Description
The project addresses dating violence among teenagers in Bulgaria. The project aims at raising the awareness among school students from 5 schools about human rights by training trainers/peers and information campaigns. First, the attitudes of teenagers towards violence, its consequences, relations and gender roles will be studied in the 5 selected schools. Second, two violence prevention modules for training trainers and peers will be developed. Third, 40 students in the 8-11th grade and 10 school psychologists will attend a 3-day train the trainer/peer training. Fourth, an awareness raising campaign against dating violence will be held in the 5 schools. Finally, the Bulgarian and Norwegian experience in prevention of gender-based violence will be presented at a conference. The project will benefit the students involved, their teachers, parents, the school community and the public in general. The partner will share its experience, help develop a programme and train the teachers.
Summary of project results
Abusive romantic relations of teenagers are a neglected issue in Bulgaria and violence-prone behavioral modes are shaped at this age. The project aims at promoting acceptance of democratic values by young people by tying protection of human rights, the right to life free of violence in particular, to prevention, by developing young people’s skills so that they can get involved in solving the problem by interpreting it from their point of view and making it an efficient tool for a campaign to raise the sensitivity of their peers. The project team confirmed its expectation that the development of tools with the participation of the target group would lead to a more sensitive and sustainable change in the attitude of young people; the team also observed change in the behaviour of direct participants and their motivation to further disseminate the project ideas. 10 visual tools and 5 thematic information materials were developed and disseminated among more than 10 000 young people across the country. Train the trainer session was held for more than 40 boys (together with the Norwegian partners) who also held 69 training sessions among their peers and trained more than 2000 young people. 5 schools organized diverse weekly campaigns under the motto Love Free of Violence. Teachers and students shared their valuable positive experience from the project at the final conference and reported a positive change of the school environment. At least 2000 parents supported the project ideas through thematic parent meetings or communication with their children. The Norwegian partner helped the organization develop its curriculum for peer training and with the help of Norwegian experts trained 40 boys and 10 adults. For more information, please, visit:
http://www.gert.ngo-bg.org
Summary of bilateral results
The main achievement on bilateral level was the development of a training program for boys-peer trainers and training of 40 boys in 5 schools to deliver trainings on the problem of teenage dating violence. The program incorporated the rich experience of REFORM in working with men and young people on prevention of intimate partner violence and adopted it to the Bulgarian realities. The trained boys subsequently delivered altogether 69 trainings to all their schoolmates enrolled in secondary educational level. The capacity of the 5 participating schools to implement primary prevention on dating violence was substantially increased since ten teachers (2 in each school) were trained to support boys’ trainers during peer trainings and implement awareness raising activities in schools. The trained teachers can easily replicate training of peer trainers when these boys graduate. Another main achievement of the partnership was the improved knowledge of representatives of institutions, NGOs and schools on the leading Norwegian experience in countering teenage dating violence and particularly primary prevention in schools, transferred during the final conference. REFORM representatives shared their substantial experience in working with men perpetrators of domestic violence, which was especially interesting for all participating NGOs and institutions (specifically the police) as there are very few such programs in Bulgaria. Bilateral funds allowed the project partnership to be discussed and established. During GERT experts’ visit in Norway, Reform shared their rich experience in designing and delivering training programs for prevention of teenage dating violence, as well as results from latest Norwegian research and experiences, accessible only in Norwegian. Bilateral funds allowed the participation of two representatives of REFORM in the final conference who presented Norwegian experience in primary prevention of dating violence and GBV in schools, the Norwegian national program for prevention of domestic violence and the leading Norwegian experience in working with men perpetrators of violence. GERT and REFORM are convinced of the mutual benefits of the collaboration during the project and are looking for opportunities to work together in the future. In the meantime, they keep communicating new experiences, information and good practices.