“It was interactive and fun. Lots of good energy and I feel way more aware.”
Year 9 girl, Victoria
This seven week program was developed by Ursula in collaboration with Angelle Hughes, a teacher passionate about making education about gender equality and respectful relationships a core feature of all school curriculums. The program was developed as professionals using the Shark Cage framework with adult women saw how useful it could be for prevention by strengthening young women’s understanding of their rights in relationships. A call for a youth specific program was met and resulted in this highly effective program that was piloted and reviewed in two schools in 2018.
The five steps in the framework are combined with key gender equity and respectful relationships education to address the following 11 program objectives:
The Shark Cage Program for Young Women: A Human Rights Approach to Gender Violence & Healthy Relationships consists of a hard copy manual and digital resources. More information can be found in the Program Summary. Ursula is committed to ensuring that all young people who are courageous enough to disclose abuse, assault or harassment receive a compassionate and informed response that prioritises their ongoing wellbeing.
For this reason, there is an accreditation process to become a facilitator of this program that ensures that all facilitators have critical base knowledge regarding gender violence and equity and skills in responding to disclosures.
“The students thoroughly enjoyed the program and grew in confidence and knowledge of how to handle difficult circumstances. During the program we had parents calling to ask if their children could be involved.”
Brydie Scollary, Wellbeing Officer, Horsham Secondary College, Victoria