Versi Bahasa Malaysia

Outreach

 

Engaging the Community

We connect with our community through workshops and programmes for schools, government agencies, associations, etc. to raise awareness so as to prevent sexual abuse in society.

School Outreach Programmes

Through our programmes, we educate children and youth about personal safety with regard to child sexual abuse. Our outreach programmes aim to raise awareness about sexual violence and educate children and youth about their rights and not to be abused.

Over the years, we have developed different programmes that target age-specific groups of children and youth. We also train teachers and educators so that they are more aware of signs of abuse as well as reporting procedures, and are able to use our materials on preventing such abuse.

Our outreach programmes for schools include:

  • Bijak Itu Selamat (BIS) Training for Educators
  • OK Tak OK Programme for Children
  • Cybersafety Programme for Teenager
  • RESPEK for Teenagers
  • Finding My Voice for Girls
  • Boyz Programme for Boys

Bijak Itu Selamat (BIS) Training for Educators

In 2001, WCC developed an educational package Bijak Itu Selamat (BIS – Be Smart, Be Safe) to train teachers and educators to carry out child sexual abuse prevention programme for children aged 10 to 12 years old. Since then, the programme has been extended to reach out to younger children as well.

The BIS package, available in 3 languages (Malay, English and Chinese), consists of a training manual entitled “Teaching Children to Be Safe”, a pendrive containing short video clips, and two cartoon booklets entitled “Nina dan Rahsianya” and “Saya dan Suara Kecil Saya”.

WCC conducts a one-day training for teachers and educators who are interested to run the BIS programme so that they are equipped with skills and knowledge to recognise and respond to cases of child sexual abuse.

This BIS training provides teachers and educators with information on how to teach personal safety skills to children and to be more sensitive to those who have been abused. They can then teach children to be more assertive over their personal safety. Teachers and educators will also learn the importance of listening to children, and be equipped with knowledge on avenues for help should the need arise.

With the Covid-19 pandemic, we are now running online trainings. For teachers or educators who are interested in this programme, please contact WCC at wcc@wccpenang.org.

OK Tak OK Programme for Children

In this hour-long session, our facilitator uses animated scenarios and examples from the OK Tak OK video to help children of ages 10 to 12 years old to understand good touch and bad touch. The video also teaches children how to protect themselves and seek help from a trusted adult.

For this younger age group of 8 to 10 years old, our facilitator focuses on personal safety by using examples from the OK Tak OK video and cartoon booklets. This method breaks away from formal classroom teaching to informal and creative ways of approaching the issue. Children will remember the stories and the skills taught when the information is presented in a sensitive, yet fun way.

We have published two online cartoon books for children, titled Lisa and Her Secret and Yusri and His Secret to ask children to seek help should sexual abuse happen.

WCC Cybersafety Programme

The WCC Cybersafety Programme highlights the dangers of online violence. It touches on the issue of trust and how we share information with friends. We also discuss about the danger of chat apps, sexting (sending, receiving or sharing sexually explicit messages), cyber stalking and cyber bullying. Finally, we conclude by teaching how children and teenagers should stay safe online and where to get help.

Besides educating teenagers, we also train teachers and educators to carry out this programme at school. The WCC Cybersafety package consists of a facilitator’s guide, a pen drive containing four videos about online dangers, and pamphlets titled “Savvy Connections”.

We also conduct a 1.5-hour talk on cyber safety in schools that covers the topic about making friends, different types of online violence, and ways to seek help.

Finding My Voice Programme for Girls

In order to end gender-based violence, it is essential to work with young people, particularly girls to help build negotiation and conflict management skills so that they are equipped to resolve conflicts without resorting to violence. Finding My Voice is a 6-hour programme targeted at teenage girls between 14 and 16 years old, which aims to empower them to make informed decisions about their lives. By adopting a participatory approach, our facilitators will guide them to reflect on what they want in life, to develop negotiating skills, and to work out solutions to a conflict.

BOYZ Programme

It is important to continue challenging belief systems that perpetuate the power imbalance between boys/men and girls/women. As long as women are considered subordinate to men, gender-based violence will continue to happen. WCC believes that it is important to include boys in the process towards ending violence against women and children, hence we developed the Boyz Programme to reach out to 16 to 17-year-old school boys. Our men facilitators will guide the boys to discuss about what behaviours are acceptable or unacceptable and to unpack stereotypical beliefs about men and women.

RESPEK

Mutual respect is integral to building healthy relationships. It is important to engage teenagers in such discussions because often, they choose to get involved in intimate relationships at a much earlier age but lack access to accurate information. Our RESPEK programme focuses on secondary school students and provides an opportunity for teenagers to explore further on topics related to friendships, dating, personal safety and sexual assault. By dispelling misconceptions and raising the levels of gender awareness, teenagers will become less vulnerable to exploitation and therefore more capable of exercising healthy choices in their relationships.

Community Awareness Talks

It is important to work with a range of individuals and various sectors in society to realise our vision of a society free from gender violence and discrimination and where women can actualise their full potential. Hence, we provide talks about domestic violence, child sexual abuse, gender sensitisation and women’s empowerment to community groups, corporations, NGOs and government departments. Each year, our team conduct up to 20 talks and workshops for these communities. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been conducting more online webinars to reach out to a wider audience. The topics include online violence against women and digital entrepreneurship.