Preventing Violence - Boys to Men Facilitated E-Learning Course for Practitioners

• Tuesday 7th March at 12:45pm and either
• Monday 4th April at 2-4pm OR Tuesday 5th April at 10am-12noon

The local Violence Reduction Network and Graham Goulden from Cultivating Minds UK have teamed up to provide a bespoke e-learning course for anyone working or volunteering with boys and young men in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

Graham is the VRN's consultant and trainer for Mentors in Violence (MVP) which is currently rolling-out in secondary schools and he has provided consultancy on our local bystander campaign, 'Make a Stand Against Violence'. The VRN is keen for the wider Network to benefit from Graham's expertise. You can find out more about Graham at the end of this document.

About this Course

We know nationally and internationally that boys and men are most at risk of committing offences of violence in both domestic and public place settings. They are also most at risk of experiencing public place violence as victims. Locally, almost 76% of public place violence is committed by men and 15-19 year old boys/young men are at particular risk of involvement (VRN Strategic Needs Assessment, 2022).

Expertly designed by Graham, this course aims to explore the challenges facing boys and young men in the world today and some of the causes of male violence. It then draws on an innovative bystander approach to ensure boys and men are empowered to play an active role in preventing violence. It also introduces different tools and activities to support engagement and the delivery of activities with young men to promote non-violent social norms and healthy relationships.

By the end of the training, participants will be able to:

• Discuss the challenges facing boys and young men in the UK, including the impact of childhood adversity.
• Explore and examine some of the dominant stereotypes in society which present challengers to boys and young men.
• Discuss the outcomes they would like for boys and young men to better equip them to deal with the challenges they face.
• Define the term violence within a prevention focused framework.
• Discuss the role of bystanders in the prevention of violence.
• Develop a stronger awareness and a range of tools and activities to better engage boys and young men in discussions on healthy and abusive relationships.

Training approach:

Participants will have access to a self-paced e-learning tool which takes up to 3 hours to complete preferably over a period of days to enable content to be absorbed and to ensure time for reflection.

This will be preceded with a 1 hour group session with Graham introducing the concepts and the e-learning tool and followed by a reflective 2 hour minute group session with Graham following completion of the e-learning. These sessions will be via zoom.

You will need to commit to:

• A 1 hour session for all participants via Zoom on Tuesday 7^th March at 12:45pm
• Participants will then need to complete the e-learning within the following 4 weeks
• A 2 hour reflective session via Zoom on either Monday 4^th April at 2-4pm OR Tuesday 5^th April at 10am-12noon

There are 50 places available for this training. You must be currently working with boys or young men within Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland and have permission from your line-manager to attend. You must be able to attend both types of session and complete the e-learning prior to the reflective session.

To book your place please email vrn@leics.pcc.pnn.gov.uk by 14^th February 2022.

You will receive the zoom links following the 14^th February deadline for registration including confirmation of which reflective session you will be attending. You will be asked to complete a short feedback questionnaire following completion of the course.

*This training is likely to be in high demand so it is essential that you attend or cancel giving 2 weeks notice unless there are exceptional circumstances. Please do not forward the zoom link to anyone else as they will not be given access to the training*