Recommended reading

This Australian report is intended to advance violence prevention efforts in schools in Victoria and around Australia. The report is the outcome of the Violence Prevention, Intervention and Respectful Relationships Education in Victorian Secondary Schools Project, undertaken by the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) on behalf of the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. The report focuses on the prevention of forms of violence that occur in intimate and family relationships. It is intended to enhance the evidence base for respectful relationship education in schools. The report describes how primary prevention has become a central focus of community and government efforts to address violence in relationships and families. Children and young people are a primary audience for violence prevention education, with efforts largely taking place in schools. Current evidence suggests such initiatives among young people can produce lasting change in attitudes and behaviours. There is growing consensus on the factors contributing to good practice in this area, and this report identifies five criteria for good practice: 1) a whole-school approach, 2) a program framework and logic, 3) effective curriculum delivery, 4) relevant, inclusive and culturally sensitive practice, and 5) impact evaluation. These criteria, together, represent the minimum standard for effective violence prevention and respectful relationships education in schools. (A checklist of the components of the five criteria is appended to the report.) The report identifies some very good programs operating in Victorian secondary schools, however most (like other initiatives nationally) do not involve a whole-of-school engagement, are of short duration, and lack substantive evaluation. Examples of programmes in Victoria are provided that come closest to meeting standards of good practice created by VicHealth.

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