The Teenpower Violence Prevention Toolkit

What is the Teenpower Violence Prevention Toolkit?

This programme was developed with the help of teachers and 70 students after a survey of over 200 people highlighted the need for a low-cost, user friendly, interactive, realistic and engaging resource that addresses personal safety risks for young people like peer pressure, bystander syndrome etc.
Evidence shows that it builds skills for real life by:

• providing opportunities for students to practise experiential, evidence and success-based violence prevention strategies and skills (using informative role plays and skill practices).
• ensuring that these skills are directly relevant and appropriate for young people’s experiences and communities (using real life stories).
• building courage, team spirit, and ownership (using creative projects).
• providing a valuable, ready-to-use resource for teachers to fulfill NZ Curriculum requirements and to turn behavioural and interpersonal challenges into learning opportunities.

As a result, New Zealand teenagers have more skills
to cope with many interpersonal challenges in daily life
and enjoy safe intimate relationships. They:

• recognise warning signs
• set appropriate boundaries
• de-escalate confrontational situations
• help others as active bystanders
• know where and how to access help
• persist to get the help they need

Links With the New Zealand Curriculum Framework

The project fits well within the New Zealand Curriculum Framework, particularly in the Health and Physical Wellbeing and the Arts areas. It will also help students to develop all five of the Key Competencies, Thinking, Using language, Managing self, Relating to others and Participating and contributing.

Overview of Activities

SHORT Programme Version (approximately 1 hour total)

• Use interactive Teenpower Skill Card for 5-10 minutes at a time over 2-6 weeks in teaching periods, picking and choosing the cards that are most relevant at the time and doing one or two practices.
  

FULL Programme Version (approximately 4-6 hours total)

• Activity 1 Understand how we learn about sexuality and gender (1-2 hours)
• Activity 2 Do interactive Teenpower Skill Card practices (5-10 minutes at a time, spread out over 2-4 weeks)
• Activity 3 Apply the Skills to Change Real Life Stories (1 hour)