141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

294326
Training volunteers and partners to respond to school-related gender-based violence

Tuesday, November 5, 2013 : 1:30 PM - 1:50 PM

Meghan Donahue, Ph.D. , Overseas Programming & Training, Peace Corps, Washington, DC
Gender-based violence (GBV) is a worldwide problem that raises public health and human rights concerns. In the Peace Corps 2012 Status Reports, of the 66 posts that submitted data, nearly half reported that Volunteers worked with local partners to organize activities aimed at reducing the incidence of gender-based violence, especially in rural areas. The Student-Friendly Schools (SFS) training package was designed to prepare Peace Corps staff to train education Volunteers and their work partners to respond to school-related gender-based violence. Because schools replicate and reproduce gender attitudes, and teachers often reinforce negative gender norms unintentionally, this training targets members of the education community in a thoughtful and culturally appropriate way to engage participants in how to prevent and respond to GBV.

Learning Areas:
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
Define school related gender based violence (GBV). Explain at least 3 underlying causes of GBV. Identify 3 strategies teachers and students can use to promote a student-friendly classroom.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: because I am the gender specialist at Peace Corps with the responsibility of responding to gender issues that volunteers encounter. Many of the topics that emerge are gender inequality and violence. Volunteers are trained to facilitate discussions around these topics to motivate community action, and in a culturally appropriate way. Some of the training volunteers receive are part of the gender continuum.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.