Preventing and Responding to Gender Based Violence: A Whole School Framework
The Scottish Government has published a new resource for schools: Preventing and Responding to Gender Based Violence: A Whole School Framework.
It was developed by a working group co-chaired by the Scottish Government, Rape Crisis Scotland and Zero Tolerance and sets out how schools can use education to challenge societal views which normalise gender-based violence.
The framework encompasses testimony from young people and staff and aims to support schools by:
- demonstrating the different ways GBV can affect young people in a school community and highlighting how schools can challenge the underlying gender inequalities which can cause it
- providing guidance to support schools’ responses to GBV experienced, or carried out by, children and young people or other members of the school community, including staff
- outlining the approach schools should take to recording GBV behaviours and signposting to further support and learning
We advocated for the guidance following the recommendations for education made by children and young people who took part in the Everyday Heroes consultation for the Equally Safe delivery plan in 2018. We also drew on our experience working with schools and young people through ESAS and the National Sexual Violence Prevention Programme, as well as the experience of local Rape Crisis centres supporting young survivors of sexual violence.
The tools and resources available via the ESAS website will support secondary schools to put much of the Framework into practice, and schools undertaking ESAS can also access free staff training from their local Rape Crisis centre.
