Breaking the Silence in Schools

On 18th May this year, White Ribbon hosted the first of three Breaking the Silence in Schools workshops for 2011. The Breaking the Silence in Schools program is a partnership between Suzanne Grae, the NSW Department of Training and Education, the schools participating and the White Ribbon Foundation.
Breaking the Silence involves principals and other executives in our schools developing strategies to raise awareness of the issue of violence against women and girls, and implementing programs aimed at developing respectful relationships. This program is unique in that it involves incorporating White Ribbon approaches into existing school programs, and polices, and working with students, teaching staff and parent communities to create a ‘whole of school’ positive culture that promotes respectful relationships.
Principals who participated in this latest workshop were enthusiastic about the program and identified a number of initiatives to help embed the messages of respect in their own school context.
The second workshop, to be held on 20th July 2011, is fast-approaching and is shaping-up to be an exciting session. In this up-coming workshop the principals return to reflect on the progress of initiatives to date and to generate ideas for White Ribbon Day activities later in the year.