence are part of the cores skills of all teachers. Violence will not be prevented if the investment in teacher training is not significantly strengthened and ongoing support provided.
Currently the DCSF does not have a single member of staff whose responsibility is to prevent VAWG, but the levels of violence young women encounter comprise their education and should be linked with learning through the curriculum, behaviour policy, bullying, absenteeism and safeguarding. We welcome the new commitment to designating a policy lead on VAWG. However this will be only one part of one person’s job; there is a real danger that VAWG will continue to be sidelined. We seek an assurance that there will be a champion and a team developed to address this critical issue for young people and their parents.
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For more information and interviews call Maria Banos Smith on 07988 64 55 76 / 0117 902 9742
Note to Editors:
End Violence Against Women is the leading coalition of its kind in the UK. Members include Amnesty International UK, Southall Black Sisters, Zero Tolerance, Women’s Aid, Refuge, TUC, Women’s Institute, Rape Crisis and The Fawcett Society. More information about the coalition and violence against women is at www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk
25% of girls (the same proportion as adult women) and 18% of boys reported some form of physical partner violence. Around 75% of girls and 50% of boys reported some form of emotional partner violence. Younger participants (aged 13 to 15 years old) were as likely as older adolescents (aged 16 and over) to experience some forms of violence. (NSPCC, Bristol University, 2009)
An ICM poll found that 77% of young people feel they do not have enough information and support to deal with physical or sexual violence. (ICM poll, November 2006, commissioned by EVAW: A survey of 16 – 20 year olds in the UK and Wales).
The Home Office Sexualisation of Young People Review concluded that there is a link between the unprecedented volume and extent of sexualised images of women in the media and violence against women. (2010)
A study of 2,081 young people in Rochdale, which found that pornography changes young men’s expectations of sexual relationships, ‘lead[ing] to pressure on young women to comply’ (Redgrave & Limmer, 2005:22).
A report by the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV (IAGSHH) identified the sexualisation of toys and product advertising as direct influences on young people’s sexual behaviour and values (IAGSHH, 2007).
