Group Education Manual - Peace Corps Wiki

Objectives8.2 Sexual Violence in the Daily Routine1. To better understand the many ways in which women’s (and men’s) lives arelimited by male violence, especially sexual violenceAudienceTimeAge: Youth or adults; Sex: Men (with adaptation) or mixed groups; Literacy: Anylevel; Resources: Medium60 minutesMaterials • Flipchart• MarkersFacilitator’snotesThis activity is critical for setting and establishing a clear understanding of the extentand impact of men’s violence against women. Be sure to allow ample time! Thisactivity works best in mixed gender workshops where the ratio of men to women isreasonably balanced. But it can be included in any workshop.If men are defensive, make sure to look more closely at their reactions. Make it clearthat you’re not accusing anyone in the room of having created such a climate of fear.Remind the group that you are trying to show how common and how devastatingviolence against women is.Some people have strong emotional reactions to this activity. These reactions caninclude anger, outrage, astonishment, shame, embarrassment, and defensiveness. Asworkshop participants show their feelings, let them know that their reaction isnormal and appropriate. Many people are shocked and become angry when theylearn the extent and impact of violence against women. Remind them that angercan be a powerful motivating force for change. Encourage them to identify ways touse their anger and outrage usefully to prevent violence and to promote genderequity.Be aware that some men may think that they need to protect women from violence.If some men in the group say this, remind the group that it is important for each ofus to be working to create a world of less violence. Men and women need to worktogether as allies in this effort. The danger of saying that it is up to men to protectwomen is that we take away women’s power to protect themselves.Steps 1. Draw a line down the middle of a flipchart paper from top to bottom. On oneside, draw a picture of a man and on the other, a woman. Let the participantsknow that you want them to reflect on a question in silence for a moment. Tellthem that you will give them plenty of time to share their answers once theyhave thought it over in silence. Ask the question:? “What do you do on a daily basis to protect yourself from sexual violence?”2. Ask the men in the group to share their answers to the question. Most likely,none of the men will identify doing anything to protect themselves. If a mandoes identify something, make sure it is a serious answer before writing it down.Leave the column blank unless there is a convincing answer from a man. Pointout that the column is empty or nearly empty because men don’t usually eventhink about having to protect themselves from sexual violence.72