None in Three Newsletter Issue #6

Case Study: Developing a Curriculum to Support our Prosocial Game in Jamaica

Our research in Jamaica aims to address the country’s crisis of child sexual abuse. This focus was arrived at through consultation with stakeholders and a review of existing literature on gender-based violence in the country, which highlighted child sexual abuse as a top area of concern in Jamaica and a nationally endemic problem.

We undertook large scale quantitative research with approximately 7000 children and young people, aged 10–18. This allowed us to explore the psychosocial and sociocultural dimensions of the problem. We also undertook qualitative research with adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse and with professionals working in the field.

Our research findings fed into the creation of an immersive, prosocial computer game: Gabby. The story of Gabby focuses on an adolescent who experiences sexual abuse by her stepfather. The game explores themes such as: what child abuse is; what grooming is; and the effects such abuse can have on individuals and the wider community. The game is designed to be embedded or integrated in the high school curriculum for young people aged 14–17. The scheme of work for Jamaica is designed to create a supportive environment for these young people as they encounter Gabby and her story, with the aim of effecting meaningful change in their attitudes towards childhood sexual abuse and gender-based violence more generally.

The curriculum is expected to take approximately 100 minutes to deliver, most likely over two classroom based sessions, but with a rich selection of resource materials and guidance provided for teachers to choose from and to extend into further learning sessions as desired. It is designed to be delivered by trained guidance counsellors or other designated teachers. The game and the curriculum combined will help students to develop empathy for those who may have experienced abuse, and to learn more about appropriate and inappropriate relationships.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that this approach has been taken towards this issue in Jamaica and we are excited about being able to conduct schools-based trials of both the game and the curriculum as soon as it is safe to do so.

Case Study: Challenging Gender Bias Through Prosocial Gaming in India

Our research in India focuses on the country’s deep-rooted gender bias and the effect this has on the prevalence and severity of gender-based violence. We aim to challenge the patriarchal assumptions that underpin gender bias and which are the underlying cause of a number of issues, including the country’s high incidence of domestic violence and child sexual abuse.

One of the biggest challenges has been working within the complicated context of education and curriculum design in India. Ever since the 19th century there has been an ongoing and unresolved conversation about the kind of curriculum and the kind of education system that is needed in India. However, there is a growing realisation that real world issues need to be addressed in the classroom, including gender bias.

Our curriculum for India is all about empowering young people to focus on life skills and to develop the independent, positive critical thinking skills they will need to respond effectively to real-world social issues they will encounter throughout their lives. This kind of practical, grounded education is a much needed innovation in India. Gender bias is part of daily life for many young people; they encounter it in their homes, in their families and in their wider communities.

One of the key requirements is that our curriculum meets the practical needs of teachers and students. For example, by moving beyond textbooks and traditional learning we are creating a robust yet flexible scheme of work that can be adapted to a range of scenarios. These conversations about gender bias can take place anywhere, both inside the classroom and outside. We are giving teachers the freedom to develop these ideas in the classroom. Our curriculum is largely activity based, rather than reliant on written examples. We believe this will create significant capacity within the education sector to deliver these sessions. Activity-based learning will also make the sessions more relatable and memorable for participants.

Although the current crisis in India has, sadly, hampered our ability to conduct a school-based trial of our game, we are confident that the work we are doing in India will move the conversation forward in terms of eliminating gender bias by engaging with young minds and guiding them towards a more positive future.

An IAG Perspective: Melinda Lemke, PhD

Professor Melinda Lemke is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, in the Graduate School of Education at the University at Buffalo (UB) – State University of New York. She is a member of None in Three’s International Advisory Group.

Visit Professor Lemke’s profile for more information.

Gender-based violence (GBV), and in particular sexual violence, arguably is one of the most pressing issues involved in schooling today. Decades of empirical and practice-based evidence underscore that violence-induced trauma not only impairs student development, but has lasting negative effects in adulthood. In the United States, sexual violence is common among adolescents, with disproportionate rates reported among young women and girls within LGBTQ+ and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) communities. Research concerning school-based trauma-informed programming (TIP) currently aims to augment educational practitioner knowledge about vulnerability, signs of distress, and ways to avoid triggering memories that prompt student re-traumatization. Research and best practices also emphasize the benefits of culturally and linguistically responsive (CLR) TIP, or programming that accounts for differences in experience due to racial, ethnic, gender, socioeconomic status, nationality, language, and other identity markers.

Within some educational settings, such trauma-informed “plus” approaches often are implemented by staff with deep knowledge of student populations, their histories of violence and survival, and respective health needs. Still, even with increased awareness, will, and capacity to address GBV, research finds that educators want and need better training on GBV, and as relevant to youth sexual violence. Crisis services practitioners, including those entities within the U.S. that respond to and provide services for victims and survivors of GBV, also identify gaps in school-level policy and practice focused on sexual violence prevention. These gaps include for example, problematic prevention protocols that reinforce rape culture as opposed to prosocial youth behaviors, and inadequate resources and proper reporting mechanisms when sexual violence occurs. Finally, although U.S. elementary, middle, and high schools are bound by certain federal policies and respective protections concerning GBV (i.e. Title IX), at the state level, educational policies concerning GBV, and sexual violence specifically, can be limited in articulation and provision. They also are known to be inconsistently implemented between schools within the same school district and between districts within the same state.

Thus, it is integral that discussion of GBV, and respective identification and prevention, be centered in educator certification requirements and routine professional development. This also should be a core feature in any student sexual health education coursework. Among other content topics, this should include the warning signs of unhealthy relationships, knowledge of rights and responsibilities as to what constitutes a GBV offense and reporting procedures, and victim resources. Training and coursework also must address continued high rates of sexual violence and commercialized exploitation within historically minoritized and underserved communities, as well as the systemic, structural, and institutional contributors to such violence.