Mentors in Violence Prevention

On the afternoon of 7th March the Mentors In Violence Prevention (MVP) Trainers are delivering a staff training session to outline the basic principles of the programme. MVP encourages people to consider the importance of working together to prevent violence, particularly against women.
The four main goals of the MVP programme are to:

• • Raise awareness about the level of verbal, emotional, physical and sexual abuse of women. 
• • Challenge thinking by countering mainstream messages about gender, sex and violence. 
• • Open dialogue by creating a safe environment for men and women to share their opinions and experiences. 
• • Inspire leadership by empowering participants with concrete options to effect change in their respective communities. 

 The MVP trainers are comprised of pupils, teachers and other staff members, and community and voluntary sector partners. In recent weeks we have been greatly encouraged by the willingness of our students to become MVPs. 15 girls and 10 boys volunteered following assemblies led by teacher, Mr Kerr. We have also had expressions of support from prominent local businesses which we will report on soon. We have been guided by Chief Inspector Graham Goulden of the Scottish Government’s Violence Reduction Unit. We have also had training from American experts in changing attitudes to what are acceptable or unacceptable behaviours in our society and in the world of new digital media.