Addressing sexualised violence with children and young people – what can this achieve?

Now I know what it is, and that there are people who can help me deal with it.

Girl in year 3

Sexualised violence against children and young people presents a challenge not just for those directly affected and their families but also for every institution that looks after children and young people: nurseries, schools, social services, clubs and therefore also cultural education organisations.

The silence, taboo and secrecy surrounding sexualised violence, which is deliberately created and reinforced by perpetrators, protect offenders and put children at risk. Openly addressing sexualised violence breaks through these dynamics and can have a wide range of positive effects for each child individually, at an educational level and for society as a whole.

In recent years, major abuse cases, for example those in Lügde or Bergisch Gladbach, helped raise awareness of how sexualised violence affects children and young people and encouraged a more open public debate about the issue. Nevertheless, a feeling of uncertainty persists among parents and education professionals to this day. How can we talk about these issues with children and young people in an age-appropriate manner? How can we give children and young people the right information without frightening or traumatising them? How much information is appropriate, and how much is too much? Debates (largely driven by right-wing and conservative groups) claiming that sex education and prevention work could lead to “early sexualisation” cause even more anxiety and uncertainty among parents and professionals.

However, studies show that the opposite is true: children who receive age-appropriate sex education and are aware of sexualised violence are safer, more self-confident and better protected. While prevention work cannot completely eradicate sexualised violence, it can significantly reduce the conditions that allow it to thrive.

Children who experience sexualised violence often feel isolated and alone. They are frequently led to believe that they themselves are to blame or are at least partly responsible. However, if bodily autonomy, personal boundaries and violence are discussed within families, schools or youth groups, this will create a climate in which those who have experienced abuse know that they are allowed to talk about it and will be taken seriously.

Children who receive age-appropriate sex education and are aware of sexualised violence are safer, more self-confident and better protected. While prevention work cannot completely eradicate sexualised violence, it can significantly reduce the conditions that allow it to thrive.

Christine Eichholz, tpw

Frank discussions remove the stigma surrounding the issue; taboos lose their power. Children who have learnt that the blame lies with the perpetrator alone and never with the victim, and children who have learnt to distinguish between good and bad secrets and know that they are allowed to tell a bad secret are more likely to confide in someone.

Girls and boys who know the anatomically correct terms for their private parts and other areas of their body and who have received age-appropriate sex education are better able to explain what happened to them if they suffered abuse.

This makes it all the more important that professionals who work full-time or on a voluntary basis with children and young people in any context gain an understanding, either during their training or later in their career, of what effective preventive work looks like, of how to provide a successful first response and conduct interviews when a case of abuse has been reported, and of the importance of safeguarding strategies that have been developed in a professional and participatory manner.

Talking about sexualised violence does not mean confronting children with shocking content or sexually explicit information that is inappropriate for their age and impossible for them to process. Rather, it is about age-appropriate education on subjects such as:

• feelings
• physical contact
• boundaries
• consent and trust
• pressure to keep secrets
• knowledge and vocabulary relating to sexualised violence
• courses of action and ways to seek help

Children who are taught that they have the right to make decisions about their own bodies, who have learnt to trust their feelings and that it is acceptable to say “no” when someone crosses a personal boundary are better protected. If we talk to children and young people about boundary violations and violence, including in digital spaces, they will develop self-protection skills, that is, the ability to assess difficult situations and danger more clearly. If they have learnt to rely on their gut instinct as a form of unconscious experiential knowledge, they are more likely to recognise unwanted touching or manipulation, apply coping strategies that they have acquired and tested, and seek help.

Robbe comes into my room and plays these silly games with me. At first, I thought it was funny but now… now he touches me everywhere, even where I don’t want him to.

“My body belongs to me!” (tpw), Boy speaking about abuse by his older brother

Prevention work ensures that all children are informed, aware and empowered regardless of whether they have experienced violence or not. Statistically speaking, in a class of 20 children there will be one or two who have experienced violence. Many of those children remain silent out of fear that they will not be believed or that they will be judged.

However, in an environment where the issue is regularly addressed, both professionally and at an organisational level, structures can be put into place that make it easier for those affected by abuse to find the courage to speak about it. They will be made to feel that they are not alone and that there are ways to get help.

Learning to talk to children and young people about sexualised violence while protecting one’s own boundaries

When discussing sexualised violence, it is important to distinguish between, on the one hand, educational and preventive work and, on the other hand, conversations during which, for example, a child who has experienced abuse confides in you.

The following applies to both areas: education professionals can be trained in the specialist, communicative and emotional aspects of talking about sexualised violence with children in a suitable, age-appropriate and trauma-sensitive manner, provided they receive systematic training, have access to and are conversant with clear institutional frameworks (such as reporting procedures, supervision or psychological support), have learnt how to conduct such conversations and are familiar with techniques for maintaining their own boundaries and practising self-care.

For 20 years of my working life, I avoided dealing with the issue of sexualised violence out of a sense of insecurity and a feeling of being overwhelmed. During the training, I realised that support is available, and that there are steps I can take. I now feel more confident and better equipped to respond appropriately when faced with such cases.

Social Worker

Sexualised violence often goes unreported. Many children will not speak about it of their own accord; instead they may display changes in behaviour or mental state or make ambiguous statements to professionals. Prevention work can provide spaces and opportunities for children to gradually open up about their personal experiences. This is why professionals in nurseries, schools and other educational settings find themselves in a key position. They can pick up on signs, create safe spaces for conversations and set protection chains in motion. At the same time, this means that professionals may also be faced with distressing content and unsettling situations, which necessitate a reflective examination of their own boundaries and professional coping mechanisms.

These skills can be taught through further training, practical exercises, such as role- playing, and support with their practical application. Empirical and practical guidelines present a standard course of action that is intended to give professionals confidence in distressing situations.

There are four areas of particular importance.

Structured training and professional development

One-day training courses can generally provide important initial ideas and basic knowledge. More effective programmes, however, require a longer-term view and combine knowledge transfer, communication exercises and case work whilst initiating ongoing support (e.g. coaching or peer reviews).

Institutional safeguards

Individual, well-trained professionals will find themselves under enormous pressure if their organisation has no clear guidance on reporting and support procedures. Safeguarding policies, clear lines of responsibility and easy access to external specialist services are essential factors that enable professionals to take action, reflect on the pressures they face and seek support.

Supervision, peer reviews and psychological support

Reflecting on distressing cases in a supervision setting maintains the necessary professional distance and protects those who have to listen to distressing experiences from becoming secondarily traumatised. Organisations that spare no effort to provide supervision and psychological support despite the associated costs increase the likelihood that staff will be able to manage cases effectively and cope with the emotional stress themselves.

Examining one’s own values, attitudes and shame thresholds

Children need clear language and the correct terminology to be able to express themselves. Some professionals find themselves struggling to talk about sexuality or sexual violence. These internal barriers can be overcome by critically examining one’s own culturally acquired or inherited values and feelings of shame, and one’s own personal history of sex education compared to those of other people. This process can unlock the potential to understand children and young people’s feelings of shame while also offering them a safe person to talk to and one who encourages them to speak about it.

There are realistic limits:

Personal trauma suffered by the member of staff

Those who have had distressing or even traumatic experiences themselves often need additional, long-term professional support before they can work on distressing cases. Further training alone is not always going to be enough.

Forensic limits

Statements made by children and young people may require the collection of evidence; and the procedure in this case is strictly regulated. Inexpert questioning can jeopardise evidence or exacerbate traumatic memories. At a certain point, the conduct of the interview should be handed over to specially qualified personnel.

The potential of theatre education in child safeguarding

Cultural education – and theatre education in particular – offers valuable avenues to boosting self-efficacy. This does not always explicitly involve discussing sexualised violence or even portraying it on stage. In fact, this is more likely the exception. It is actually the participatory process in itself that empowers children and young people, provided the work is sufficiently participatory. It creates experiential spaces where children can express themselves, recognise boundaries and learn about social responsibility. Cultural perspectives build a bridge between emotional experience and reflective action; and this is precisely where their potential lies.

Safe spaces through creative forms of expression

In an ideal case, participatory cultural work opens up safe spaces in which children can express feelings, conflicts and experiences through their art without having to give anything away directly. Pictures, dance or theatre can initiate a process of engagement and create a symbolic distance at the same time. Difficult subjects can be explored indirectly through role-playing and scenes, altered symbols and images, or movement and music. This aesthetic distance makes it possible to talk about boundary violations without putting oneself at risk. In participatory work, people can choose their own topics and roles and thus also influence and decide for themselves where they would leave their comfort zone, to what extend they wish to test their boundaries and possibly expand them or whether they wish to defend and preserve them.

I love it when I can help children start thinking about their rights. How cool is that?!

Theatre Educator

Fostering self-efficacy and body awareness

The promotion of self-determination and body awareness is central to the prevention of sexualised violence. Theatre education, in particular, combines different forms of expression such as voice, movement and physical presence. Participants learn to become aware of their bodies, to see their bodies as a means of expression and to sense and define boundaries verbally and non-verbally. Carefully guided exercises on space, proximity and distance or on expressions of status and hierarchy foster a sensitivity to one’s own behaviour and that of others and to the power of body language. This increases one’s ability to recognise power imbalances or abuse and respond to them with confidence.

Communication and a change of perspective

The arts, particularly theatre education, promote dialogue-based learning. In improvisation exercises, such as Augusto Boal’s Forum Theatre, participants can act out situations, interrupt them, try out alternative courses of action and experience how power dynamics can be changed. Children and young people learn that violence does not arise in a vacuum but within social structures, and that everyone can take responsibility.

Maike Plath’s veto principle can also help groups to take on shared or individual responsibility in creative processes. Drawing on Jesper Juul’s principle of equal dignity, certain elements, such as “leadership wildcards”, can be used by anyone and once established allow for direct feedback on the quality of leadership as well as the needs and boundaries of individuals and the group. If participants who are otherwise rather shy and quiet also play the wildcards to raise a veto, there is a good chance that all voices in the group will be heard. If resistance is understood by individuals or within the group as a valuable inspiration for the shared process, if it is not ignored but used as a resource, then this process results in a different quality of listening and strengthens self-efficacy.

Emotional learning and empathy

Whilst purely cognitive approaches often convey knowledge about boundaries and rights, the arts and theatre education facilitate emotional learning. Role-playing allows children to experience empathy, compassion and solidarity. They can feel what it means to be hurt or excluded and, at the same time, discover the potential impact of support. These are lasting emotional experiences; they form the basis for a respectful attitude towards oneself and others. Theatre work appeals not only to the mind but to the whole person – body, emotions and perception.

Creative work is always social. It thrives on communication, engagement, cooperation, trust and consideration. Collaborative creative work brings about a sense of community that fosters mutual respect and strengthens social skills. Children learn that cooperation only works when boundaries are mutually respected and communicated.

Educational professionalism and responsibility

Theatre and other art forms should never become a stage for revealing personal experiences but should allow for reflection and awareness-raising.

Creative work is no substitute for a safeguarding policy, but it can form a crucial part of it. It creates spaces in which children can develop self-confidence, empathy and courage, which are essential for recognising, calling out and confronting sexualised violence.

Translation (english): Alex Emerson