Principle 4: Empowering and collaborative practices must always be considered as being ‘in development’

Rationale

Using tools and models that are grounded in community development and participatory methodology supports the development of SVPP and SVP activities. They meet communities and participants where they are, and empower people to create change and find solutions that work in their specific context.

 Positioning ourselves with the community allows us to:

  • gain insight into the cultural norms, practices and values of the group/community

  • engage the group/community in planning and implementation

  • appreciate that the people we are working with are the experts of their own lives

Principle 4 in Action

Impactful SVPP and SVP activities are developed in consultation and collaboration with the communities they form part of. Practices that are strengths-based, participatory and empowering are more likely to create sustainable change overtime. They must:

  • begin from a place of respect, drawing on individual, group and/or community strengths

  • develop relationships and rapport with stakeholders and community members

  • avoid deficit focus or frameworks

  • demonstrate that we are both experts and learners when working in prevention

A resource for those who want to upskill on the ACC website is a great place to start.

 

Other models that are often utilised are:

  • Community Readiness Model

  • Community Mobilisation

  • Participatory Action Research

  • Co-design

  • Collective Impact

Research suggests[1] that one-off education/workshop sessions are not effective in creating behaviour change. One-off sessions could be acceptable practice when part of a broader initiative, e.g. a workshop that is part of a whole school approach or part of a community prevention strategy. The New Zealand Police have developed a guide for one-day workshops and one-off talks which offers some great ideas on how to do this well.


[1] Carmody, M. (2009). Conceptualising the prevention of sexual assault and the role of education. Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault, 10, 1-20.

practice examples

  • Right2BSafe is a community mobilisation campaign to help prevent child sexual abuse in Hauraki and Coromandel. The audience are adults who are around children and are able to effect change for them. The goal is to change societal norms around child sexual abuse by building a critical mass of individuals with improved awareness and understanding of child abuse prevention strategies.

  • ‘Whakatokia Te Kakano o Te Hā: planting the seeds of life’ is a resource produced by Te Puna Oranga outlining where the whānau can be empowered to create their own solutions to prevent violence before it happened.

Tools and Further Recommendations

We suggest:

  • Because the ‘ACC Making a Difference: Sexual Violence Primary Prevention Toolkit’ includes only the Community Readiness Model, others could be added.

  • Testing The Facilitators’ model, developed during the consultation with young men, with other populations groups.