Voices of Children launches a series of educational lectures on gender-based violence for teenagers

Author:

Anastasia Poleshko

The first educational session on GBV and social inclusion was held as part of the project “An Integrated Response to Ensure Inclusive Education and Protection for Children and Vulnerable People Affected by the Humanitarian Crisis in Ukraine,” funded by AICS (Italian Agency for Development Cooperation) and implemented by the Children’s Voices Charitable Foundation with the support of the Tree of Life — Ukraine Charitable Foundation.

“Hello! I'm Lev. I like learning English, and I'm also quite good at drawing,” introduces himself the 14-year-old boy, a ninth-grader at the Irpin Academic Lyceum of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine.

Lev is from Mariupol. He has been living in Irpin for a relatively short time, two years since he returned from abroad with his parents. In 2022, fleeing the Russian invasion, they first went to Georgia, and then to Germany. Eventually, they returned to Ukraine and settled near Kyiv. The young man has gotten used to the new realities and is already showing great academic achievements.

Lev is going to graduate with honors. We often invited him when foreign delegations visited us. The [delegation] representatives were surprised how the child could communicate so freely in English,

Lev’s class teacher Kateryna Khodina says about his achievements.

Together with his classmates, Lev attended an educational lecture on gender-based violence and inclusion. This is the first meeting in a series of educational sessions for teenagers from Kyiv and Chernivtsi regions organized by the Voices of Children Foundation.

This day, the desks were moved to the back of the classroom to free up more space. The chairs were arranged in a circle for comfortable group work. Now the general atmosphere is conducive to establishing warm contact, and therefore greater involvement of the participants.

Ninth-graders of the lyceum, together with an expert from the Foundation, talk about gender equality, inclusion, and accessibility. Since the beginning of the war, many families have been forced to relocate. This is a significant stress for children, as they leave behind a familiar environment and friends. To adapt to a new place, support, understanding, and patience from adults are needed. It is important to maintain emotional balance and a positive attitude towards change.

After an exercise to get to know each other the work began in full swing. We started by discussing gender stereotypes — often false, but popular roles in society. Cute, sensual — about girls, and strong, active, and independent — about boys. We examined the typical signs of bullying, where it most often occurs, and its participants. In such a situation, there are usually three parties: the offender, the victim, and bystanders.

The topic [of violence] should be open among teenagers so that they know how to behave when such a situation occurs in their lives, how stereotypes work against us and against them. There are situations when it is necessary to support a friend, acquaintance, or classmate who is being bullied because this negative experience can affect their future life. We think not only about the victim but also about the offender and the bystander because we reflect on the reasons that made these children behave this way. Perhaps something is happening in their home environment,

says Natalia Shpyh, an expert on gender and inclusion at the Voices of Children Foundation.

“Parents! The class teacher! The school administration!” – these are responses to the expert’s question about whom to contact first if typical signs of bullying are detected. The participants also touched on the topic of inclusion and accessibility. They not only communicated and debated but also performed practical exercises and worked in groups. As a result, they shared their impressions and what they remembered most.

I always had a stereotype about bullying: it happens in groups and has no clear countermeasures. But today I learned certain methods and understood how to stop this process,

— Lev, 14 years old.

Today I learned a lot of hotline numbers to contact in case of violence, a lot of different information about bullying,

— Makar, 15 years old.

I am very interested in psychology, so I am aware of most of the information about this. A lot of things have been confirmed for me. Everything is clear about violence, and about gender equality too,

— Alina, 15 years old.

Such meetings are part of the educational process of teenagers, says the ninth-grade class teacher Kateryna Khodina when speaking about their importance. In addition, the war is closely intertwined with the lives of young people:

Children have become tougher. This is how stress affects them. For example, constant air raid alarms for several hours can sound even in the middle of the night. Children do not get enough sleep and come in the morning nervous. This affects their morale and mental health. In its current composition, the 9-B class has existed for two years. We study together, work, become a team, even a family. We keep in touch and try to support each other,

she adds.

Voices of Children launches a series of educational lectures on gender-based violence for teenagers — Image 1

Voices of Children launches a series of educational lectures on gender-based violence for teenagers — Image 2

This lecture is just the beginning. The Foundation plans to hold a series of educational sessions and reach out to students in two regions — Kyiv and Chernivtsi. This is where there are many requests for psychosocial support for children and families who have directly suffered from the consequences of the war.
Please be reminded that in case of bullying, you can contact the online psychological support line of the Voices of Children at: 0800 210 106. You can find contact information for centers across Ukraine here.
We previously reported that the Voices of Children mobile team has started working in an educational hub in the Kyiv region.
This project is part of the Initiative to address the needs of conflict-affected populations in Ukraine and neighboring regions (AID 012832). It is led by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, with a funding of €46.5 million. The aim is to provide multi-sectoral life-saving assistance in areas directly affected by the conflict and in surrounding areas with high concentrations of internally displaced persons. In collaboration with 27 civil society organizations, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation program replicates and expands the successes achieved during the First Initiative in 2022-2023 (AID 012600), which benefited over 20,000 people through 14 projects. Particular attention was paid to emergency medical care, education, and protection.
For additional information, please contact: Barbara Taccone, Communications Specialist, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) in Kyiv, [email protected]