1. Exploring Violence Through a Gendered Lens

MVP facilitates lively debates that centre on traditional and current social understanding of masculinity, femininity, sex and gender. By exploring how these norms can play a role in supporting or condoning bullying and gender-based violence the sessions look at the objectification of women in the media, including pornography. The question is posed as to whether this objectification contributes to harassment and abuse.

Attendees also explore machoism in the media and how this can contribute to pressure on boys/men. Sessions promote open and honest dialogue about how stereotypes of masculinity and femininity might affect young people’s willingness to intervene and interrupt abusive behaviour.

2. Developing Leadership

MVP is a leadership programme that encourages individuals to be active bystanders in situations where people will often walk away or remain silent.

Through staff training and peer education, the programme allows the development of positive role models who are empowered to support and challenge peers.

3. Using a Bystander Approach

MVP uses an active bystander approach to support the prevention of bullying and gender based violence.

Participants are not identified as either victims or perpetrators but as empowered bystanders who have the ability to do something to prevent or stop violence, or provide support after an incident. This approach creates safe discussions allowing individuals to share experiences, and explore what options are the safest and best to do.

MVP sessions focus on asking the ‘Why?’ question and allows young people to develop meaningful and powerful conversations which aim to construct and support healthy social norms around intervening and preventing violence.

4. Exploring the Scope of Violent Behaviour

The MVP programme defines violence as including verbal, emotional, physical and/or sexual abuse. Defining violence in this way highlights that various forms of abuse can cause serious harm in relationships.

The programme also uses the Violence Pyramid, which highlights how people’s attitudes and beliefs can cause abusive behaviours and acts of violence. The pyramid is used to explore how we can safely challenge attitudes and beliefs at the lower level of the pyramid so that we can prevent violence and abuse from occuring.

5. Challenging Victim Blaming

Victims of abuse are often blamed for the abuse committed against them. They could be blamed for reasons such as: how they ended up in the circumstances, what role they had in causing the behaviour to happen, and the reason they didn’t report.

MVP sessions aim to discuss the issue of victim blaming and to ensure that participants are aware that the only person to blame for abuse is the abuser.