“Sexual Violence – Educational and Prevention Program” (SVEP Program) NO. REC-AG-2017/REC-RDAP-GBV-AG-2017 is funded by the European Union under the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2014-2020). The project leader is the Women’s Room, in cooperation with the project partners: the Ombudsperson for Children of the Republic of Croatia, Blue Phone, Gymnasium and Vocational School Bernardin Frankopan Ogulin, Economic and Tourism School Daruvar, Crafts School Osijek, Medical School Osijek, Food Technology School Zagreb and Ivan Švear Secondary School Ivanić Grad. The project started on September 1, 2018.
The overall aim of the project is the prevention of sexual violence against children through educational activities, capacity building and awareness raising.
Sexual violence falls into the category of the most severe and least reported forms of violence, especially when it comes to children and youth. Some of its forms are particularly unrecognized, both in the legislation and by the profession, but also by the general public. Although the topic of sexual violence against children and youth is gaining importance, it is still met with significant resistance and the avoidance of its recognition by both professionals and the general public. This is evident from the lack of systematic programs for the prevention of sexual violence at an early age (kindergarten) as well as from the lack of systematic, specialized education for professionals from different systems (educational institutions, health care institutions, social welfare institutions, etc.) so they could recognize and protect children who survived sexual violence. Although data indicates that 1 in 5 children has survived sexual violence, there is still a low level of awareness in society about this problem.
In response to such lack of systematic and continuous education on the issue of sexual violence, as well as based on the recognized needs and expressed interest of educational institutions and children and youth for more active work on the prevention of sexual violence, the Women’s Room, during 2019 and 2020, developed, evaluated and verified SVEP Program – Sexual Violence Prevention Program for Secondary Schools (http://www.zenskasoba.hr/seksualno-nasilje-edukacijski-i-prevencijski-program/). The program was verified by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Croatia and implemented in 31 secondary schools throughout Croatia.
In order to open the topic of sexual violence against children and youth, present the SVEP program, the importance of its implementation, as well as the main challenges related to its systematic implementation, the Women’s Room organized a Conference with international participation “Importance and challenges of sexual violence prevention programs in schools“ on the 24th of November.
The whole Conference is available on the LINK.
Considering the wide range of areas of expertise of the speakers participating in the Conference, it represents an exceptional opportunity for professional development, exchange of experiences and awareness raising, and will contribute to further development of public policies in the field of prevention of sexual violence against and among children and youth.