Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) prevention Teacher’s Toolkit
I am writing to tell you about an important new teaching resource available as part of my Have a Word campaign to help stamp out VAWG in our city.
My Have a Word campaign was launched earlier this year to help challenge misogynistic attitudes – it asks men and boys to reflect on their behaviour, encourages them to be allies and help prevent violence. This campaign is part of my refreshed Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, which champions a public health approach to reducing and ultimately eliminating VAWG; prioritises early intervention and prevention; places communities at the heart of change; and looks to develop immediate and long-term solutions with partners and evaluate activities to understand what works.
As Mayor, tackling VAWG is one of my top priorities. This starts with prevention, which means addressing the deep-seated misogynistic attitudes in our society that allow unhealthy ideas to be normalised. I know that you will agree that, as teachers, you are in a prime position to influence our young people. Teachers across London continue to positively impact the lives of young Londoners, and I see a unique opportunity for teachers to harness their impact as it relates to addressing the thoughts and ideas that lead to VAWG.
The Teacher's Toolkit is now available for you to use, free of charge, in all secondary schools across London via my Have a Word website. The Toolkit is designed for children aged 11-18 years old and contains all the information you need to lead workshops, discussions and activities on this challenging yet necessary subject.
The Toolkit has been created in collaboration with the arts and education charity, Tender. Our work with Tender will continue as we develop additional teacher’s toolkits for primary schools and pupils with Special Education Needs in the coming years.
I hope that you will use this new Toolkit in your school and find it to be a valuable resource. Thank you for all you do to help educate our young people not only academically but in the importance of respect for women and girls – which in turn creates the conditions for a fairer, more equitable society for us all.
Yours sincerely,
Sadiq Khan
Mayor of London
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