To nurture the skills of resilience is key to providing young people with the ability to cope with stress, adversity, failure and challenges. Resilience is evident when young people have a greater ability to “bounce back” when faced with difficulties and achieve positive outcomes.
Resilience enables an individual to identify when a relationship feels unsafe, threatening or uncomfortable and provides the confidence and self-belief to persist in raising and reporting a concern. It also enables an individual to support others who are victims of domestic abuse and direct them to appropriate support services.
For over 35 years, Women’s Aid’s has been working to prevent domestic and sexual violence and to ensure the safety of abused women and children. A key element of its work has been to engage directly with children and young people to promote safe, violence-free family relationships.
The Expect Respect Education Toolkit has been developed by Women’s Aid following its initial launch in 2010 as part of a Home Office campaign to address teenage relationship abuse. With funding from the Body Shop, Women’s Aid has had the opportunity to work with teachers over the years to develop resources for work with children and young people in schools. As a result, the current toolkit consists of one easy to use “Core” lesson for each year group from reception to year 13 and is based on themes that have been found to be effective in tackling domestic abuse. These resources can be accessed below and are designed to improve the responses of those affected by domestic abuse as well as prevent domestic abuse in the future.
The Issue locally and nationally
Domestic abuse can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, background, or circumstances. It includes a range of behaviours used to control, threaten, intimidate, or harm another person, and can have a significant impact on individuals, families, and communities.
Children and young people are often affected by domestic abuse, whether they witness it directly or are aware of it happening within the home. Experiencing domestic abuse can affect a child’s emotional wellbeing, confidence, relationships, and ability to learn and thrive.
Domestic abuse can also influence young people’s understanding of healthy relationships. This is why it is important that children and young people have opportunities to learn about respect, consent, communication, and where to seek help if they are worried about their own safety or the safety of someone they know.
If you, a family member, or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, support is available. We encourage you to access the resources below and contact local specialist services for confidential advice, information, and support. Remember, domestic abuse is never the fault of the person experiencing it, and help is available.
Local Support
Embrace Child Victims Of Crime
Helping young crime victims and witnesses recover from trauma Embrace Child Victims Of Crime is a specialist support service for young victims and witnesses to crime on behalf of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. The aim of the Cambridgeshire-based charity is to help children, young people, and families from all over
Read More About Embrace Child Victims Of CrimeResources
External Links
- Advice for people affected by domestic abuse – Cambridge City Council
- Cambridge Women’s Aid – Supporting Women Affected by Domestic Abuse
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Partnership
- Domestic Abuse Support Service (DASS) – Cambridge
- Domestic abuse: a guide for school staff
- Domestic abuse: how to get help – gov.uk
- Domestic abuse: specialist sources of support – gov.uk
- Domestic violence and abuse – NHS
- Expect Respect Education Toolkit – Domestic Abuse Resource
- National Domestic Abuse Helpline – Freephone, 24 Hour Helpline
- Women’s Services Map – Specialist Support for Women in Cambridgeshire