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Posted on October 12th 2021
Bold Voices @ HGA - Sixth Form Gender-Based Violence Workshops
Our Sixth Form students are off-timetable today engaging in workshops around sexual harassment and gender-based violence.
The sessions were run with Bold Voices, a group founded in 2018 to deliver education on gender inequality and gender-based violence to schools, universities, and businesses in the UK and nationally.
Universities across the UK are facing an epidemic of sexual harassment, sexual assault and gender-based violence. The talk received by students today provided them with essential knowledge about what these issues are and why they are so prevalent within UK universities.
Students then worked in small groups building a visual picture of this culture - mapping how different forms of gender inequality (such as gender stereotypes, language, attitudes towards women and girls) are related to each other and gender-based violence.
The end of the workshop focussed on disrupting this culture, giving students a chance to see how others have successfully disrupted it and committing to their own actions for disrupting it within their own lives and as a peer group.
In her reflection of the day, Lydia, in Year 12, an aspiring doctor said: "A lot of teens do not acknowledge their actions, or the words they use, and the effects that these might have. Some will see harassing language as a 'joke', but these build up, and eventually get us to the top of the pyramid (a model used by Bold Voices today to show us how sexual harassments escalates). It's better to stop the jokes in the first place."
Bold Voices said: "The students at Harris Garrard Academy were a pleasure to work with. Their ability to reflect on their own actions and the actions of others when equipped with the knowledge and education around cultures of gender-based violence was incredibly encouraging to see. It is clear that a culture of challenge, agency and responsibility is one that the students and staff are striving for and we are proud that Bold Voices could play a role in this journey. We look forward to working with Harris Garrard again soon and would love to hear about any future projects that the students carry out in a continued effort to challenge and disrupt gender inequality at school."
