The 19th January 2018 issue of eNews included extensive links to resources about bullying and cyber-safety for children and young people. In the context of domestic violence, Young people as agents of change in preventing violence against women, a recently announced ANROWS research project, is on youth participation models – young people helping other young people – build respectful relationships as a critical way to prevent violence against women in future generations. The project is led by Dr Karen Struthers of Griffith University, with Prof Clare Tilbury, as a collaboration between Griffith University, YFS Ltd, and the Ruby Gaea Sexual Assault Service in the Northern Territory.
The research aims to explore ways young people can effectively engage in positive change that promotes gender equality and reduces the prevalence of violence against women. Using an action research approach, R4Respect, a peer-to-peer respectful relationships program coordinated by YFS, will be evaluated to see how the program influences the views of the youth participants involved in the program, the actions they take to build more respectful relationships, and the effectiveness of the peer-to-peer respectful relationships education model.
To read more about R4Respect, click here. A 2017 article in Children Australia presents findings from a process evaluation of the model, which drew on interviews with youth participants and adult external stakeholders. These highlight how young people can play an important role in domestic violence prevention. Another 2017 article reviewing the program can be accessed from here. This article explains how the development of the model was guided by Kathryn Seymour’s 2012 Good Practice Principles for Youth Development and affirms the importance of these principles to building a participatory model in which young people feel valued and supported.