New Approach To Domestic Abuse Awareness Launched At Local School

January 26, 2015 by Joanna Harrison

New approach to domestic abuse awareness launched at local school

Friday 23rd January 2015

Students from Shoeburyness High School have taken part in unique domestic abuse awareness lessons funded by the Southend Success for All Children Fund and delivered by local not for profit organisation Blade Education. The lessons are part of the Southend: Start The Conversation (SSTC) project that helps young people to understand what domestic abuse is so that they are able to recognise it if it ever happens to them or anyone they know.

Based around specially produced information films that were made in consultation with over 400 professionals, including the police and parents, and are age appropriate, SSTC gives pupils an example of domestic abuse and shows them what they need to know in terms of the law around domestic abuse and getting help for themselves or someone else. During the lessons pupils are asked to think how the project could be improved. This allows everyone taking part to actively think about what they have seen and heard in a constructive manner that improves their understanding of the subject over a method that would simply present the issue and not discuss the implications.

SSTC has had a 99% success rate in raising children's awareness of domestic abuse and helping them understand the issues involved. By bringing the pupils into the process and engaging them with the subject, the project has shown that domestic abuse awareness is not something that cannot be taught and that with the right resources helping all children to understand what domestic abuse is, that it is a criminal act, and that there is help available.
SSTC session leader, Beth Hooper has been impressed by the work that the pupils of Shoeburyness High School have done. "Throughout the sessions the children have taken this subject very seriously and have offered thoughtful and sometimes very interesting comments about domestic abuse awareness and how it affects people of their age. The aim here is for no-one to say they accepted domestic abuse because they thought it was normal.

Everyone needs to know that this is a crime before it happens - just as we all know that murder or rape is a crime, domestic abuse destroys lives and our children need to know about it without frightening them." Southend - Start the conversation is a Blade Education project, funded by the Southend Success for all Children group. Blade Education is a Southend-on-Sea based not for profit company.

Southend-on-Sea Borough Council’s Executive Councillor for Children and Learning, Councillor Anne Jones said: “It is heartening to know that our children and young people have responded so positively to these sessions on a very important subject which is so difficult to discuss. As a result, we hope they will continue to remember to messages they have learned. It is vital to raise awareness so children and young people can recognise domestic abuse and know immediately how to get help.”

For more information regarding this issue please contact Beth Hooper on 0207 0973935 or beth@blade-education.org.uk