28 Day 1. Welcome. The training and its purpose.
TO THE TRAINER
PART II: THE TRAINING
Day 1. Welcome. The training and its purpose.
Aim. To establish a good working relationship between the Trainer and the group, and develop a shared understanding of the aims of the training. To emphasise that the participants bring their own knowledge and experience to the training.
Start the training in a warm manner. Thank the participants for their interest and engagement, their commitment to human rights, and their willingness to work together against violence, especially violence against women. Introduce yourself in a respectful and humble way.
Introduce the training and its purpose.
Comment on the nature of the group. Say where we come from, and note that every member of the group works in various ways with trauma. If members of the group work with GBV in different ways, underline that it is important to respect everyone’ s contribution and express the hope that participants will be inspired during the training to identify what they share with one another.
Introduce yourself and describe your background.
If you use translators, be sure to introduce them. It should be made very clear to the group why they are there, and that they do not represent, for example, the government or the police.
It may be wise to talk beforehand to someone who knows the local society, to find out how people are used to meeting in a group setting. It may be useful to ask the following questions:
• How do teachers introduce themselves in this culture? What do they emphasise?
• Are there any dress codes?
• What is polite and what is impolite to say and do?
• How do participants usually expect to share in settings like this?
Present the overall objectives of the training, making sure that participants understand its objectives and expected outcomes. Facilitate a brief discussion about these expectations and the expectations of participants. Tell the participants that some of their expectations will be met; if some stated expectations cannot be met, park them for the present.
Emphasise that the training builds on experience and knowledge that the participants already have. We will explore together, and learn from one another. This is a central activity for the group. Specifically, you might discuss:
The scale and gravity of violence against women. This problem is often overlooked and courageous women have fought hard, with some success, in international organisations, governments and their communities, to get it recognised. Their struggle defends the human rights of us all.
Human rights. Adopting a human rights perspective gives our work direction and hope. Each of us, in our daily lives and work, in our contacts with women who have been attacked or victimised, can make small but vital contributions to ending violence against women.