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West Virginia Sexual Violence Training and Prevention Resource Toolkit:
Working with School-Aged Children and Youth
The development of the West Virginia Sexual Violence Training and Prevention Resource Toolkit for Working with School-Aged Children and Youth standardizes the core knowledge of individuals who offer effective sexual violence training and prevention programming.
The toolkit was designed to help prepare to educate students, their parents and caregivers and school staff about sexual violence and its prevention. The repository of basic information provided focuses on developing and presenting educational sessions, initiating dialogue, coordinating trainings and otherwise engaging and mobilizing schools on prevention of sexual violence.
Users of the toolkits are encouraged to review and utilize all sections in order to provide a more effective and comprehensive response to primary prevention violence.
Schools are strongly encouraged to partner with their local rape crisis centers in preparing and implementing training and prevention programs. Not only are center staff trained specifically to provide these programs and will do so at no cost, they also have many of the resources identified in the toolkit.
Creation of the toolkit was a major undertaking and involved the expertise and assistance of numerous individuals along with The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (WVDHHR) and the West Virginia Foundation for Rape Information and Services (WVFRIS).
The project partners are indebted to the Centers for Disease Control (Rape Prevention Education funds) for financial support for the development of the prevention components of this toolkit.
Prevention Programming
As a training aid, the toolkit addresses the multi-faceted capacity-building needs of trainers and prevention educators. Reviewing the toolkit can assist you in:
- Understanding the extent of this problem and the need for training and prevention education
- Thinking comprehensively about what the response to and prevention of sexual violence against school-aged children and youth entails
- Increasing your knowledge of key points you need to know prior presenting trainings and prevention programs
- Building your comfort and competency in facilitating dialogue on this topic
- Responding appropriately when individuals disclose victimization and
- “Doing no harm” in your programming efforts (e.g., by learning how to respond appropriately to disclosures of victimization).
Ideas for Programming
This toolkit can help develop various components of effective prevention programming by:
- Identifying key education issues for students, parents/caregivers and staff
- Ensuring that your prevention approach is mainly based on a public health model of primary prevention
- Identifying considerations for working with different groups of students
- Thinking about how to engage school and local allies to help implement activities
- Considering which resources and policies might be useful to your efforts
- Thinking about ways to keep programming fresh and interesting (e.g., by using several resources at a time and rotating their use from year to year)
- Recognizing that you can be the catalyst for systemic change when you advocate for effective policies with school administration
- Developing an overall strategy of diverse and ongoing training or prevention activities, to reach the widest audience possible and have the greatest positive impact
- Strategizing how to tie the different components of programming together (e.g., seek to have a policy mandating training for school staff and then utilize the toolkit’s materials to develop that training)
- Preparing to be an effective presenter
- Creating materials for public awareness and publicity and
- Deciding how to assess the impact of your programming efforts and how to use the results to improve program results.
Toolkit Sections and Description
This toolkit is organized into six sections as summarized below.
Each section of the toolkit (Sections A through F) can be downloaded separately. Click on a Section Title below to open an Adobe PDF of the selected information. See the toolkit’s Table of Contents for specific topics covered in each of the sections.
| Section | Section Title & Description |
|---|---|
| A. | Are You Ready to Do This? This section offers a self-assessment tool to help you (1) assess your readiness for presenting sexual violence training and prevention programs, (2) identify your strengths and areas for improvement, and (3) identify sections of the toolkit that can help you build upon your strengths and address your informational needs. This short survey can be completed in just a few minutes. |
| B. | What You Need to Know This section provides an introduction to the key issues that toolkit creators identified as critical for any sexual violence trainer or prevention educator to know. It includes general information on (1) sexual violence, (2) how to respond when someone has been victimized, and (3) preparing to present and evaluate trainings and prevention programs. |
| C. | Primary Prevention of Sexual Violence This section offers basic information on the public health concept of primary prevention and its relevance to the elimination of sexual violence. It challenges you to look beyond the “one-time presentation” and suggests ways to implement a comprehensive approach. It includes an opportunity for you to test your knowledge on this topic. |
| D. | Getting Started This section explores sexual violence issues specific to the target population of this toolkit: school-aged children and youth. |
| E. | Resources This section provides resources that were reviewed and selected by the toolkit work group as promoting promising practices for sexual violence trainings and prevention programs or as useful supplements for working with school-aged children and youth. |
| F. | Sample Procedures This section offers sample procedures related to issues that can impact sexual violence prevention and intervention for school-aged children and youth. You are encouraged to review these samples carefully and make adaptations as appropriate to your program’s mission, services and target audiences. |
Training or Educational Presentations
Train-the-Trainer Sessions
This toolkit offers coordination of trainings for staff and student peer educators (as appropriate to the grade level) for those who are involved in sexual violence training and prevention programming at schools.
Agendas for such training programs could start out with a self-assessment, provide a general introduction to sexual violence intervention and prevention and presenting programs, offer an overview of primary prevention, and then move into issues specific to K-12 schools.
Information about resources, policies and procedures relevant to your school can be reviewed and discussed. Almost any of the issues discussed in the toolkit could also be a topic for a weekly meeting discussion, a staff professional development meeting or an educator’s supervision meeting.
Educational Sessions or Workshops
This toolkit offers coordination and presentations for any number of groups, such as:
- Male students only
- Female students only
- A mixed gender audience
- New students
- Students leaders
- Student athletes
- Students participating in clubs and organizations
- Students in particular courses (health, social studies, etc.)
- Students participating in special services programs
- Administrators
- Teachers at all levels
- Health and guidance staff
- Special education staff and
- Parents and caregivers.
Feedback on Toolkit
Completing the feedback form after using the School-Age Children Toolkit will ensure that FRIS provides resources and information for effective sexual violence prevention program.
Supplemental Materials
This sheet provides a compilation of where resources can be found in the toolkit with designated content areas (e.g., bullying, healthy relationships, etc.)