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Violence Prevention Education in Your Community

Riverview Center provides educational programming to tens of thousands of schoolchildren each year to help enact change in our cultural biases and assumptions, by addressing such topics as body safety, healthy versus unhealthy relationships, sexual harassment, sexting, gender stereotyping, bullying, cyberbullying, and Internet safety. But if our message does not reach parents, caregivers, and community leaders, not only do the adults not embrace our message, the information the children are learning could be contradicted in the home. To address this, we offer a variety of violence prevention presentations for adults in which we highlight positive role modeling and healthy parenting techniques, and strive to change attitudes and beliefs about gender roles, stereotypes, and violence in our society. We also provide the tools necessary to appropriately handle disclosures of abuse and recognize the possible physical and emotional consequences of being a survivor. Specialized training is also conducted for law enforcement, the prosecuting attorney’s office, and social service and medical personnel.

Violence Prevention Education Programs

  1. Pre-K through College Programs
    Quit It! (Pre-K – 3) – addresses teasing and bullying. Children role-play respectful and empathic behavior, and practice problem solving and “Please stop, I don’t like that.”

    Body Safety (Pre-K – 4) – “No, Go, Tell.” Children discuss private parts, comfortable, uncomfortable, and confusing touches, reporting, and when not to keep secrets.

    Click on Safety (Grades 3 – 4) – covers the dangers which the Internet may present, including exposure to inappropriate material, sexual abuse, and harassment.

    Netsmartz (Grades 5 – 8)- research-based presentation with video vignettes, discussion, and interactive activities to teach more in-depth internet safety skills.

    Cyber Bullying (Grades 4 – 6)- evaluates appropriate electronic media use, including cell phones. Consequences of inappropriate communication are also addressed.

    Risky Internet Behaviors (High School) – weighs the benefits and risks of the internet and social networking sites and reviews earlier internet safety skills.

    Bully Proof (Grades 4 – 5) – students identify the signs of bullying, and physical and sexual harassment, explore why it occurs, and troubleshoot how to stop the behavior.

    Sexual Harassment: Respecting Each Other (Grade 5) – learning personal and legal consequences of sexual harassment, and how and when to report witnessed behavior.

    Flirting or Hurting (Grades 6 – 7) – identifying the fine line that separates healthy flirting from sexual harassment through assessment of words, gestures and actions.

    Safe Dates (Grades 7 – 12) – topics: equal power through communication, overcoming gender stereotypes, cultivating caring relationships, defining dating abuse, and helping friends.

    Intro to Sexual Assault Education (Middle & High School) – exploring root causes of sexual assault, dispelling myths, evaluating assault statistics, and defining consent.

    Gender Stereotypes in the Media (High School) – identifies the effect the media has on perception of gender roles; evaluates link between stereotypes and violence.

    Sexual Harassment (High School) – distinguishing it from flirting, identifying harassment’s aftereffects, steps to resolve the issue, school policies in place, and our role as a resource.

    Sexual Assault Education (Upper High School & College) – assessing link between sexual assault and alcohol, identifying consent vs. coercion, and legal ramifications.

    Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (Upper High School & College) – identifying sexual harassment, resolution and reporting of incidents, and legally mandated rights.

  2. Programs for Parents, Caregivers, Law Enforcement, Medical Personnel
    Community Group, Business, and Parent Trainings

    Riverview Center – a comprehensive overview of our mission, vision, free counseling and legal/medical advocacy, violence prevention education programming, and volunteer opportunities.

    Sexual Assault Awareness – addresses issues of consent, sexual assault definitions, identifying danger signals, what to do and where to go to escape a dangerous situation, and legal recourse.

    Date Rape Drugs – covers types of drugs used, their side effects, how long these drugs affect your functionality, how they facilitate a sexual assault, and legal consequences of their use.

    Sexual Harassment in the Workplace – discussion of proper steps to address a sexual harassment situation for employees and their managers, and suggestions to improve the harassment policy.

    Gender Stereotypes and the Portrayal of Women in Media – evaluates sex role stereotypes in our communities, and how societal and family influences allow these stereotypes to become ingrained.

    Speaking with Children about Body – addresses implementation of body safety practices, including incorporating them into everyday activities, indicators of sexual abuse, and how to handle disclosures.

    Internet Perpetrators: Keeping Children Safe On-Line? – identifies potential external dangers to children, common mistakes they make while online, and how to effectively teach Internet safety.

    Social Networking – explains what it is, why it is so popular, what dangers could be encountered, and how to keep children safe while using these sites. Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter are featured.

    Men Working to End Violence – multiple programs for men and boys designed to break down stereotypes of what a man should be and engage men in the fight to end violence in our society.

    Service Provider Trainings – social services, law enforcement, county and state attorneys, etc.

    Everyone is an Advocate (social service agencies) – covers victim and offender statistical data, physical and emotional indicators of abuse, and how to handle different types of disclosures.

    The Officer and the Advocate – includes Sexual Assault Response Teams (SART) protocol for providing collaborative, victim-centered services, including sensitivity to rape trauma syndrome.

    A Survivor on the Stand – providing victim-centered services, including sensitivity to rape trauma syndrome, avoiding victim blaming, and how Riverview can help the survivor during the trial process.


 

                

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