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My childhood, my treasure

2022-3-RO01-KA153-YOU-0001027252022Mobility of youth workersfinalized
Countries: RO|TR|RS|HU|PT|BG · Grant: €38,033
Human rights and rule of lawPreventing early school leaving and failure in education

Objectives

This project was developed at the suggestion of groups of youth workers from Bulgaria and Turkey, participants in our previous project - Empower. They wanted to find methods and techniques to prevent sexual abuse among young people from disadvantaged environments where they work, where sex education still remains a taboo, a subject that is not talked about, and sex, in general, is associated with the feeling of shame, which makes them even more vulnerable. Following the analysis of statistics from Romania, we found that 14% of young people from rural areas have one or both parents gone to work abroad (taking care of them by adults more or less related to them); over a quarter of young people in Romania have been exposed, on the Internet or on television, to some images of a sexual nature, and in this sense digital education accessible especially to young people from rural areas is necessary - these statistics are compiled on the basis of declared data, but in reality these percentages could be higher, as demonstrated by an estimate of the Council of Europe, according to which 90% of cases of sexual violence against young people are managed without the involvement of the police or the courts. The same report estimates that, at the European level, 1 out of 5 minors end up being sexually abused, in one form or another, statistics confirmed by the figures at the national level in Bulgaria, Portugal, Serbia, Turkey. The Reconnect Association, together with its Romanian partner the Development and Psychotherapy by Action Association, applied online, among 10 youth workers from each organization, a questionnaire to see their level of information regarding sexual abuse and its prevention methods in the disadvantaged environments in which it operates. Most of the respondents stated that they had not participated in any educational program in this sense, although they were aware of the vulnerability of the young people they work with, whom they did not know how to help to prevent sexual abuse among them. Our goal was therefore to develop the work skills of some youth workers with the aim of preventing sexual abuse on the young people they work with. In this sense, the objectives achieved were: Increasing the level of understanding of the phenomenon of sexual abuse and its consequences, as well as the need for education and inclusion actions of young people with limited opportunities, at risk of vulnerability, from rural areas, by 35 youth workers from 6 countries, on a period of 12 days; • Training these youth workers in the use of the working techniques of 2 non-formal education methods (Psychodrama and Espere) effective in working with young people vulnerable to sexual abuse, from rural areas; • Development of working skills in the team of 5 youth workers from 6 countries on the topic of sexual abuse, using the 2 methods of non-formal education, in an international context; • Improving the digital skills of the 35 youth workers so that they can effectively use the methods and techniques of non-formal education Psychodrama and Espere in the online environment, with the aim of increasing the level of awareness of young people regarding the potential dangers on social networks.

Project partners (7)