Gender Education English

Gender Education of Teenage Boys

Editing

Center for Gender Equality and History - KIIF

Center for Social Innovation - CSI

Stichting Global Alliance For LGBT Education - GALE Foundation

Associacio Conexus Atencio, Formacio I Investigacio Psicosocials - Conexus

Design

Eleni Pashia

Logo

Nico Stephou

Contact Details

Center for Gender Equality and History - KIIF

Rega Feraiou str. 26, Apartment 301

Cyprus

P.C. 1087

Nicosia

www.kiif.com.cy

info@kiif.com.cy

+35799293800

Center for Social Innovation - CSI

62 Rigainis Street, 1st Floor

Cyprus

P.C. 1010

Nicosia

www.csicy.com

info@csicy.com

+35799350874, +35722610711

Stichting Global Alliance For LGBT Education - GALE Foundation

Vinkenstraat 116 A

Netherlands

P.C. 1013 JV

Amsterdam

www.gale.info

info@gale.info

+31207372959, +31653862958

Associacio Conexus Atencio, Formacio I Investigacio Psicosocials - Conexus

Carrer CONSELL DE CENT 419, 3-2

Spain

P.C. 08009

Barcelona

www.conexus.cat

info@conexus.cat

+34932171646

©Copyright

Center for Gender Equality and History - KIIF

Center for Social Innovation - CSI

Stichting Global Alliance For LGBT Education - GALE Foundation

Associacio Conexus Atencio, Formacio I Investigacio Psicosocials - Conexus 2022

PART I : Guide For The Facilitator

What is this guide?

This is an educational manual in the form of an ebook which aims to guide anyone who wishes to facilitate all or some of the gender education courses found in the G.EDU platform! The courses can be offered to teenagers of all genders, but they have been developed with particular emphasis on the needs of boys between 15 and 17 years old.

What is the G.EDU platform?

The G.EDU platform which takes its name from the initials of Gender Education is an educational toolkit aiming to provide educators/facilitators with curriculum and lesson plans for the implementation of online courses on gender and gender-sensitive education targeting teenagers between 15 and 17 years old.

Who created the G.EDU platform?

The G.EDU platform was created within the framework of the Erasmus+ project Gender Education of Teenage Boys: Developing a Digital Toolkit. The project was implemented from February 2020 to February 2022 by four European organizations:

-The Center for Gender Equality and History (KIIF), Cyprus

-The Center for Social Innovation (CSI), Cyprus

-The Global alliance for LGBT education GALE, Netherlands

-The Conexus Association, Spain

Who can use this guide?

The G.EDU courses can be facilitated by different professionals, such as trainers, teachers, youth workers, NGO workers, gender experts, gender and LGBTIQ+ activists, policy makers and other stakeholders.

The G.EDU courses were created by European organizations. Therefore, the content is particularly relevant to the European context as well as to the local context of the creators. However, most activities are applicable in most countries of the world or they can be easily adjusted to local and global contexts other than the European Union. For this reason, the lesson plans presented in Part 2 of this guide include notes on possible adjustments to different contexts under certain activities.

The structure of the guide

The guide has two parts. Part 1 is the introduction, and it includes basic information and general instructions on how to access and use the G.EDU platform. Part 2 consists of the educational content of the G.EDU course and it has the form of lesson plans with detailed instructions for the facilitation of each module, unit, and activity included in the course. Part 2 is divided into four modules, each of which has a particular thematic focus and can be used as an autonomous course. The four modules are:

MODULE 1: What’s Gender?

Created by the GALE Foundation, Netherlands

Duration: 16 hours

This module introduces the participants to basic terms and concepts on gender and the mechanisms of categorization and discrimination. It explains terms like sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, LGBTI, stereotypes, and bias, and it offers activities to play around with these words and concepts, which allows the participants to explore them in relation to their own identities.

MODULE 2: Healthy Relationships

Created by the Center for Social Innovation (CSI), Cyprus

Duration: 15 hours

A module that delves into the vital topic of how we build and maintain healthy relationships. A module that addresses themes such as dating, intimacy, the male and female bodies, safe relationships and safe sexual behaviors. Great attention is paid to dating violence as well as consent. The idea of the family unit is also discussed from a number of different approaches.

MODULE 3: Combating Gender Based Violence

Created by the Conexus Association, Spain

Duration: 10 hours

Α module that helps reflect on how traditional masculinity is related to violence. It delves into gender based violence and emphasizes psychological and sexual violence: what they are, their types and consequences. It offers an online educational experience with activities and questions for reflection that are particularly appropriate for questioning ideas and prejudice which teenage boys usually have on these matters.

MODULE 4: Be The Change

Created by the Center for Gender Equality and History, Cyprus

Duration: 12 hours

A module based on experiential and interactive activities designed for online education exploring diversity, identity, equality, and change. It is particularly appropriate for confronting stereotypes, prejudice, and all forms of discrimination with emphasis on gender.

How to use this guide?

This guide is one out of the two main tools included in the G.EDU platform. Namely, the two tools are:

• The G.EDU Guide to Facilitator (this ebook). Here one can find all the necessary steps and instructions to facilitate the courses.

• The G.EDU Workbook for Participants. Here the learners/students can find the activities and the educational material they will need during the implementation of the courses.

Therefore, this guide is complementary to the Workbook for Participants. The Guide to Facilitator is to be used by the facilitator as an educational manual while the Workbook for Participants is to be used by the learner/student as well as by the facilitator. Therefore, both the students and the facilitator(s) should create an account to the G.EDU platform (see instructions below) to be able to access and use the Workbook for Participants.

The G.EDU courses have a total duration of approximately 53 hours. However, one can choose to offer all the four modules, or choose to implement selected modules. Moreover, although each module has a flow and a continuity between its units and activities, each unit as well as each activity can also be implemented alone as autonomous lessons.

How to access the G.EDU platform?

Via the G.EDU website:

Visit the following link https://geducyprusplatform.com/register/ to register to the G.EDU platform. Fill in the requested information (Username, Password, Email address). After this, you will receive a confirmation email. Follow the link to set your password.

Via the G.EDU application:

Go to playstore. Find the G.EDU mobile application by typing G.EDU. Install. The app will take you to login. To subscribe for the first time, follow the instructions which say “Click here to create a free account”. Fill in the requested information (Username, Password, Email address). After this, you will receive a confirmation email. Follow the link to set your password.

*The G.EDU mobile application can be accessed by Android users only, not by Apple’s iOS devices. How to use the Workbook for Participants?

✔ After a facilitator or a student creates an account to the G.EDU platform, they will be able to visit their profile via “My account” and use the Workbook for Participants.

✔ After all students have created their account, the facilitator(s) must ask the students to send them their usernames and passwords so that the facilitator(s) can access the personal account of each student to review their answers. Therefore, the facilitator(s) must inform the students in advance that they will be sending their usernames and passwords to the facilitator. Moreover, the facilitator(s) should ask the students not to change their passwords later.

✔ The G.EDU Workbook is the space where the students and the facilitator(s) can find educational material, do exercises and complete quizzes included in the G.EDU courses.

✔ The numbering and the flow of modules and activities is the same in this guide as it is in the Workbook. Therefore, following the instructions presented in Part 2 of this guide, the facilitator is able to instruct the students to use the Workbook.

✔ Some activities of the Workbook include reading or audiovisual material while other activities include interactive exercises with questions and answers. In such cases, quizzes with multiple choice or open-ended questions can be completed by each participant.

✔ The answers of the participants will be saved in their account. The facilitator or the participant can

review their answers following the procedure presented in this video. At this point, there is also an option named “Leave a Reply”. This can be used by the facilitator to make comments to the participant in regard to a particular answer.

✔ Whenever the workbook is not needed for the implementation of an activity, the workbook shows the message “no material needed for this activity”.

✔ Once a topic or a module is complete, this is identified by the color green and a check symbol.

✔ In case a topic or a module was done but the system has not recognised it as complete, one needs to check that they have recorded the completion in the system by pushing “Mark as complete” or “Finish the quiz” or “Click here to continue”, respectively.

Course evaluation

The reasoning of the course is not one of “scores” and “grades”. Instead, the lesson plans were built on the principles of interactive and participatory education, social and transformational education, critical pedagogy, human rights education, gender education etc. The learning objectives of each activity are crealy enlisted in Part 2 of this guide along with step-by-step instructions. Definitions and other material are provided as sources to be critically assessed by the participants rather than as definite truths.

Accreditation

The course is aligned with European methods of accreditation. As such, it is at the discretion of the facilitator(s) to decide the appropriate accreditation method and the tools they could use to certify the participation in this course, according to the context, the institution under which the course is implemented, the length of the implemented course, and the needs of the participants. In any case, please remember to acknowledge that your courses were implemented based on the G.EDU platform (https://geducyprusplatform.com) which was created under the framework of the Erasmus+ project Gender Education of Teenage Boys: Developing a Digital Toolkit.

• For example, if the course is given in the framework of an academic institution of higher education, such as a university, the participants could gain ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) credits. Particularly, if one attends the complete course, which is of approximately 53 hours duration, this would correspond to 2 ECTS. Similarly, if the course is offered within the context of vocational training, one can use ECVET (European Credit system for Vocational Education and Training)

• YOUTHPASS could be an ideal certificate for this course as the course was created under the Erasmus+ project Gender Education of Teenage Boys: Developing a Digital Toolkit (2019-3-CY02KA205-001726). YOUTHPASS is a recognition tool for non-formal and informal learning. YOUTHPASS is also a prestigious European certificate particularly designed for the needs of the youth, while it also gives the word to the learners to reflect and describe what skills and knowledge they have gained from the course. If you wish to provide your participants with the YOUTHPASS certificate, you must register (https://www.youthpass.eu/en/login/signup/) and then log in. After this, you can “enter new project” using the project’s code (2019-3-CY02-KA205-001726). Then, fill in the details of your lessons and your organization according to the instructions found in the YOUTHPASS website. Please acknowledge somewhere in the certificate that your courses were implemented based on the G.EDU platform (https://geducyprusplatform.com) which was created under the framework of the Erasmus+ project Gender Education of Teenage Boys: Developing a Digital Toolkit.

• If none of the above is appropriate, the facilitator could of course generate an independent certificate on behalf of the organizer. In that case, we recommend the facilitator(s) to use methods which allow self-evaluation and self-reflection of the learners.

PART II : Curriculum And Lesson Plans

Introduction To The Course

Introduction To The Course

These are some fundamental steps to set the grounds for the implementation of the course. They aim to introduce the participants to the course and introduce the participants and the facilitator to each other. They also intend to establish some ground rules and finally provide some practical instructions for accessing the platform.

What is needed for these steps?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Step 1: Introduction To The Course

Duration

• 5 minutes

Objectives

• Describe the course.

• Define its general aims.

• Provide the participants with the basic information to access and use the G.EDU platform.

Instructions

• Welcome the participants and introduce yourself.

• Explain the goals of the course and give an overview of the schedule you are planning to follow.

• Provide the participants with the link to the platform and ask them to access it.

• Guide the participants to subscribe to the platform.

• Stress that the course is meant to enrich our awareness. The quizzes and questions found in some activities aim to give us the opportunity to reflect. There is no score or grade in this curriculum.

Duration

Step 2: Getting To Know Each Other

• Varies according to the number of participants.

Objectives

• Break the ice.

• Establish a safe and pleasant learning environment.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to introduce themselves by saying their name, age and one thing they are proud of about themselves.

Step 3: Ground Rules / Group Agreement

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Set the grounds for good communication and cooperation between the group.

• Establish a safe learning environment.

• Set the rules to follow during the course.

• Make everyone take responsibility and ownership of the rules by setting them collectively.

Instructions

• Ask each participant to think of one to three rules that they would consider important for the group to follow if we want to have a successful course and a joyful learning experience. Ask them to think of how they would like to be treated during the course. For example: «we shouldn’t interrupt someone when they are speaking». Another example would be, if we are taking the course online, «we mute ourselves when we are not the ones to speak». It would be advisable that you also participate by writing down some rules that you feel are important. For example, “we should respect each other”, “give everyone space to speak freely and don’t judge”.

• There are many alternative tools one could use to implement this step. The goal is to gather the answers altogether and to make them visible to all. For example:

. The facilitator could write down on a whiteboard the rules that participants share with the group. You could ask them to share the rules either orally or in writing. If the activity takes place via an online conference platform, you can use message/texting/chat tools. If the activity takes place with physical presence, you could either write their answers on a whiteboard or distribute “sticky notes” for them to write their rules and stick them to a whiteboard.

. The facilitator could use softwares or applications to create sticky notes in a shared virtual board (many alternatives for sticky note applications or softwares can be found online).

• After everyone has shared their notes, go through them with the participants and observe which rules are repeated, if we all agree with the rules, and if some rules have to be edited. The ideal is to reach a unanimous agreement. However, if needed, you can agree to vote. Agree with the participants that if the need arises, we can add new rules or improve existing ones.

• Save the rules and keep them available throughout the course.

Module 1: What’s Gender?

Module 1: What’s Gender?

Created by the GALE Foundation, Netherlands

This module introduces the participants to basic terms and concepts on gender and the mechanisms of categorization and discrimination. It explains terms like sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, LGBTI, stereotypes, and bias, and it offers activities to play around with these words and concepts, which allows the participants to explore them in relation to their own identities.

Unit 1 Gender Play: Playing Around With Words And Concepts

Goals

• Become aware of the fact that sex and gender are different things.

• Understand the words «masculinity» and «femininity».

• Become aware of the difference between sex, gender, sexual orientation and gender expression.

• Understand that gender and sexual differences are gradual, not rigid.

Topic 1 Introduction to Module 1

Activity 1: Introduction

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 5 minutes

Objectives

• Understand what this module is about.

Instructions

• Introduce the goal and the units of Module 1 by presenting the relevant text in the platform.

Topic 2 Gender And Sex

Activity 1: Introduction

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Create a light atmosphere triggering the participants’ interest and sense of wonder.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to watch the short video «Bob».

• Play the video until the end because the final scene is after the credits.

• Ask the participants to give their first impression. Mostly there will be laughter and surprise because the gender of the hamster Bob―who is fluffy and therefore may be perceived to be female―is not what they expected.

• Ask if participants think first impressions can be misleading. For example, did they think, when the hamsters started running, that they were traveling the world? Are you still lured into that impression, even when you see they are on a treadmill?

• Close by saying the course is about this: to think about what we superficially see, how we judge, and what is really happening.

Activity 2: Sex and Gender

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15minutes

Objectives

• Understand the difference between sex and gender and between femininity and masculinity.

Instructions

• Initiate a discussion on why the participants were thinking Bob was a female hamster. Stress this is not a judging question, but to explore our automatic perceptions of gender. List the reasons, like: he is white, he is fluffy, he seems to seduce the brown hamster.

• Ask if this reflects their ideas of how males and females look like or behave. Discuss aspects of how we perceive masculinity and femininity and how gender identity (how we feel and see ourselves) is sometimes different from sex (our body).

• Ask if we can «prove» Bob is male. (We can’t). Close by explaining the difference between sex (biology/body), gender (characteristics socially linked to female and male), gender identity (how we feel), and gender expression (how we behave).

Activity 3: Gender, Sex, Attraction and Expression

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Participants understand the difference between sex characteristics, gender, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation.

Instructions

• Show the participants the image of the gender bread person. Explain this looks like a cookie you can bake in the oven, which in America is called a «ginger» bread puppet. Here we use the ginger bread to explain gender, so we call it the «gender bread person».

• Explain the definitions found in the platform such as: sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual/romantic attraction.

• Initiate a discussion with the participants and answer any questions posed about the relevant definitions. In the dialogue, admit that the gender bread person and the definitions are simplified, and that reality is sometimes more nuanced.

• Ask what happens when people confuse sex characteristics, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation. For example: you may feel confused and frustrated when you have an intersex condition and you don’t know it; you may be discriminated against when you feel you are transgender and others don’t accept you can change gender; a boy who behaves a bit “effeminate” can be perceived as being gay while he is not.

Activity 4: Sex Variations

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Become aware of the fact that one cannot always «see» sex characteristics.

Instructions

• Show the participants the two pictures of persons who appear to look female (Hanne Gaby Odiele) and male (Roshaante Andersen). Ask each time if this is a man or a woman.

• Ask the group to reflect on what they base their judgements on. It is expected that participants will start to base their assessments on stereotypical expectations (because the persons look very “male” or “female”) and on clear biological features like having a penis, vagina or uterus. It is also expected that once they discover that the superficial images are not what they appear to be, they will become more insecure about judging. This is what we call «creative discomfort». Focus the discussion on this emotional discomfort and don’t try to «resolve» the tension by giving a lot of information. It is better to ask why participants feel uncomfortable if they cannot «classify» someone than to try to convince them that there are biological variations.

• After each picture, the platform offers a short description of the person. It becomes clear these are people with an intersex condition, so they are neither male nor female - although the first person identifies as non-binary and the second person as male.

• Continue the activity with an explanation of intersex conditions. In the platform, under the title “intersex variations”, it is explained that there are four main spectrums in terms of how people can vary in their biological sexual characteristics.

• Discuss these four spectrums and the fact that “maleness” or “femaleness” may fully or gradually differ on each spectrum, which means there are many types of intersex people. Check if the participants are able to accept that the traditional classification in male and female does not always fit reality. If they have difficulty accepting this, ask what happens in their head and how they feel about this. Confirm that it is OK to feel insecure about this; this is new information that can change one’s worldview.

• Ask the participants to make an estimate of how many intersex conditions there are. Reveal that the estimate is that 1 in 1500 babies has an intersex condition. There are three types of intersex conditions that are most often, another 17 which happen less, and a few dozen even more rare variations.

• Move on to the part on hermaphrodites found in the platform. Explain that back when people did not know that intersex conditions could also be invisible, they called children with unclear sex characteristics “hermaphrodites”. However, this term is now considered offensive and inaccurate.

• Show the part on intersex activism and inform the participants that in many countries, if the sex of a child is not clear, doctors and parents want children to be operated upon. They are afraid that the children are going to be treated badly in society because people expect that you are either male or female. However, the right to bodily integrity is a human right and babies cannot give permission for such operations. In addition such operations can create a lot of medical problems in later years. Because of those reasons, some people with intersex conditions have become activists to protest against operations without permission, and to defend the right to identify themselves as male, female or other, in official registrations and in public, and to be able to do this without discrimination.

Activity 5: Gender Variations

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 30 minutes

Objectives

• Become aware of transgender issues.

Instructions

• Show the pictures of Jaimie Wilson and Loiza Lamers and ask the participants to categorize them as male or female. Have in mind that after completing the previous activity on intersex conditions, it is expected that the participants will be more hesitant to give a definite answer. Allow space for this “creative discomfort” and allow the participants to respond in a more nuanced way. The answers do not have to be either or. Do not demand a definite answer.

• After they give their answers, reveal the information about the depicted persons found in the platform.

• Encourage questions and discussion about being transgender. Such questions may include why people want to change sex/gender, but they can also be more technical questions about gender and operations. Answer them as best as you can (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Transgender). If you don’t know the answers, ask participants to research their own question and report the results to the others.

• If questions come up about why people would like to change their sex/gender, show the short documentary “Van Lucas naar Luus” found on the platform. The documentary lasts for 17 minutes and is about Loiza Lamers and her choice to change sex when she was ten. In this YouTube video, you can set (imperfect but understandable) subtitles in different languages. If there is interest and time, you can go into different aspects of the video, like how Loiza felt when she was young, and how her fellow students, especially the boys, responded.

Activity 6: Gender Fluidity

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 30 minutes

Objectives

• Understand that the way we see and feel gender is flexible and fluid.

Instructions

• Show the picture of Conchita Wurst found in the platform and ask the participants if this person is male or female.

• After they have answered, move to the next part under the title Conchita Wurst and read the text which explains that this person is Thomas Neuwirth. Thomas considers himself male, a drag queen and gay. Explain that a drag queen/king is a stage performer who wears the clothes or make up or hair of the other sex. However, they do it as a show/performance. They do not identify as that gender. Originally, gay and lesbian people invented drag because there was no other way to have a relationship with somebody of the same sex. One of the partners had to act as if they were of the opposite sex. So, historically, drag was forced by a society that did not allow gay or lesbian relationships. Later, drag became more like a show to make fun of heteronormative stereotypes, and nowadays it is often an art form rather than a mask or joke.

• Show the next picture found in the platform (Jiro Ghianni) and ask the participants if this person is male or female. After they have answered, move on to the next part where it is revealed that this person is Jiro Ghianni, a gender-free and gender queer trans man who has been active as an activist for the bisexuality and trans movements since the late 1990s.

• Move on to the next part titled “From 1 to 64 genders” which tells the story of how we got from one gender, in the past, to 64 genders, today. Namely, in antiquity, religious texts mainly referred to men as the protagonists. At the same time, women were often seen as property rather than as persons. This inspired the joke you can see in the image found in the platform which says that there used to be only one gender, men, while women were property. Then, for a long time we had been talking about two genders only, and from the 19th century on we started talking about hermaphrodites or the third sex. Nowadays, some people claim there are 64 genders.

• For example, you can see: https://www.healthline.com/health/different-genders. You don’t need to learn these labels by heart or start explaining them all to young people! Such a list may be helpful for some young people but others may find it to be irritating and provoking. The aim of this module is to create tolerance towards variations in gender and sexual orientation. An overload of information is not going to reach that aim. Focus on the need to be yourself. Explain that some people feel restricted by the cisgender categorization (male and female) as well as categories such as transgender. This is why they propose there are more labels. Reflect with the participants (firstly) on the advantages and (secondly) on the disadvantages of this view. Once the participants show discomfort with this proliferation, move to the next part which tells a joke about how every time someone complains about the number of genders, the activists will add six more!

Tip to the facilitator!

To avoid confusion, keep in mind that the term “gender” sometimes refers to “gender identity”. Although gender and gender identity are different, gender is often used in common language interchangeably with gender identity.

• Finally, go on to the next image (Kelsey Cambell) and ask once more if the participants think this is a man or a woman. After they give their answers, go to the next part to reveal the story of Kelsey and discuss the definition of “gender fluid” found in the platform. Read the next part under the title “Tracking your gendered feelings” which explains how Kelsey monitored her own feelings about gender every day. She did this for three years. In a moving graph found in the platform you can see how her feelings fluctuated. Ask the participants whether they think that Kelsey is more feminine or masculine based on the graph (not on the basis of how she looks!).

Activity 7: Sexual Orientation

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Become aware of how we can see sexual orientation as going beyond the two poles of heterosexuality and homosexuality.

Instructions

• Announce that we will now look into sexual orientation. Show the part with the four continuums (sex, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation). Explain to the participants that sometimes sexual orientation can be confused with gender. For example, some people may believe that boys who don’t look strong must be gay, or girls who look strong must be lesbians. This is not true. Sexual orientation is a completely separate facet of people.

• Moreover, homosexual people are often not happy to be called gay or lesbian. Just like people who think that gender should not be restricted to just male or female, some feel that sexual orientation should not be restricted to homosexual and heterosexual. So some people made up the matrix which can be found in the platform under the title “Orientations”. This does not only distinguish between homosexuals and heterosexuals, but also allows people to describe themselves as attracted to more genders. Research shows that about 30% of the people who call themselves heterosexuals may occasionally watch gay porn, and that gay

people also get excited by heterosexual porn sometimes1. If you feel this is a safe space, you can ask the participants to reflect on their own sexual orientation and whether they have ever gone beyond the two poles of homosexuality and heterosexuality. The intention here is to help the participants to discover aspects of themselves, not to force personal revelations.

• Close the activity with the next part (Sexual Orientation graph) found in the platform. The three circles in the graph show that what we call “sexual orientation” involves not only one aspect but at least three: the attraction you feel, the way you label yourself, and your sexual relationships. It is possible that you sometimes feel attracted to someone of the same sex but that you have currently a relationship with somebody of the other sex. Many teenagers feel attracted to someone but they don’t have any sexual relationships with anyone. Moreover, another aspect is the label you give yourself. In these three circles we see the percentages of young people between 12 and 25 who define themselves as homosexual in the Netherlands (this refers to 2017. Such percentages change slowly over time). You can see 29% of them share all three aspects; namely, they label themselves as homosexual, they feel attracted to the same gender, and have a homosexual relationship at this time. Discuss with the participants what their thoughts are about this activity.

1 For this research see: Downing, Martin & Schrimshaw, Eric & Scheinmann, Roberta & Antebi-Gruszka, Nadav & Hirshfield, Sabina (August 2017). “Sexually Explicit Media Use by Sexual Identity: A Comparative Analysis of Gay, Bisexual, and Heterosexual Men in the United States”. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46 (6).

Activity 8: My Gendered Identity

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Become aware that everybody - ourselves included - may differ in how we label ourselves and how we express ourselves.

Instructions

• This activity is facultative. You should only apply this if you feel that the atmosphere in the group is safe enough and that participants feel comfortable.

• If you decide to go through this activity, begin by asking the participants to draw four lines on a sheet based on the “Continuum” in the platform. Each line represents one of the following aspects: sex, gender, gender expression and sexual orientation. Ask them to locate where they find themselves on each line. Stress that this is private and they should not share this with the group.

• To conclude, you can initiate a discussion focusing on how it felt to do this activity and if they had discovered something new about themselves. Do not encourage the participants to focus on their personal results but rather to reflect on whether it was comfortable or uncomfortable to categorize themselves and why. However, if results come out, do not show avoidance, just refocus on the questions above.

• Alternatively, you can use the 4th version of the genderbread person, which uses parallel scales to allow young people to indicate that they may have more or less gendered and sexual feelings at the same time, rather than binary scales with just two “poles”.

Topic 3 What We Learned In Unit 1

Activity 1: Definitions

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Review the main terms discussed throughout Unit 1.

Instructions

• Ask the participants if they’d like to share something that they have learned from this Unit. After some discussion, ask the participants to jointly formulate the definitions of sex, gender and sexual orientation. The participants are allowed to check the internet and to consult dictionaries. The point of the exercise is to collectively agree on definitions. You should avoid dictating the definitions and encourage the participants to come up with them. However, some key elements to be included in the definitions should be: sex is biological and it is not always binary (male or female); gender identity is how you feel or identify in terms of maleness or femaleness; sexual orientation is about who you are attracted to, and possibly about your behavior and self-labelling, but not always.

Unit 2 Gender Power: How Gender Influences Us Goals

• Become aware that the way we see gender influences us, others and our well being.

• Understand the concepts of «norms», «values», «tolerance», «appreciation».

• Realize that some identity aspects can fall outside the norm.

• Explore if and how the participants want to influence gender power.

Topic 1 How My Identity Developed

Activity 1: My Personal Identity Wheel

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 30 minutes

Objectives

• Reflect on how our personal identities are gendered.

Instructions

• Explain that this activity explores how gender plays a role in our personal lives.

• Ask the participants to download the «My Personal Identity Wheel» sheet and use it to write short telegram-like texts on each of the sections of the wheel.

• Ask the participants to give a short summary to the others about their personal identity wheels and how gender plays a role in their personal identity.

• Close this activity by asking how it felt to describe yourself this way.

Activity 2: My Social Identity Wheel

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 30 minutes

Objectives

• Reflect on how our personal identities are informed by our social environment and social expression.

Instructions

• Explain that we are shifting our attention from the personal to the social; how others see and influence us.

• Ask the participants to download the «My Social identity wheel» sheet.

• Ask if the participants understand all the words on it. If not, explain them (see definitions).

• Ask the participants to write down their social identity aspects in the outer part of the wheel and answer the questions in the middle.

• Explain that this information will not be shared with the other participants. Also mention that if they feel uncomfortable for the facilitator or others to see their comments, they should feel free not to list all their social identity aspects.

• When the participants finish writing, ask how it felt to list these aspects (without showing the sheets).

Activity 3: Sharing My Identity

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 45 minutes

Objectives

• Reflect on the nature of one’s identity.

• Cultivate critical thinking on how identities are socially constructed hence influenced by social contexts.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to download the sheet «Sharing my identity» and to privately answer the following six questions about themselves:

1. What part of your identity are you most proud of?

2. Identities that have the strongest effect on how you see yourself as a person.

3. What part of your identity are you most comfortable sharing with other people?

4. What part of your identity do you think people first notice about you?

5. What part of your identity are you least comfortable sharing with other people?

6. What part of your identity did you struggle the most with while growing up?

• Ask the participants to share their answers with the group as far as they are comfortable with sharing them. Others can ask questions.

Topic 2 Norms And Values

Activity 1: The Difference Between Norms and Values

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Understand the difference between norms, values, and tolerance.

• Appreciate diversity.

Instructions

• Introduce the terms norms, values and tolerance. Explain that these are often used interchangeably or ambiguously but that they actually have different meanings. Ask the participants what they understand when they hear each of these terms, ask them to think of examples of values and norms, and why they are different. After this short discussion, read the relevant definitions found in the platform.

• Continue the discussion by posing some questions. For example:

1. Can you think of some examples of when people see their values as norms for themselves and for others? What happens when people do this?

2. When is it acceptable to set norms in a democracy? Is it acceptable when the majority decides for minorities where they should live, if they can use their own language, or with whom they can marry?

3. Is tolerance the same as acceptance, or as appreciation or celebration? You can remind them of different opinions and definitions found in the platform. Is tolerance arrogant as the Muslim girl implies, or is it how UNESCO labels it?

• Close with the graph «Norms or values» found in the platform and explain the differences using the text on the sheet «Norms or values». You can also ask the participants to download it. Ask if they agree with this description of differences.

Activity 2: How Does It feel?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Become more aware of the pain, frustrations and consequences of hiding or denying one’s identity.

Instructions

• Explain that this activity is a «guided fantasy». It encourages the participants to imagine what they would do in different situations and feel how that would be.

• Begin by asking the participants to do the quiz «How does it feel?» found on the G.EDU platform. An alternative is to go through the guided fantasy as a group; if you choose this variation, you can use the document “How does it feel - guided fantasy”. Take into account that this variation is suitable for groups that feel more safe and open to each other.

• After all participants have completed the quiz, initiate a discussion asking them how it was to do the quiz and how they felt at the end. Confirm that when the expression of your identity is denied or forbidden, it feels very frustrating.

Tip to the facilitator!

Have in mind that there is the possibility that participants may respond with answers such as the use of alcohol or drugs to avoid negative feelings, or even suicide to end the feeling of being useless. Please be prepared for such answers.

• Ask the participants if they had chosen gender as one aspect of their identity which feels important to them and why. Allow a discussion.

• If they hadn’t, ask them to repeat the quiz while selecting gender as a key aspect of their identity.

• Can they imagine what they would DO and how they would FEEL if they could not stick to traditional gender roles, or if they were transsexual and this was forbidden? Allow a discussion.

Topic 3 How To Deal With Gender Power

Activity 1: Unexpected Questions

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 50 minutes

Objectives

• Realize the influence of gender in interpersonal relations.

• Reflect on questions relevant to handling interpersonal relations.

Instructions

• Explain that this activity is going to push the limits a little bit. Tell them it is a roleplay of someone calling someone else, and that you will divide roles between caller and called. There will be eight situations. In each situation, the gender of the person who calls you is set. We will do this activity in couples.

• Assign the roles. Choose one of the participants as the person who is the caller. This person should start the phone call by reading the question found on the platform under each “Situation”.

• Choose another participant as the person who answers the question.

• You can show the roles to all the participants. An alternative is to give the role description (Situation) only to the caller. This can create some extra unexpected and comical situations. If you choose this option, the rest of the participants should not access the platform so that they won’t read the “Situations”. In this case, only you should access the platform.

• The eight situations are based on four scenarios. Each scenario is repeated for a different gender.

1. Boy/girl puts arm around you.

2. In love but already involved.

3. Don’t want to use a condom.

4. Being trans boy/girl without “below” surgery. (If you think this scenario would be too much for your participants, you could consider replacing it with another scenario, maybe a scenario suggested by the participants).

• If needed, you could lead a debriefing after each answer by asking if the participant who answered the call was surprised or shocked and how this influenced their answer. Alternatively, you can skip this step and ask the debriefing question:

• Do you think that you have learned something from this activity in terms of how you could respond to surprising situations related to gender?

Activity 2: Wrap-Up

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Consolidate what has been learned in this unit.

Instructions

• Ask the participants what they have picked up from this unit. The key question is: What have you learned about how gender or gender expectations influence your identity and your life? According to the available time and the energy in the class, the answer to these questions can be a full round with all the participants, or just some short remarks by some participants.

Unit 3 Gender Stereotypes: How Stereotypes Affect Us Goals

• Understand what «stereotypes» and «bias» mean.

• Understand that stereotypes are needed to some extent, but can be dangerous as well.

• Question stereotypes on masculinity and femininity.

• Explore what can be done to question stereotypes.

Topic 1 Stereotypes

Activity 1: Why Do We Have Stereotypes?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 40-60 minutes

Objectives

• Understand that stereotypes are based on the natural process of categorizing.

• Understand that stereotypes can have a negative effect.

Instructions

• This activity is a dialogue on the concept of stereotypes. It discusses an interview with the researcher, Paul Bloom, who is of the opinion that we talk negatively about stereotypes, as if they are only used with a malicious intent. Paul Bloom thinks this is not the case; in reality we always try to understand the world by categorizing things and, according to Bloom, this is what stereotyping really is.

• Ask the participants to brainstorm with each other about what they think the word «stereotype» means. During the exchange of definitions, you can note down the most important remarks on a shared digital whiteboard.

• After this short discussion, read the text in the platform under the title “Stereotypes” to offer a nuanced view of stereotypes.

• Announce to the participants that you are all going to listen to a nine minute interview with the researcher Paul Bloom on stereotypes found in the platform. Alternatively, you can give them the transcript of the interview to read, also found in the platform.

• After watching it, discuss the interview with the participants by asking the following questions:

1. How does the way Paul Bloom talks about stereotypes differ from the catchwords and definitions we brainstormed before?

2. Why or when can stereotypes be good?

3. Paul says there are three main areas where people automatically stereotype. Can you remember which ones? Paul does not say why these aspects of people are automatically stereotyped. Why do you think this is?

4. At the end of the interview, Paul talks about how we can try to overcome our natural impulse to stereotype and to over-generalize. Can you remember his suggestion?

• (Answer: Paul says that humans have instinctual survival instincts that are at the basis of stereotypes and quick judgments, but that we have evolved to be intelligent so we don’t need to always act on basic instincts, judgments and emotions that might mislead us. His suggestion to deal with stereotypes is rational deliberation, intelligent planning and nourishing or staunching our emotions in such a way that it helps to create a better world).

• Because the last part of the video/text is a rather dense part, with difficult words, it may be necessary to reread the text several times to understand it properly. Do not explain it as a facilitator, but ask the participants to make sense of it.

• Close the activity by asking from the participants to answer the five questions found in the platform.

Activity 2: Whose Occupation?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 30 minutes

Objectives

• Reflect on gender stereotypes in reference to occupations.

Instructions

• This activity is about jobs and careers. Many people believe some types of jobs are better for males and others for females. And in reality, some types of jobs are also occupied by more males than females or more females than males. In this activity we want to explore why this is so.

• Begin by reading the “Introduction to the activity” on the platform.

• Tell the participants to go to the platform and download the “Occupations short list”. Ask them to answer the five questions asked for each occupation.

• As a facilitator, you can download the list of occupations. You can ask the participants to show hands for how they scored each occupation (while not yet engaging in discussion or commenting on choices). This way, you will get an overview of the scores.

• In the platform, there are 20 occupations but you can also discuss 10 with the participants to keep the activity short.

• Then lead a discussion using the following questions:

1. Were there more jobs assigned to men, women, or both?

2. Were the jobs that require working a lot with people equally divided among men and women?

3. Were the jobs with high status equally divided among men and women?

4. Were the jobs with high salaries equally divided among men and women?

5. Were the jobs requiring a high education equally divided among men and women?

• You can compare the individual guesses of the participants with the total scores on the facilitator sheet. If the guess of individuals is different from the score, inform the group and ask why they think their guess is different. Of course, both individual impressions and the average group impression may be factually incorrect. If there is time and interest, you can ask the group to do online research on how the occupations should be scored based on actual facts. There may not be a scientific or factual answer on all the scoring questions.

• Close the discussion by asking what the impressions and learning points are. Also make the link to stereotypes. Some of the occupations may be stereotypically assigned to males or females, and the reality sometimes reflects the stereotypes. Discuss why this is. Is it because women or men can not do some occupations, or are there other reasons? Are these reasons «deliberated and intelligent» as Paul Bloom said in the first activity? Could there be a history behind it? Is the history behind it influenced by cultural norms? Have cultural and social norms around who can do which job changes over time? Why?

Activity 3: About Strength

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 30-40 minutes

Objectives

• Recognize and reflect on the stereotype of men being strong and women being weak.

Instructions

• Explain that one of the most common stereotypes about men and women is that men are strong and women are weak. This activity is to study this view.

• Ask the participants to go through this part of the platform and watch the video.

• After watching the video, ask them to do the six-questions multiple choice activity. This activity is mainly to help them recall the information in the clip and to activate their brain to actively reflect on these facts.

• When everybody is finished, ask them what they thought about the questions and answers. It may be that the participants are curious about the feedback on other answers. You can discuss this interactively. You can also find the quiz including the feedback in the file «Are Boys Stronger Quiz».

• Guide the debriefing dialogue by asking:

1. Who are stronger, boys or girls? Stimulate further dialogue with questions like:

2. Is physical strength more important than other strengths? Why?

3. Are images of boys and men being stronger realistic or exaggerated? Why?

4. In what respects are girls/women stronger? Did you know that before you saw the clip?

5. Do you think it would be useful for schools to include the discussion on the differences between boys and girls in their curriculum? Why (not)?

Topic 2 Bias

Activity 1: Implicit Bias

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 25 minutes

Objectives

• Understand the term implicit bias.

• Reflect on their own implicit bias.

• Consider how their implicit bias affects them.

Instructions

• Introduce the activity by explaining the term «implicit associations» found in the platform.

• We have discussed «stereotypes» in different ways. Explain that sometimes people don’t want to stereotype, but they still do. This is partly an unconscious process. Having stereotypical views but not being conscious of it is called «implicit bias». Harvard University has developed a test which measures such implicit bias. We are going to try this out for ourselves.

• Ask the participants to go to the relevant part of the platform which will instruct them to follow the relevant link and do the test. This measures one’s unconscious choices by monitoring the time one takes to answer the questions. Explain that If they make a «mistake», this is not a problem. The test will take them five to ten minutes. They should stop when they see the message: «You have completed the study». They will then be able to read their results just below the title: «Your responses suggested ...».

• When all participants are finished, first ask them if they understand the results. They may not understand words like “science” and “liberal arts”, and they may not grasp that an association

of male with science represents the “traditional view” on gender roles. The results can be a bias towards traditional views (an association of male with science and female with liberal arts), a bias towards non-traditional views (an association of female with science and male with liberal arts). The association can be slight, moderate, or strong, or there can be no association between science/liberal arts and gender.

• Ask the participants if they were surprised about the results and why; if they feel comfortable with the result; or whether it disagrees with their self image. Stress that there is nothing “wrong” with having implicit bias one way or the other, but it is important to recognize that you have it and reflect on whether this agrees with what you are explicitly standing for. If the Implicit Association test has results that you don’t feel comfortable with, maybe it is a sign that you need to either change an explicit opinion, or work on changing your attitudes on a deeper level.

Activity 2: “I Can’t Operate” Riddle

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Realize the impact of gender stereotypes / categories.

Instructions

• Give the participants this riddle: «A father and son are in a horrible car crash that kills the dad. The son is rushed to the hospital; just as he’s about to go under the knife, the surgeon says, “I can’t operate—that boy is my son!”. Note that a surgeon is not allowed to operate on a family member.

• Ask the participants to first privately write down their own guess on what is happening, and then to share it with the rest of the group.

• Answer to the riddle: The possible answers to the riddle are that the surgeon is the boy’s mother, or the other (gay) dad of the boy.

• It is common that only about 15% of people guess the surgeon is the mother. Reflect with the participants on why this is.

• If people do not guess that the surgeon can be female, this represents a stereotype and implicit bias towards women. When participants come with a solution that the surgeon is gay, it may still be an example of implicit bias that women cannot be surgeons.

• As a facilitator, you can use this article as background to facilitate the discussion, or you can share the article itself and discuss related experiences of participants.

• Refer in the debriefing to stereotypes and implicit bias.

Topic 3 What Can You Do?

Activity 1: How To Reduce Bias And Stereotypes

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Explore possible ways to combat stereotypes.

Instructions

• Summarize the unit and refer to the concepts of stereotypes and implicit bias and categorizing.

• Lead a closing discussion on how the participants think we can reduce bias. Note their thoughts on a shared digital whiteboard. Some ideas are:

1. Change stereotypes in reality (for example, include more women in traditionally ‘male’ jobs and vice versa).

2. Change self-perception (for example empower women or minorities, giving them more confidence or make them see issues as a challenge).

3. Become more aware of the damaging effects of certain stereotypes (avoid stereotyping, embracing diversity).

4. Create a safe environment in which it is not threatening to be different from expectations (where people are curious of diversity).

• Note that some of the solutions may be part of a slower process than others.

• If the participants do not come up with one or more of these, the facilitator can ask them questions that guide them into this direction, such as «Would there be stereotypes if jobs were equally distributed/executed by men and women?» or «What could teachers and school managers do to support students to have less bias and stereotypes?»

• If thinking of ways to deal with stereotypes is difficult for the participants, you could ask the participants to read «The terrifying power of stereotypes – and how to deal with them» and then brainstorm. However, keep in mind that this may increase the risk of this activity becoming a non-reflective text analysis rather than activating the creativity of the participants.

Tip to the facilitator!

For further reading on the concepts of stereotypes and implicit bias as well as on how to combat stereotypes, you could consult the list of sources found here: «Empirically Validated Strategies to Reduce Stereotype Threat»

Unit 4 Gender Fights: Controversial Aspects Of Gender

Goals

• Explore the role of women in society.

• Explore how women and men can be controlled by norms on femininity and masculinity.

• Understand the terms «gender ideology» and «gender equality».

• Become aware that this course is not neutral.

Topic 1 History

Activity 1: Women In History

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20-30 minutes

Objectives

• Become aware that there are less women featuring in traditional history-telling and historywriting.

• Reflect on why there are less women featuring in traditional history-telling and historywriting.

Instructions

• Introduce this unit by telling the participants that not everybody agrees that men and women should be equal. Our history is full of inequality, and there are people who think society should keep such traditions, while others think that there should be equality. Tell them that this unit is about these «gender fights».

• Announce we are first going to talk about history.

• Ask the participants to name five or ten men and five or ten women who were famous in history (this is more difficult when you ask for ten persons rather than five, and when you restrict the scope to your own country). If the participants are very unaware of history, you can ask them to explore this on the internet.

• It will probably be more difficult to name women than men. Ask why this is.

• (Most historically famous people are men, because men held positions of power more often and because the European system of inheritance of titles (like kings) advantages men over women. In some cases, women could «take the place of men» by pretending to be men or replacing their sons in a position of power. An indicative example of women’s invisibility in history can be found in this list named «Famous men and women in history». This is a ranking of the 100 most famous people in history. However, it counts only three women. Beyond the gender bias, the list is also heavily influenced by UK and US history. As a variation on this, you could ask the participants to make a list of the ten most famous people in their own national history, and then check how many of those are women.

Activity 2: Women In Politics

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 50-60 minutes

Objectives

• Become aware of how women feature in current politics and explore why.

Instructions

• Begin this activity by explaining that we will now look at current politics.

• Explain the difference between equal representation (representation based on the size of the represented group) and equity (fair treatment).

• Announce we are now going to explore equal representation in politics.

• Ask the participants to form couples and research on the internet how many women are currently in the national government and in the European Commission. If there are less men or women, also try to find out why. Give them approximately 20 minutes for this.

• Discuss if there is inequality of representation and why. You can use the following guiding questions:

1. Being in a government is a busy job. Do the ministers have children? Do ministers take care of their own children?

2. What is the policy or ideology of political parties regarding women’s emancipation? Does this influence women’s political participation?

3. Does the country or the European Commission make a clear effort to accomplish equal representation in their own affairs?

4. What are the factors that make equal participation difficult?

Activity 3: Are Women’s Politics Different?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 60 minutes

Objectives

• Explore to what extent politicians have different styles based on their gender and how this influences politics.

Instructions

• Introduce this activity by saying that the Corona epidemic created a lot of criticism of governments. One of these criticisms appeared on Facebook in the form of a relevant image found in the platform.

• Ask the participants what the “hidden” message of this image is. Make sure that they understand that the image claims that women politicians had dealt with the COVID-19 epidemic better than the men politicians.

• Ask the participants to go in small subgroups (of two to four persons) and discuss if they think female government leaders have better managed the Corona epidemic. Allow them approximately 20 minutes to discuss this.

• When the participants are back, ask them to report on the discussion.

• Then, organize a game based on the statement «Female leaders combat the epidemic better». Explain that you will ask everyone to take a position regarding this statement. Assign two symbols as signs for «agree» and «disagree» so everybody can show their position using these signs. This way, they will also be able to see who agrees or disagrees without having to talk. Explain that you will ask the proponents to argue their case and the opponents to argue their case. Explain that participants are allowed to change their position during the game.

• Facilitate the game by making sure the arguments become clear.

• Give the participants the explicit space to shift their position, and if they want, to argue why they shifted position.

• Close the game by saying that this game was just an exercise in exchanging opinions. There is no objective truth here. At the same time, it may be that political styles are influenced by gender roles. This means that a choice to vote for a man or a woman may have influence on how the country is governed.

Topic 2 Control

Activity 1: Fashion

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 60 minutes

Objectives

• Become aware of the role of fashion on women’s lives.

• Explore if fashion can operate as a control mechanism.

Instructions

• Introduce this activity by announcing we are going to study gender and fashion.

• Ask the participants to read the text «The Prisoner of Gender» found in the platform. This can be done together online or individually by downloading the text.

• Check if the participants took in the content and start a dialogue using the following questions:

1. Did men wear more or less beautiful clothing after the 17th century?

2. How does gender play a role in fashion, according to Elizabeth Wilson?

3. Some feminists are critical of women fashion. Why?

4. Why are women wearing high heels, according to Angela King?

5. Why is the cosmetics industry for women much larger than the cosmetics industry for men, according to Sandra Lee Bartky?

6. Why does Angela King consider fashion and cosmetics as turning a woman into an “ornamented surface”?

• The questions are also available on the platform as multiple choice quiz with feedback. You can ask the participants to take this quiz, but a live discussion will have the added bonus of starting an interactive dialogue on the functions of fashion. As facilitator, you can use the alternative answers and feedback as guidance for the discussion. It may also be useful as a facilitator to read the full blog.

• Final questions for the dialogue could be:

1. To what extent do you agree that women are in part «controlled» by fashion?

2. Do you think that men are (partly) controlled by fashion? Note: If participants think they are not controlled, check if the participants are all dressed very differently and with all possible colors. If this is not so, why did they «all by their own choice» choose very similar clothing? Why do boys not wear skirts or bright colors? Do they all wear their hair differently? (It is very rare that boys wear a dress or very colorful clothes; this shows that they are controlled by fashion to some extent.)

Activity 2: Gender Policing

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 45 minutes

Objectives

• Become aware of how men and women control each other’s gender expression.

• Explore why we have this control mechanism.

Instructions

• Announce we are now going to reflect more on how gender is controlled.

• Explain that researchers say that most people in some way push other people to behave according to a certain gender role. For example, a boy who does not behave masculine enough can be told to «not be such a sissy», or when he shows emotions he may be told «to man up». A girl should be effeminate in specific ways. If she gives her opinion in a clear way, she may be told she is a «bitch», but when she is “too” feminine she may be told she should not behave like a «whore». This pushing of people to behave according to stereotypical gender roles is called «gender policing».

• Show the video blog of Ashley Wylde (4’08), the link of which can be found in the platform. Introduce it by saying that this girl explains in her own words why she hates gender policing.

• Allow short reactions to the blog. Help the group to phrase their opinions in a respectful way and not to become normative to the rest of the group forcing them to agree or disagree with Ashley.

• Divide the participants in a few subgroups and ask them to answer the three following questions. Allow the groups to discuss the questions for approximately 20 minutes.

1. Do you see gender policing in your environment?

2. When do you feel «gender policed» yourself?

3. Did you ever (accidentally or on purpose) «gender police» others?

• When they come back in the plenary, ask short impressions about the discussions without naming who said what exactly.

• Ask the group if this discussion gave the participants new points of view, and how this dialogue may influence their lives.

Topic 3 Fights

Activity 1: Gender Ideology

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 45 minutes

Objectives

• Understand the concept «gender ideology» and become aware of the political tensions behind it.

Instructions

• Announce that now we go into some more controversial issues.

• There is increasing opposition to gender equality. This opposition has chosen to even denigrate the word «gender», saying it is an invention to make the «natural» difference between men and women unclear. They say that using the word «gender» represents a «gender ideology» which is a plot to destroy traditional family values.

• In 2021, the Guardian journalist Jules Gleeson interviewed the famous philosopher Judith Butler. Butler speaks about how the anti-gender movement criticized her for using “gender” as something that is socially defined rather than just being biological.

• Ask the participants to read the summary of the interview.

• Ask the participants to give first reactions.

• Then ask the participants to research the views of the anti-gender movement on the internet. They should arrange their notes in two columns: on one side the arguments of the antigender movement, and on the other side the arguments of the equality movement. If they cannot find an argument to match an argument from the other side, the participants can think of their own arguments. This exercise is a way of mapping the field, not (yet) to form an opinion.

• In case the participants have difficulty finding the arguments, we have listed the four main arguments pro and against in the file “Research arguments gender ideology”. If you think this would be useful at the end of the activity, you can share this worksheet with the participants.

• Ask the participants to report on the arguments.

Activity 2: How To Respond To Critical Questions (part 1)

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 60 minutes

Objectives

• Explore one’s position in the gender debate.

Instructions

• Introduce this activity by saying that the previous activity shows that some people may consider this course to be a «gender ideology» plot which will destroy family values. We will now play a game to explore how we can respond to this. The game is a statement game with two rounds. The first round is to explore your own position and arguments. The second one is to explore the arguments of others.

Round 1:

• Ask the participants to divide themselves in three groups via breakout rooms: a group that

considers this course to be supportive for equality, a group that considers this course to be damaging to good values, and a group that thinks these two views are too extreme.

• If one of the groups is too small (except the middle one), the facilitator takes a position in that group. Tell the participants to show their group by putting on one of the symbols of the chat (for example «heart», «open mouth» and «tada») as a signifier.

• The three groups go into separate breakout rooms and their assignment is to argue which arguments they have for their position. They choose one person who will be the spokesperson of that group.

• After the preparation in subgroups, the equality group, the values group and the group in the middle present their arguments.

• After the presentations, each group can respond to the others and give counter arguments. In this, the others may also speak, and groups can also request to withdraw for five minutes in their breakout room.

• Participants can change groups at any time they want, by changing their signifier or just by moving to another group.

Activity 3: How To Respond To Critical Questions (part 2)

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 60 minutes

Objectives

• Become prepared to counter critical comments on why they have taken this course.

Instructions

Round 2:

• Divide the participants in two groups: a group that considers this course to be supportive for gender equality, and a group that considers this course to be damaging to good values. Put the participants in different groups than the ones they were before.

• Explain that this round is not about their own opinion. Its aim is to experience the position of others and to learn to communicate nonviolently about this issue. Nonviolently means to listen, ask for clarification, try to understand what people need, and state your own opinion in such a way that it does not sound as a judgement against others.

• The two groups go into breakout rooms; their assignment is to think how they can explore the deeper needs that lie beyond the arguments of the other group. They should think of non-judgmental questions they can ask to find this out. And they should think of a way to say what their own needs are in a way that does not make the other group feel attacked.

• When the groups come together, the “traditional values” group starts by asking the “equality group” about what is beyond the arguments they have used. When they feel they are clear about it, they say their own deeper need in a non-judgmental way.

• Then the other group does the same.

• The round closes with a facilitator-led reflection on what they learned in this second round and how these learning experiences can possibly be used in real discussions on this course.

Module 2: Healthy Relationships

Module 2: Healthy Relationships

Created by the Center for Social Innovation (CSI), Cyprus

A module that delves into the vital topic of how we build and maintain healthy relationships. A module that addresses themes such as dating, intimacy, the male and female bodies, safe relationships and safe sexual behaviors. Great attention is paid to dating violence as well as consent. The idea of the family unit is also discussed from a number of different approaches.

Unit 1 Dating And Playing Goals

• Reflect on dating and sexual relationships.

• Understand the essential characteristics of healthy relationships that exclude instances of emotional and physical harm.

• Carefully consider each fictitious situation using the specific scenarios given and decide what the best-case scenario would be, which is generally an important life-skill.

• Discuss the concepts of reproduction, different types of contraception, reproduction rights and abortion.

Topic 1 Introduction

Activity 1: Icebreaker

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10-15 minutes

Objectives

• Understand what this topic is about.

• Define and reflect on healthy relationships.

Instructions

• Ask the participants what they think a healthy relationship looks like and which words could describe it. Offer some examples: affection, communication, feeling comfortable and safe, etc.

• Afterwards, tell them to take a look at the table of characteristics by Healthline via the platform.

• Conclude that mutual respect and trust are the key to any healthy relationship.

Topic 2 How to date?

Activity 1: The Start Of Something New

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Introduce the topics that will be discussed in this unit.

• Encourage the participants to share their emotions and thoughts on dating, and how they would approach another person.

Instructions

• Read the text found in the platform under the title “Activity 1: The start to something new” and explain that in this unit we will discuss how to approach someone we are interested in, how to balance the wants of the persons involved in a relationship, and how the changes in our bodies affect our emotions as well as the way we see other people.

• Ask the participants to discuss the following two questions: “How would you approach someone you are interested in?”. Participants should discuss their thoughts with their peers and their facilitator(s). At this stage, the learners are expected to share their opinions, thoughts and even feelings about dating. The goal is to open the floor for discussion on this topic.

Topic 3 More Than A Date?

Activity 1: Time Together

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Talk about dating through defining a list of activities that two teenagers who are interested in each other can do together.

• Introduce the participants to the subject of romantic relationships and allow them to share their experiences and/or expectations of first dates.

• Identify rules for comfortable and safe dating.

Instructions

• Read with the participants the text found on the platform under the title “Activity 1: Time together” and then ask them to make a list of activities that two teenagers who are interested in each other could do together on a date or whenever they choose to spend time together, for example go to the cinema, watch a film, go for a walk, talk on the phone, chat on social media.

• Then, invite them to share their list with their peers and exchange thoughts and opinions.

Activity 2: Making Memories

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Introduced the participants to romantic relationships by asking them to share their experiences and/or expectations of first dates.

Instructions

• Read together with the participants the informative text found in the platform under the title “Activity 1: Making Memories” and initiate a discussion about the following:

Did you have a date already? If yes, reflect on your first date. How did you feel? If not, what are your expectations for the first date? What do you expect to happen next?

Activity 3: Tips For Comfortable Dating

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Identify rules for comfortable and safe dating.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to think about some of the things one does only with a boyfriend or a girlfriend, such as romantic walks, kissing, sexual activities.

• Divide them in groups and ask them to make a checklist of ground rules for comfortable dating. Afterwards, they should discuss the checklist with the rest of the class.

• Read with the participants the two texts that refer to “healthy” and “steady” relationships which can be found in blue boxes in the platform.

• At the end, the participants should also reflect on the parameters they considered while making the checklist of rules for safe dating. Some questions for reflection as well as an indicative list of rules for safe dating is provided in the platform under the titles “Questions for reflection” and “Checklist”.

Topic 4 Getting Closer

Activity 1: Levels Of Intimacy I

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Reflect on levels of intimacy.

Instructions

• The participants are given a list of digital cards, corresponding to levels of intimacy, found in the platform under the title “Activity 1: Levels of Intimacy I”. Then they are asked to form groups of three to four people and review the cards within their group.

Activity 2: Levels Of Intimacy II

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 30 minutes

Objectives

• Reflect on levels of intimacy.

• Understand that people have different comfort levels for different types of intimate activities.

• Understand that when it comes to intimate relations, discussion is a critical element of consent.

Instructions

• After assuring a common understanding on the meaning of the terminology used in the cards found in the previous activity, the participants remain in the same groups of three to four people and are asked to rank the cards from the least intimate activity to the most intimate activity. Remind them that there is no right order.

• Then, as a continuation of the previous activity, the participants are asked to reflect on and discuss the following questions:

1. Did you have any disagreements?

2. Why do you think people may rank the activities differently?

3. Does it matter where you are when you are doing these intimate actions?

• Conclude this activity by reading with the participants the informative text that is provided in the platform on the fact that different people may have different comfort levels for different types of intimate actions. The participants are introduced to the importance of having discussions with partners regarding what is intimate for them and what they are comfortable doing. These types of conversations are critical elements of consent for sexual activity and need to be on-going.

Activity 3: The Pressure

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Understand that making decisions about sexual behaviour is a values-based exercise.

Instructions

• In continuation of the previous activity, read the text found in the platform under the title “Activity 3: The pressure” about the process of making one’s own decisions.

• At this point, the participants are prompted to discuss the following question:

1. Do you think there are pressures for you, or teenagers in general, to have or not to have sex?

• For each pressure point identified by the participants, you should discuss the following:

1. Why could this cause a teenager to feel pressure to have sex?

2. If a teenager is feeling this kind of pressure, what can they do to reduce or eliminate the pressure?

Topic 5 To Sex Or Not To Sex?

Activity 1: Self-reflection

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Encourage the participants to explore why young people of their age decide to have sex, why some people might postpone having sex, and how they know when they are ready.

• Demonstrate the use of decision-making skills to make choices about sexual behaviour.

Instructions

• Begin by offering the participants some food for thought by reading together the four questions found in the platform under the title “Food for Thought”. Allow a discussion on the four questions mentioned in this text.

• Following this, the participants are prompted to reflect on following questions found in the platform:

1. Would you like to have sex? What is your most important reason?

2. Do you want sex now or do you want to postpone it? Can you imagine the reasons why others do it now or why they postpone it?

3. How do you find out what your potential partner wants?

• The participants again form groups and discuss possible answers to each question. Then, each group should share their answers with the rest of their peers and discuss.

• Indicative answers or some reasons for waiting are:

1. Religious/cultural beliefs

2. Not ready emotionally

3. Not wanting to hide from parents

4. Guilt

5. Fear

6. Thoughts that it could turn out to be disappointing

7. Concerns about STIs

8. Concerns about pregnancy

9. Concerns about reputation

10. Relationship status, not sure if they trust partner

11. Belief that sex is only part of a certain kind of relationship

• Reasons for having sex:

1. Desire

2. Curiosity

3. Love for partner

4. Need to feel wanted/loved

5. To feel good

6. Belief that it will prevent a relationship from ending

7. Peer pressure

8. Not knowing how to say NO

• Feedback is also offered in the blue box found in the platform under the title “It is your decision” where is concluded that both individuals wanting sex or postponing is perfectly fine. As long as this is a conscious, well-informed and responsible choice.

Topic 6 Our Bodies

Activity 1: Changes

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 50 minutes

Objectives

• Reflect on the physical and emotional changes of one’s body.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to reflect on the following questions:

1. Why do we start feeling attraction to another person as a teen?

2. What has changed in our body?

3. Have you noticed any physical and emotional changes on your body lately?

4. How do you feel about them?

• Keep in mind that this is a brainstorming activity, and the questions mentioned here are meant as an introduction to the rest of this topic. Also, bear in mind that this section of the course is entirely supported by the material presented via the platform.

• Allow the participants to go over the information provided via the platform (online learning material) which introduces the basic concepts of sex education, including the development of the human body from childhood to adulthood, reproduction, STIs, and male & female hormones.

• Begin by reviewing the text found in the platform under the title “Our Bodies: boy’s development” that discusses how the body of a boy develops from child to adult.

Tip to the facilitator!

Further information on this can be found here: Raising Children Network

• Move to the next part in the platform and read with the participants the text found under the title “Our Bodies: the penis” that explains that there are many forms and shapes of penises and continue by reading the text under the title “Our bodies: cleaning the penis” that advises on the ways to keep your penis and the area clean.

• Following, read the informative text about the issue of circumcision found under the relevant title “Our bodies: circumcision” in the platform, before moving on to explain the male reproductive system in detail using the text and images found in the platform under the title “Our Bodies: a boy inside”.

• Continue by reviewing the text found in the platform under the title “Our Bodies: girl’s development” that discusses how the body of a girl develops from child to adult. Discuss the physical changes of puberty and the emotional challenges this process may include.

Tip to the facilitator!

Further information on this can be found here: FKSG

• Moving on, read with the participants the informative texts about the vagina and the hymen, as well as the text and image about the female reproductive system under the titles “Our Bodies: the vagina”, “Our Bodies: the hymen” and “Our Bodies: behind the vagina”.

• Then, move to read the information about impregnation, the menstrual cycle, and the process of having a baby found in the platform under the relevant titles. Discuss the process of fertilization, how girls may feel uncomfortable during the menstruation as well as the impregnation process that is the first step into having a baby.

• Continue to read the information provided in the platform under the title “Our Bodies: STI’s” about the Sexually Transmitted Infections known as STI or STD and remind the participants that if they have relevant symptoms not to let shame keep them away from the doctor.

• Finally, move on to the part in the platform about hormones and explain that whilst both girls and boys have female and male hormones, most boys have more male hormones, and most girls have more female hormones. Also explain that there are people with intersex condition. Following, read with the participants the informative texts about testosterone which is a boy’s hormone and oestrogens and progestogens which are girl’s hormones.

• Conclude by allowing the participants ten minutes to take the “Quiz M2: Unit 1” found in the platform.

Topic 7 Safe Sex

Activity 1: How To Protect Ourselves

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Raise awareness of the need to use contraception.

• Educate the participants about the different contraceptive options available and their usage.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to think about what methods of birth control and safe sex they are aware of and make a list of them, either in groups or in an open discussion.

• Then read together some indicative ways of staying safe provided in the platform. The list of methods includes the following: condoms, birth control pills, IUD coil, cervical caps and cervical diaphragms, implant, injectables, withdrawal, morning after pill, PrEP.

• Then, refer to the platform and read the brief informative text that is provided there on the concept of contraception. The participants should spend about 5 minutes reading it the texts under the title “Prevention” and “How to use a condom”. The facilitators are advised to be prepared to answer any questions the participants might have on this subject.

Activity 2: Contraception

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 45 minutes

Objectives

• Inform participants about the different contraceptive options available and their usage.

• Test the knowledge the participants have acquired throughout this unit.

Instructions

• Divide the participants in groups. Assign one contraception method to each group. Ask the members of each group to search online about the method of contraception that was assigned to them and prepare a short presentation about it working as a group. Then, they should share this with the rest of the class.

• Prior to this activity, the facilitator(s) should point out these key messages:

• There are many effective methods of contraception.

• Having sexual intercourse without contraception puts people at greatest risk of unintended pregnancy.

• Condoms protect against both unintended pregnancy and STIs (including HIV).

• Apart from these facts, the participants should be advised to seek more facts about the importance of contraception.

• To conclude this Unit the participants are asked to take 15 minutes to answer the five questions found in the “M2: Unit 1 Final Quiz” which is in the platform. Explain that the Final Quiz has open-ended (free text) questions that the participants have already reflected on earlier so they will reply retrospectively.

Unit 2 My Space Goals

• Understand the phenomena of sexual consent and harassment.

• Use the issues of human rights and personal boundaries as some of the perspectives to approach this subject.

• Help identify situations of violation of those boundaries and figure out ways of management.

Topic 1 Is This The End?

Activity 1: The End Of A Relationship

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Appreciate factors that could lead to the end of a relationship.

Instructions

• Remind the participants of some of the subjects discussed in Unit 1 such as dating, entering a romantic relationship, and sexual behaviours. Then tell them that in Unit 2 we will focus on the importance of being aware of when a relationship needs to end.

• Point out that developing and maintaining a good relationship as well as knowing when to end a relationship are skills that people learn by experience. Also, it is important to point out that it is not always easy to end a relationship. Allow a brief brainstorming to occur, where the participants consider the following questions:

How do you know you need to end it? How do you do it? Can someone help you?

Activity 2: An Unhealthy Situation

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Initiate a discussion about unhealthy relationships.

• Begin exploring ways of dealing with unhealthy relationships.

Instructions

• Continue the discussion that started in the previous activity and allow the participants about a few minutes to write down what a person who is in an unhealthy relationship can do about it. This is an activity that should be done individually. Then, they should share their thoughts and opinions with their peers and their facilitator(s).

Activity 3: Get Out

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Introduce the participants to different types of abuse that could occur in a relationship, which alarm the need to part ways.

Instructions

• Start the discussion by reading the text found in the platform under the title “Power Play” which mentions that some partners fight with each other on a regular basis. In such cases, power dynamics could come into play, which means that if one partner has more power or control over the other, then this could lead to abuse.

• A short text explains the different types of abuse:

1. Physical violence usually entails hitting, sexual harassment, rape.

2. Emotional violence usually entails gossip, mental blackmail, scolding.

3. Physical violence is usually used by men, emotional violence is usually used by women.

• Advise the participants that if they experience something similar, then talking to friends or a counsellor could help.

• A brainstorming activity follows, where the participants are asked to share their thoughts about why some people find it difficult to get out of uncomfortable or abusive relationships, and if they believe this is different for boys and girls.

Activity 4: Scene From A Relationship

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20minutes

Objectives

• Consider what kind of behaviour is helpful or unhelpful in relationships.

Instructions

• Read with the participants the brief informative text found in the platform under the title “Boundaries & Safety” that explains the reasons why some people tend to stay in unpleasant/ unhealthy relationships. Keep in mind that you should go over this text with the participants and be prepared to address any questions they might have.

• Continue with a brainstorming activity, where you present the participants with several options about helpful/unhelpful behaviours in a relationship and ask them to discuss with each other and with their facilitator(s).

Topic 2 Do I Have Your Consent?

Activity 1: Consent Among Friends

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Define the concept of consent and sexual consent.

• Offer definitions of concepts such as consent, coerce, sexual consent, assault, and rape.

Instructions

• Begins this topic by offering the definitions of various crucial concepts, such as consent, coerce, sexual consent, assault, and rape which are found in the platform under the title “Topic 2: Do I have your consent?”. The participants should spend a few minutes reading the terms in preparation for the activity that will follow. If there are any questions, the facilitator(s) should be ready to address them.

• Then, a hypothetical scenario is provided about two friends, Alex and Taylor. After reading this scenario, the participants are prompted to provide a definition of what consent is in general, why it is important, and what sexual consent could mean along the same lines. This is a brainstorming activity with an open discussion.

Activity 2: It’s As Simple As Tea

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Define the concept of consent and sexual consent.

Instructions

• Invite the participants to watch the video, found in the platform, where sexual consent is compared to offering a cup of tea.

Tip to the facilitator!

You can also find the video here

• After watching the video, urge the participants reflect again about what consent is in general, and what sexual consent is in particular. They, should also discuss with their peers and the facilitator (s) if the metaphor of offering tea is effective in making them think about more seriously what sexual consent is in particular.

Activity 3: Yes Or No?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Appreciate the importance of consent.

• Wonder about when one can be sure of having the consent to touch or kiss a person.

Instructions

• Separate the participants into groups and allow them a few minutes to further discuss between them the importance of consent by reflecting on the following question:

How can you be sure that you have consent before touching or kissing?

• Ask the participants to share their answers with their peers and the facilitator (s).

Activity 4: Are You In The Mood?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Understand what consent is.

• Understand that asking for, negotiating, and giving consent are important parts of a healthy relationship.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to return to their assigned team and to allow them a few minutes to discuss the issue of consent by reflecting on the following question:

• Do you have to ask your partner every time explicitly if you can have penetration? Afterwards, invite the participants to share their answers with their peers and the facilitator (s).

• Conclude this activity by reading with the participants the informative text found in the platform under the title “Consent and Communication”.

• Explain that asking for, negotiating, and giving consent are important parts of a healthy relationship. Healthy relationships are based on good communication between partners, as part of building trust. Healthy relationships allow for each person to make their own choices about sexual expression and actions.Taking responsibility for clearly communicating your values, needs and wants, and making choices that are congruent with your values, are integral parts of being sexually healthy.

• Offer some other words that can be used to describe consent include positive, affirmative, clear, and enthusiastic. Remind the participants that the person initiating sexual activity is responsible for getting consent. Not getting consent may lead to negative outcomes for both the survivor (the person who has been sexually assaulted) and the perpetrator (the person who commits the assault), and even the friends and family of the survivor and perpetrator.

Activity 5: The Law

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Understand what consent is.

• Evaluate the consent mandatory law.

Instructions

• Read with the participants the text found in the platform under the title “Activity 5: The Law”. Discuss that a lot of court cases about assault or rape are difficult, because initiating sex is often done without talking and assuming the other wants sex. To overcome this, in Sweden, a law was adopted which makes asking explicit consent mandatory. Urge the participants to review this law which they can find in the link offered in the platform.

Tip to the facilitator!

You can also find the law here

• After spending some minutes going over this law, the participants should share their opinion on this. If they do not agree with this law, they should suggest other ways that would possibly solve the problem of partners giving opposite stories about what happened. They should discuss with their peers and with their facilitator(s).

Activity 6: The First Move

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 30 minutes

Objectives

• Understand what consent is.

• Test knowledge and understanding about consent based on the information offered.

Instructions

• Read with the participants the text found in the platform under the title “The first move”. Discuss how in many countries, boys are still expected to take the initiative in dating and in sexuality. This makes them extra responsible for getting consent.

• Allow the participants 10 minutes to answer the questions found in the “Quiz M2 Unit 2 1”. Explain that the participants can give multiple answers to each question and tell them that rather than being correct or incorrect, all answers get feedback.

Feedback to Question 1:

1) No, that’s not consent. Clothing may indicate a need, but it has nothing to do with consent.

2) No, assuming anything is not consent. Maybe your partner doesn’t feel like it this time.

3) No, certainly not. Maybe they like kissing, but don’t want to go further at this time.

4) How can you be sure your partner does not kiss back only because he or she feels pressured? Better to ask and be sure, especially when you don’t know your partner very well. When you know a partner for a long time, routines may develop, and you may ask less explicitly for permission. But even then, good partners have different ways of making sure both feel comfortable.

5) Well, it is always wise to make sure. Even when your relationship has developed further. But if you develop other ways (for example, not by talking, but by other signs) to ask and give consent, it is still good to keep checking in some ways if your partner is still willing to go further.

Feedback to Question 2:

Obviously, the last answer is the best and the first one is out of the question. You want to make your partner and yourself feel comfortable.

But how can you make clear what you want and need without being coercing?

To coerce means you use some psychological or physical force to get the other person to agree with you. Consent is not true consent when you use coercion. And your partner does not need to explain why she or he does not feel like having sex. Not feeling like it, is enough, isn’t it?

You can express how you feel, and what you want. If you feel the need for sex, such an instinct can be strong. But you cannot allow it to guide your actions.

Feedback to Question 3:

Coercion is making someone do something through force or threats. When there is coercion, there is no real consent. A person needs to be given the space to say “no.” Coercion can include:

-pressuring someone (e.g., asking someone repeatedly until they finally give in) threatening someone (e.g., “I’ll break up with you if you don’t….”)

-intimidating someone (e.g., making someone afraid through the use of looks, actions or gestures)

-blackmailing someone (e.g., “I’ll tell everyone you’re cold/easy if you don’t”)

-guilt-tripping someone (e.g., “If you cared for me, you would…”)

Feedback to Question 4:

Sexual assault is any unwanted erotic or sexual act done by one person to another or sexual activity without one person’s consent or voluntary agreement.

Erotic or sexual activity may include kissing, touching someone’s breasts, butt, or genitals, one person making another touch their genitals, and oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse. Erotic or sexual activity without consent is sexual assault.

Penetration without consent in a vagina (vaginal intercourse), in an anus (anal intercourse) or in a mouth (oral sex) is assault, but is also rape, which has a higher punishment.

Feedback to Question 5:

“No” always means “no” whether it’s communicated with words or not. Silence or not saying “no” in a clear way does NOT mean yes. For it to be “yes”, it needs to be enthusiastically and clearly communicated.

Feedback to Question 6:

In most cases of sexual assault, the victim knows the person who did it. Often the offender is a partner, a common friend, a husband/wife, a relative, a neighbour, a boss, or a colleague.

Less than a fifth of sexual assaults involve strangers

• Conclude this activity by reading the text found in the platform under the title “Let’s find a solution!” and explain that both girls/women and boys/men can be victims of sexual assault although boys/men are fewer in number.

Tip to the facilitator!

You can find more information about this here

• Finish by reading with the participants the six points of the summary found in the blue box in the platform.

Topic 3 A Safe Dating Culture

Activity 1: Tackling Dating Violence

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Understand what dating violence is and how it can be perceived depending on the context.

Instructions

• Offer the participants an introduction and a brief informative text about dating violence.

• In the text found in the platform under the title “Activity 1: Tackling dating violence” it is explained that dating violence is still a common phenomenon, and that globally the victims are usually girls rather than boys.

• Invite the participants to spend some minutes reading and thinking about this introductory text.

• Bear in mind that you should be prepared to answer any questions that the participants might have about this issue.

Tip to the facilitator!

You can find further information about this here and here.

• Then, continue with a brainstorming activity followed by an open discussion, where the participants should share their thoughts about how can boys make clear to girls and other boys that dating and having sex should be safe and comfortable for all partners. They should think about not only about consent, but also about how they talk with each other about making contact, dating, relationships, and sex in general.

Activity 2: Whistle

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Understand what dating violence is and which factors may relate to violent behaviours.

Instructions

• Provide the participants with a specific scenario found in the platform under the title “Activity 2: Whistle” and ask them to put themselves into this hypothetical situation. They should think about how they would respond and discuss their answers with each other and with their facilitator(s).

• Scenario: “You are chilling with some other boys on the street. A girl passes by and two of your friends start to whistle at her.”

• When someone whistles at someone else it usually shows that they think that person is attractive. Whistling is not something bad, but when it stimulates unwanted attention or it crosses a line, then it is.

• The participants should consider the following questions: What would you do? Would you dare to stop the whistling or say something about it? If you would not do something, what would hold you back?

How do they think the girls receiving the whistling feel?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

Activity 3: Peer Pressure

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Understand what dating violence is and which factors may relate to violent behaviours.

Instructions

• Following the previous activity, the participants are again provided with a scenario found in the platform under the title “Activity 3: Peer Pressure” and are asked to imagine themselves in it.

• Explain to the participants that peer pressure is a feeling that you must act the same way as others your age or social group (friends) in order to be liked and respected by them, and not stand out.

• Scenario: In the “whistle” scenario, there may be “peer pressure” to not do something or even to also start whistling. What type of pressure is that? How are you expected to behave as a boy among boys towards girls? Why?

• Tell the participants that they should try to analyse the peer pressures at work.

Activity 4: A Night Out

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Understand what dating violence is and which factors may relate to violent behaviours.

Instructions

• Provide the participants with one more scenario found in the platform under the title “Activity 4: A night out” and ask them to consider how they would react in a similar real case situation.

• Scenario: “In a club, 5 girls are dancing in a circle, with their bags in the middle. Every now and then, they “secretly” look, but quite obviously, at some boys, who are leaning against the wall of the dancefloor. It looks like they want the boys to come over, and at the same time, as if they want to protect themselves from them.”

• The participants should discuss the following questions:

If you like one of the girls, what would you do?

How would you overcome your own shyness?

How do you approach the girl?

How can you give her the feeling she is not attacked, but that she is safe?

• Explain that feeling comfortable and safe around each other are important aspects of all relationships.

Activity 5: Influences I

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Ponder over the factors that possibly influence dating culture.

Instructions

• Offer the participants a list of factors found in the platform under the title “Activity 5: Influences I” that could potentially influence dating culture. Ask them to read the factors and choose the ones they believe play an important part in dating culture. The participants should spend some time trying to decide which of these factors they believe are playing a significant role in dating culture.

• Remind the participants that all answers are correct as long as they are justified by logical explanations.

Activity 6: Influences II

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Ponder over the factors that possibly influence dating culture.

Instructions

• In continuation to the previous activity, ask the participants to think about ways that could diminish the negative influences caused by the factors that are influencing dating culture, but are difficult to change.

• Offer examples explaining gender roles (how each gender is expected to act like), or family (how strict the parents are), or social media (teenagers see, teenagers do, based on the behaviour and attitude of famous, influential people) etc.

Topic 4 Partner Violence

Activity 1: Violence in Intimacy

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Understand how abusive behaviours can be perceived depending on the context and by each gender.

Instructions

• Tell the participants to watch the video about Intimate Partner Violence found in the platform under the title “Activity 1: Violence in Intimacy”.

Tip to the facilitator!

You can also find the video here.

• Afterwards, tell the participants that they should pinpoint the different types of abuse that are mentioned in the video (i.e. physical, emotional, financial, sexual, stalking) and provide their own examples of each one.

Activity 2: Toxic Behaviour

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Consider whether the context/ situation matters for determining whether a behaviour is abusive or not.

Instructions

• Invite the participants to watch the video about Dating Violence, particularly from 2:00 to 3:35. You can find the video in the platform under the title “Activity 2: Toxic Behaviour”.

Tip to the facilitator!

You can also watch the video here

• Afterwards, the participants should consider the following questions: Would you consider the way the boy behaves “dating violence”? Why is it, or is it not, according to you? Does this depend on the situation or the environment?

• Urge the participants to discuss and share their thoughts with the rest of their peers.

Activity 3: What Would You Do?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Consider whether the context/ situation matters for determining whether a behaviour is abusive or not.

Instructions

• Following the dating violence video, the participants are provided with a hypothetical scenario so that they will reflect further on the potential consequences of experiencing and/ or witnessing abusive behaviours.

• Scenario: “Imagine that the situation was in reverse, that the boy was the one being abused by his girlfriend. Imagine you have two good friends, who are dating and are starting a romantic relationship, and after a few months of dating, you notice several times that the girl is bossing around “her” boyfriend. He doesn’t like it, but he doesn’t dare say anything.”

• Call on the participants to think about what they would do if they were their friend. They need to explain if they would react and/or how they would act towards their male and towards their female friend. And also, what they would do if the situation continued.

• Afterwards, tell the participants that they should spend some minutes reading the brief informative text found in the platform under the title “Fighting against the social norms”. The text talks about how teenagers are sometimes misled into believing that abusive behaviours in relationships or in other certain contexts are acceptable.

• Finally, emphasize that we need to change the cultural and social norms that encourage violence.

Tip to the facilitator!

For further information about teenagers being misled about abusive behaviours visit this link

For further information about changing the cultural and social norms that encourage violence visit this link

Topic 5 Do We React Differently?

Activity 1: Gender Roles And Gender Stereotypes

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Consider if gender roles affect dating.

Instructions

• Begin this topic with a brief informative text found in the platform under the title “Activity 1: Gender Role and Gender Stereotypes”. The text is about gender roles and gender stereotypes, and how they can affect relationships. The questions of whether dating is experienced differently by boys and girls is also considered.

• Following, based on this brief text, invite the participants to share their thoughts about what they think gender roles and gender stereotypes are.

• Continue by requesting the participants to watch the following two videos which you can find on the platform.

Tip to the facilitator!

You can also watch the two videos below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrZ21nD9I-0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ulh0DnFUGsk

• Afterwards, urge them to discuss the social “rules” that affect boys and girls in terms of behavior, likes, dislikes, and expectations. Emphasize that they should think about what their consequences are in terms of their choices.

• Offer some examples such as blue vs. pink, toy soldiers vs. dolls, sciences vs. arts (school subjects & career choices), etc.

Activity 2: Reactions

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 30 minutes

Objectives

• Ponder over the consequences of dating violence, and how it affects both boys and girls.

• Test the knowledge the participants have acquired throughout this unit.

Instructions

• Explain that dating violence can cause mild to severe reactions to the victims. The reactions can range from distress to depression, anxiety, and even substance use (e.g. alcohol, drugs). The trauma caused by dating violence can be physical, psychological, or both.

• Call on the participants to discuss if they think that boys and girls react differently to dating violence or if they are equally affected by abuse.

• Go over the text found in the platform under the title “Everyone cries and it’s ok” with the participants. Attention should be paid to the fact that girls often suffer in silence if they do not have a support system, as well as on the fact that it is not easy to get boys to talk about being victims of dating violence because of society’s idea about masculinity.

• Conclude this topic by advising the participants to take 15 minutes to answer the questions found in the “M2 Unit 2 Final Quiz”. Explain that the Final Quiz has open-ended (free text) questions that the participants have already reflected on earlier so they will reply retrospectively.

Unit 3 Family Matters

Goals

• Explore the family notion, family relations, the role of each member in the family as well as changes in family lifestyles over the years and cultural differences in family dynamics.

• Discuss concepts such as responsible parenthood and family planning.

• Understand that these concepts are linked to gender roles, which are assigned by society based on its needs and expectations (e.g., mother, father, husband, wife, daughter, son, mentor, etc.).

• Appreciate that these roles often diverge from one culture to another and are affected by power dynamics within a society.

Topic 1 What Is Family?

Activity 1: The Word “Family”

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Introduce the word “family”.

• Wonder what a family is by using a question for thought and reflection.

Instructions

• Call on the participants to think about what a family is, based on their understanding, what they are familiar with, what they have been exposed to, etc.

• Invite them to answer these questions:

When you hear the word “family” what associations do you have?

What thoughts come to mind?

• Tell them that this is an introductory brainstorming activity and urge them to share their thoughts.

Activity 2: Family Tree

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Introduction to what a family is with a question for thought and reflection.

Instructions

• To start with, invite the participants to create a Family Tree of their family by using the online tools Canva or Family Echo. For example, the participants can add their parents, grandparents, guardians, siblings, and other relatives such as their aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.

Tip to the facilitator!

You can find the online tool Canvas here

You can find the online tool Family Echo here

• Once this is done, talk to the participants about what a family is, what its purpose is, and how families come in all shapes and sizes.

• Then share some reasons why people decide to have a family (i.e. economic cooperation, companionship, etc.).

• Finally, explain how things changed over the years, when it comes to heterosexual and homosexual couples, from a legal perspective.

Activity 3: Family Forms

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Get an understanding of the different family forms that exist.

Instructions

• Let the participants know they need to create a list of different family forms they are aware of; this task can be done either in groups or each on their own.

• Direct the participants to the list of different family forms found in the platform under the title “Every family is different; every family is the same”. Offer feedback by presenting different family forms such as adoptive, blended, couple, extended, legal guardian, nuclear, and the list goes on.

Activity 4: Meanings

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Offer food for thought and reflection by introducing the word “family” to the participants using a question.

Instructions

• Allow some time to the participants to describe what the word “family” means to them. The facilitator should help them think in terms of:

-Saving money

-Companionship

-Taking care of each other

-Making and raising children

• The word family could have other meanings or functions for them so make sure they feel free to share and explain.

Activity 5: Would You Like One?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Think about the word “family”.

• Prompt the participants’ imagination about families.

Instructions

• Urge the participants to share with their peers and the facilitator if they would like to start their own family one day, and if yes, what would be the way they would like their family to be.

Topic 2 Changes In The Family Lifestyles?

Activity 1: Are People Changing?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Obtain knowledge on functionalities and structures of families.

Instructions

• Allow the participants some time to think about these three questions: 1. Do you believe families have changed over the last decades?

2. Have people and what they want changed?

3. Are they together for different reasons?

• Once they have gathered their thoughts, ask them to share their opinions and explain their reasoning.

• Then, share and discuss the following feedback found in the platform under the title “People are changing”:

• “The family has been through dramatic changes in the past century, in terms of family formation, household structure, work-life balance, and child well-being.

-Women started building careers

-The role of mothers and fathers has changed

-Couples postpone relationships until they have more money and careers

-Couples don’t always marry nowadays

-Couples divorce more

-There are more single-parent families

-It is not taboo anymore to live together when you are a gay couple.”

Activity 2: Family Roles

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Consider the changes in family lifestyles as well as other related changes in the stereotypical roles of men and women in families.

Instructions

• Invite the participants to think about how family roles for men and women changed over the past decades and share their thoughts with their peers and the facilitator (s).

Tip to the facilitator!

You may use the following to offer feedback:

Men also take care of the children (although still not enough)

Women can plan and decide when they have children

Men are not responsible for women any more (until the 1950s, women were not allowed to make their own financial decisions)

• Continue by reading the informative text found in the platform under the title “Roles for men and women have changed!”. The text mentions that the most dramatic change in gender roles over the past eight decades relates to the growth of women’s rights. More women focus on education and career. More women become stronger and do not have to be subservient to their husbands. This changed the family dynamics.

Tip to the facilitator!

If you would like to learn more about Women’s History, click here

Topic 3 Culture And Family

Activity 1: Unique Microcosms In Big Cultural Context

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Identify cultural differences in family dynamics.

Instructions

• Suggest that the participants explain if they believe that families are different in other countries and cultures.

• Then, watch with them this video, found in the platform, about Different Family Traditions in the World, and reflect all together.

Tip to the facilitator!

You can also watch the video here.

• Continue this activity by reading with the participants the more informative text which is provided on cultural differences that exist in family dynamics found in the platform.

• Note that in short, this study suggests that family and culture are bound together. Also, it mentions that culture affects the way people behave, communicate, and socialize.

• Close by noting that culture affects marriage traditions, ideas about gender and sexuality, and ideas about family formation.

Tip to the facilitator!

For further information on this topic, you can read the research here

• Following this, use the texts found in the platform referring to “Kinship relationships”, and to “Extended Families” to explain that relationships and family forms vary in different cultures.

• Continue by reading the text found in the platform under the title “Living Together” to discuss the issues of marriage and divorce in different cultures.

Activity 2: Individuality VS Interdependence

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Identify cultural differences in family dynamics.

Instructions

• Explain that cultures differ in how much they encourage individuality and uniqueness versus conformity and interdependence.

• Watch with them this video about Me or We? Cultural Difference between East and West, and reflect all together.

Tip to the facilitator!

You can also watch the video here.

• Suggest that the participants take some time after the end of this lesson to complete this optional homework, where they can research further a country of their choice and prepare a short report with their conclusions on cultural differences in family dynamics.

• Moreover, invite the participants to complete the second optional homework, where they can interview their caretakers and other family members about what family means to them, by asking questions like:

What are you proud of in this family?

Was your family in the past the same as this family now?

What has changed over the years?

What influenced that?

Topic 4 Family Planning

Activity 1: Being A Parent

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Understand what responsible parenthood entails; identify the various skills and responsibilities of parenting.

Instructions

• Divide the participants into groups and invite them to think about the following questions:

-What is necessary in order to be a parent or caretaker?

-What is necessary for responsible parenthood?

-How do these ideas link to family planning?

• Once the participants have discussed in their groups, a whole group discussion on the plenary takes place, during which the participants exchange their views. This is a brainstorming session.

• Following that, review with them the definitions of responsible parenthood and family planning that are provided in the platform.

Activity 2: Responsible Parenthood and

Family Planning

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Evaluate one’s personal readiness for parenting.

• Identify the social, moral, emotional, physical, intellectual, and financial considerations of parenting.

Instructions

• Allowed some time to gather their thoughts and to reflect on the definitions of responsible parenthood and family planning that were reviewed during the previous activity.

• Then, ask the participants to compare these definitions with their own ideas. Urge them to share their thought with the group making this activity another brainstorming session.

Activity 3: Mini-Drama About Parenting

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 40 minutes

Objectives

• Re-enact the knowledge that was gained about responsible parenthood and its connection to family planning concepts.

Instructions

• Let the participants know that if they wish they have the option to create a mini-drama in small groups of 3 or 4 people. Each group needs to illustrate one point about parenting they think is important for other boys and girls to think about.

• Afterwards, each group can perform their mini-drama in front of the rest of the class, and then ask for their feedback. Alternatively, the participants might choose to perform their story in front of their friends or family members at home.

Tip to the facilitator!

This is an optional activity, and the estimated duration may vary according to the number of the participants and other factors. Also, keep in mind that this activity may be assigned as homework.

Topic 5 Parenting Style

Activity 1: The Three Styles

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Consider different parenting styles and their effects on children.

Instructions

• Offer a short introduction on the three different parenting styles: authoritarian, democratic, permissive. Explain that there are in practice numerous combinations of these three styles.

• Then, ask the participants to share their opinions about what the best combination of these three styles is. Bear in mind that this is a brainstorming activity.

Activity 2: An American Research

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Think critically about the best combination of parenting styles.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to think about the question “What is, in your point of view, the best combination of the three styles?”.

• Then, direct the participant’s attention towards the video found in the platform titled “Parenting Styles and their Effects on Children”.

Tip to the facilitator!

You can also watch the video here

• After watching the video, initiate a critical discussion where everyone offers their opinions.

Activity 3: Non-Violent Communication

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Acquire knowledge on Non-Violent Communication.

Instructions

• Read with the participants the definition of Non-Violent Communication.

• Explain that non-violent communication means you are aware of your own needs and are empathetic (care about others’ needs and emotions). You communicate respectfully with others so that you can agree on a mutual way to get your needs met.

• This means that raising your children non-violently cannot be done by authority, control or punishment.

• Afterwards, invite the participants to watch the video which is a fragment of a training found in the platform.

• Close this activity by asking the participants to share their opinion with the group. A brainstorming activity will follow, where everyone shares their opinions.

Tip to the facilitator!

You can also watch the video here

For additional information, you may also see this source

Activity 4: Create A Poster

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 45 minutes

Objectives

• Review everything that was discussed in this module through the creation of a poster.

• Test one’s understanding of the topics discussed in this unit.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to create a poster with their group to present the core pieces of information that they have received from this unit. The poster could focus on either the Three Styles of Parenting or on Non-Violent Communication. Then, ask them to present their posters on the plenary.

• They can also share their poster with their peers and teachers at school to show the knowledge they gained about all the topics.

• Conclude this Unit by asking them to conclude this Unit by taking 15 minutes to answer the seven questions found in the “M2: Unit 3 Final Quiz” which is in the platform. Explain that the Final Quiz has open-ended (free text) questions that the participants have already reflected on earlier so they will reply retrospectively.

Module 3:

Combating Gender Based Violence

Module 3: Combating Gender Based Violence

Created by the Conexus Association, Spain

Α module that helps reflect on how traditional masculinity is related to violence. It delves into gender based violence, and emphasizes psychological and sexual violence: what they are, their types and consequences. It offers an online educational experience with activities and questions for reflection that are particularly appropriate for questioning ideas and prejudice which teenage boys usually have on these matters.

Unit 1 Manhood And Violence

Goals

• Explore masculinity and how it can lead to violence.

• Review and reflect about the concepts of stereotype and gender roles.

• Reflect on the construction of manhood through stereotypes and gender roles and in opposition to being a girl/woman.

• Reflect on the impact that stereotypes, gender roles have in ourselves and its limitant aspects.

• Learn and understand the Hegemonic Masculinity Pyramid (Connell, 1995) and reflect on the consequences.

• Learn the concepts of patriarchal homosociality and homofobia, identify them in their lives and reflect on their impact in our lives and our own behaviour.

• Learn and think about alternatives to end violence against women and girls, promote gender equity, healthy relationships and a new vision of masculinity.

• Understand and reflect about the relationship between Hegemonic Masculinity and violence through Michael Kaufman’s theory the seven P’s of men’s violence and it’s concepts (Patriarchy, Entitlement of Privileges, Permission, Paradox of men’s power, Psychic Armour, Psychic Pressure Cooker and Past Experiences).

• Identify myths about perpetrators and the importance of disassembling these ideas to fight gender based violence.

Topic 1 Being A Man Whatever The H*** That Means

Activity 1: Welcome Activity

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Introduce the subjects discussed in this module.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to switch off their cameras and then explain that you are going to say some statements; if the participants identify with the statement they have to turn their camera on. This way they will see who they share interests with and it will break the ice within the group and with you as a facilitator. Some of the last statements will be about stereotypes. For example: Who likes to watch sports on tv? Who likes to play videogames? Who likes to put on makeup? Who has short/long hair? Who likes to buy clothes? This way they will realize that all, or almost all, boys turned the camera on when they heard a particular statement. The same is expected to happen with the girls of the group if any participants are girls.

• Finally the last statement will be «who thinks that men are more violent than women?». Based on their answers, invite everybody to keep their camera on and ask them about the reasons that lead them to say YES or NO to the last question.

• Then explain that the objective of the first Unit of the Module will be to try and offer some answers to that question.

Activity 2: Personal Heroes

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 5 minutes

Objectives

• Reflect on what the participants value in a person.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to think of and write down in the space provided in the platform two or three personal heroes and the qualities they like about them. They can write about people, characters they love; they can be real or fiction, dead or alive etc. To help them understand you can tell the participants who your own personal heroes and the qualities you like about them. You can also use the examples of Hans Solo and Harry Potter offered in the platform.

• Keep in mind that they will use this information later, in another exercise.

Activity 3: The Gender List

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Review and understand the concept of stereotypes.

Instructions

• Suggest that the participants choose and watch some of the advertisements found in the platform.

• Afterwards ask them to work all together to make a two-column list about how, according to the ads, men and women are/do/like.

• Then ask them to answer the six questions that suggest a deeper reflection. Tell them to find the questions in the quiz on the platform.

• When the participants finish the quiz ask them to click on the button “Click here to continue” that will take them to the next part of this activity. Read with the participants the texts about “stereotypes” and “gender roles” and explain that gender roles are connected with gender stereotypes.

• Inform the participants that in the next activity they will be asked to fill the box with as many examples of this as they can think.

Tip to the facilitator!

You can also watch the advertisements here:

Invictus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4sIMP57Atc

Nina Ricci https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOH9lz3fPks

Nivea Men https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FzNl1V8DXs

Nivea Lotion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FzNl1V8DXs

Ariel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIjZImAyoKs

Heineken https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1ZZreXEqSY

Old Spice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE

Baby Born https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsFCTksdXok

Hot Wheels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyMXRmOZL2k

Activity 4: What Does A Boy/Teenager/Man Do…?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Reflect about Gender Roles.

• Reflect about the construction of being a boy/man in opposition to being a girl/woman.

• Reflect on the construction of manhood, stereotypes, and gender roles.

• Reflect on the construction of manhood and its possible relation to violence.

Instructions

• Use the informative text found in the platform to discuss with the participants the terms “stereotypes” and “gender roles”.

• Invite the participants to take the quiz found on the platform under the title “Activity 4: What does a boy/teenager/man do…?”. Ask the participants to write down some examples about what a little boy does to «prove his manhood» or to «prove» he is a boy, in opposition to being a girl. Then tell them to continue to the next two questions and write down their answers about what a young boy does to prove his “manhood” and what a young man does to prove his manhood.

• After they complete the quiz tell them to click on the button “click here to continue” that will lead them to the next part of this activity. Ask the participants whether they can identify some connections between the activity they just did and the concepts of stereotypes and gender roles that they have discussed previously.

• Then ask the participants whether they can identify some connections between the exercises they did and the concept of violence, or what they think of that concept.

• Urge the participants to think if they recognize themselves in some of these behaviors and wonder if they act the way they do to prove their “manhood”. Suggest that they also wonder if their acting was unconscious.

• Explain to the participants that basically we just learn to act according to what we have been told a man, or a woman does, and we don’t even pay attention to that. Then ask them to think whether living under the influence of these expectations has any effect on us.

• Conclude by calling on the participants to think if living under the influence of these expectations also involves some kind of limitations. Tell them that they will reflect on this in the next activity.

Tip to the facilitator!

Keep in mind that you could also do the exercise thinking on what little girls/teenage girls/ adult women do to prove and show their “womanhood” to others.

If you do not choose to do this part of the activity you can still, ask the participants if they think they could find connections between that and the stereotypes inside girl drawing found in the platform.

Activity 5: The Manbox And The Womanbox

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 25 minutes

Objectives

• Reflect on the impact that stereotypes and gender roles have on ourselves.

• See the limiting aspects of the Manbox – Womanbox.

• Identify these limitations in their lives.

• Reflect about alternative behaviors in relation to this.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to answer the six questions of the quiz found in the platform under the title “Activity 5: The Manbox and the Womanbox”. These questions are about the effect these boxes have on us, the impact they might have on our decisions for the future and therefore our dreams, and about the difficulty of coming out of these boxes.

• Also, these questions ask the participants to name some people they might know, fictional or real, that have faced the contradiction of living outside the box. Moreover, the participants are asked to think about the difficulty of coming out of those boxes; about the consequences of having to behave like «a real» man or like «a real woman» and the consequences some people have had to face. Finally, they are called to consider how much do the Personal Heroes that each participant has mentioned in Activity 1 fit in these boxes

• After completing the quiz instruct the participants to click on the button saying “Click here to continue” that will take them to the next part of this activity. Ask the participants to reflect on their answers to the previous quiz and watch the two video advertisements found in the platform. The two videos are about the efforts of “breaking the box”.

• To conclude this activity, tell the participants that if they have thought that there is maybe something wrong with this whole idea of being a “real man” or a “real woman” then they could consider “thinking outside the box”.

Tip to the facilitator!

You can also watch the videos here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koPmuEyP3a0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs

Topic 2 Masculinity

Activity 6: What Would You Say?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Learn and reflect about the concept of Hegemonic Masculinity.

Instructions

• Read with the participants the brief introduction about Masculinity and Hegemonic Masculinity found in the platform.

• Explain to the participants that masculinity is defined as a set of qualities, attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with boys and men and that these are different from time to time and from society to society.

• Then move on to discuss that men who conform to these sets of qualities, attributes, behaviors, and roles have a position of power in a society. In other words, “they have the power!”, and this is the concept of hegemonic masculinity.

• Afterwards, ask the participants to take the short quiz titled “Activity 6: What would you do?” which they can find on the platform. The participants are asked to answer the following questions: “If you had to make a guess, against what would you say hegemonic masculinity is fighting?” and “Over whom, would you say, the hegemonic masculinity exercises control?”.

• When the participants have completed the quiz, direct them to press the button “click here to continue” which will take them to the next activity on the platform.

Activity 7: Hegemonic Masculinity

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Learn and understand the Hegemonic Masculinity Pyramid (Connell, 1995) and reflect on the consequences.

Instructions

• Use the informative text and image found in the platform to discuss the pyramid titled “Hegemonic Masculinity and Patriarchy”.

• Explain that at the top of the pyramid one finds the “men who conform to hegemonic masculinity”, at the middle the “men who practice to complicit masculinity” and at the bottom the “marginalized men, subordinate men, and women”. The higher a person is in the pyramid the more power, goods, and privileges they enjoy.

• Mention that for a person to remain at the top of the pyramid they need to oppress the ones who are below.

• Following, ask the participants to take the quiz titled “Activity 7: Hegemonic Masculinity” found in the platform. The first three questions of the quiz ask the participants to offer examples of men who would belong at the three levels of the pyramid mentioned previously. Finally, the fourth question urges the participants to define men who practice complicit masculinity and think about what drives them in their choice.

• After they have completed the quiz ask them to press the button “click here to continue” that will lead them to the next part of this activity found in the platform.

• Read with the participants the informative text about the definition the Australian social scientist RW Connell, offers for “hegemonic masculinity”.

• Then ask them to consider who decides who is a “Real Man” in this pyramid and who is not before telling them to watch the short video found on the platform.

Tip to the facilitator!

You can also watch the video here

Activity 8: Homosociality I

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Learn about the concept of patriarchal homosociality and homophobia.

• Identify these concepts in one’s life.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to take the quiz titled “Activity 8: Homosociality” found in the platform under the short video of the previous activity. This quiz is asking the participants to reflect on what they saw in the said video which discusses the statistic “one in every ten men is gay” in a humorous way. Specifically, they are asked to answer what the men in the video are afraid of. They are given four answers to choose from. When they choose their answer and click “Finish the Quiz”, they will automatically see if their answer was the right one.

Tip to the facilitator!

The answer to the quiz “Activity 8: Homosociality” is number four “They are afraid of what the other men think of them”.

• Then instruct the participants to click on the button “click here to continue” to move to the next part of this activity found in the platform.

• Read with the participants the informative texts about “homosociality”. Explain using the text what “homosociality” means and when it can turn into toxic “homosociality” or “gender policing”.

• Remind the participants of Connell’s pyramid and ask them to think what would make a man be less than a man? If it is not mentioned, offer the answer “Being closer to the feminine”. Continue by drawing their attention to the understanding that a man that does not possess or show the attributes that the society associates to “Real Manhood” would not be at the top of Connell’s pyramid. Conclude by saying that “homophobia” that is understood as a range of negative attitudes or feelings towards homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being gay or lesbian, can also be found as an attribute of those who try to protect hegemonic masculinity.

Activity 9: Homosociality II

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Reflect on the impact of patriarchal homosociality in our lives and own behavior.

• Learn about organizations and movements who work with men and boys to end violence against women and girls.

Instructions

• Following the discussion about homosociality which occurred during the previous activity, ask the participants to take the quiz titled “Activity 9: Homosociality II”.

• Tell the participants that first they will have to watch two scenes from the movie “Grease” found on the platform. The first scene is the “opening scene” and the second is the scene about “the re-encounter of Danny and Sandy”.

Tip to the facilitator!

You can also watch the opening scene here

You can also watch the scene about the re-ecounter of Danny and Sandy here.

• Afterwards, the participants will have to answer the five questions found in the quiz expressing their opinions about Danny’s behavior.

• Following this, the participants will click on the button “click here to continue” to move to the next part of this activity and explain that Danny’s friends are the so to speak “manhood warriors” who are fighting to preserve hegemonic masculinity.

• Continue in this activity by reading with the participants the text referring to the definitions of the American feminist theorist Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick about “homosocial relationships” and “homosocial desire”. Mention also that hatred of homosexuals and misogynist language and behaviors are developed in an attempt to emphasize heterosexuality.

• Emphasize that if we want to balance this social inequality, we must disassemble the pyramid. In societies that prioritize the male point of view, and where women are treated unjustly Feminism aims to define and establish political, economic, personal, and social equality. Besides working with women for their empowerment, engaging men is also necessary if we want to change things.

• Inform the participants that lately the number of national and international associations, foundations and different movements who work with men and boys to end violence against women and girls, promote gender equity, healthy relationships and a new vision of masculinity have increased.

• Draw their attention to the White Ribbon movement which is a good example of a global movement working towards these issues.

Tip to the facilitator!

Other movements are:

Promundo www.promundoglobal.org

AHIGE www.ahige.org

Homesigualitaris www.homesigualitaris.cat

Activity 10: What Can We Do?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 5 minutes

Objectives

• Think of alternative ways to act and promote a change in these aspects.

Instructions

• Continuing from the previous activity, ask the participants to take the quiz titled “Activity 10: What can we do?” found on the platform. Invite the participants to think what they would do in their personal lives if they wanted to disassemble the pyramid.

• When they finish the quiz, the participants will click on the button that says “click here to continue” to move to the next topic.

Topic 3 Can The Masculinity We Know Lead To Violence?

Activity 11: What Would You Say?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Start reflecting on the relationship between Hegemonic Masculinity and violence.

Instructions

• Begin by asking the participants to take a look at some statistics about crime and gender. Then invite the participants to turn their attention to the fact that men have scored higher in all of the crime statistics mentioned here and call on them to wonder why they think violence could be «closer» to men than to women.

• Continue by asking the participants to press on the blue hand next to the title “Activity 11: What would you say?”. This will reveal two questions that the participants will take a few moments to answer. The first question asks, “How would you explain these statistics?” and the second question asks from the participants to say if each one of these possible explanations are in their opinion true or false.

Tip to the facilitator!

All five possible explanations offered in the second question of “Activity 11: What would you say?” are false.

Activity 12: Patriachy

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Learn and understand Michael Kaufman’s theory about the seven P’ s of men’s violence.

• Understand the concept of Patriarchy.

Instructions

• Introduce the participants to the Canadian author and theorist Michael Kaufman who in 1999 introduced seven concepts that can explain why boys and men are more “connected” to violence than women.

• Ask the participants to read the informative text about the first “P” that is the “Patriarchal Power” and to take the quiz titled “Topic 3:1 Activity 12: Patriarchy”. In the quiz, the participants will be asked to watch a video and to reflect on the concepts of “Machismo” (also known as sexism or male chauvinism) and “Feminism”. When they finish the quiz ask them to continue to the next part in the platform.

Activity 13: Privileges

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 25 minutes

Objectives

• Learn and understand Michael Kaufman’s theory about the seven P’ s of men’s violence.

• Understand the idea of Entitlement of Privileges.

Instructions

• Read with the participants the text about the second “P” that is the sense of “Entitlement to privileges”.

• Then ask them to take the quiz titled “Topic 3.2 Activity 13: Privileges” where they are asked to watch four videos and reflect on the privileges that a man could have in a patriarchal society just because he is a man. When they finish the quiz, they will move to the next part of the platform.

Activity 14: Permission

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Learn and understand Michael Kaufman’s theory about the seven P’ s of men’s violence.

• Understand the concept of permission in relation to gender-based violence.

Instructions

• Read with the participants the text about the third “P” that is the “Permission”

• Following this, ask them to take the quiz titled “Topic 3.3 Activity 14: Permission” where they are asked to watch six videos and answer three questions. In this quiz the participants will reflect on whether society punishes violence.

• When they finish the quiz, ask them to press the button “click here to continue” and move to the next part of the platform.

Activity 15: The Paradox Of Men’s Power

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Learn and understand Michael Kaufman’s theory about the seven P’ s of men’s violence.

• Understand the idea of the Paradox of Men’s Power.

Instructions

• Read with the participants the text about the fourth “P” that is the “Paradox of Men’s Power”. Remind the participants that societies give the green light to violence in some situations. For instance as Kaufman argues “acts of men’s violence and violent aggression (both against other men or women) are celebrated in sport and cinema, in literature and warfare. Not only is violence permitted, it is glamorized and rewarded”.

• Following this, ask them to take the quiz titled “Topic 3.4 Activity 15: Paradox of Men’s Power” where they are asked to reflect on how a “Real Man” has to be.

• When they finish the quiz, ask them to press the button “click here to continue” and move to the next part of the platform.

Activity 16: The Mask

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Learn and understand Michael Kaufman’s theory about the seven P’ s of men’s violence.

• Understand the idea of the Psychic Armour of Manhood.

Instructions

• Explain to the participants the fifth “P” that is the “Psychic Armour of Manhood” and that for men, and especially young men, violence can become a compensatory mechanism used as a way to fight their own fear.

• Continue by asking them to take the quiz titled “Topic 3.5 Activity 16: The Mask”. Here the participants are asked to draw a mask and write, in the front, the emotions and feelings that they show to others, and in the back, the emotions or feelings that they try to hide in front of others.

• Ask them to press the button “click here to continue” and move to the next part of the platform.

Activity 17: Basic Emotions

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Learn and understand Michael Kaufman’s theory about the seven P’ s of men’s violence.

• Understand the idea of the Psychic Armour of Manhood by reflecting on one’s own emotions.

Instructions

• Continue from the previous activity and ask the participants to take the quiz titled “Topic 3.5 Activity 17: Basic Emotions”. Here the platform offers a table with five basic emotions and five sentences and asks the participants to connect the emotions to the sentences. Following this, the participants are asked to answer a series of reflecting questions.

• Then, ask them to press the button “click here to continue” and move to the next part of the platform.

Activity 18: Psychic Pressure Cooker

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 5 minutes

Objectives

• Learn and understand Michael Kaufman’s theory about the seven P’ s of men’s violence.

• Understand the idea of the Psychic Pressure Cooker by reflecting on how people deal with their emotions.

Instructions

• Read with the participants the text about the sixth “P” that is the “Masculinity as a Psychic Pressure Cooker”. Emphasize that according to Kaufman “it is rather typical for boys to learn from an early age to repress feelings of fear and pain”. This repression of feelings often results in what Kaufman calls the psychic pressure cooker.

• Continue by asking the participants to take the quiz titled “Topic 3.6 Activity 18: Psychic Pressure Cooker” and then to move to the next part of the platform.

Activity 19: Past Experiences I

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 5 minutes

Objectives

• Learn and understand Michael Kaufman’s theory about the seven P’ s of men’s violence.

• Understand the idea of the Past Experiences.

Instructions

• Read with the participants the text about the seventh “P” that is the “Past Experiences”. Explain that every past experience affects a person’s decisions.

• Ask the participants to take the quiz titled “Topic 3.7 Activity 19: Past Experiences” and reflect on how past experiences could lead someone to be a more violent person.

Activity 20: Past Experiences II

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Learn and understand Michael Kaufman’s theory about the seven P’ s of men’s violence.

• Understand the idea of the Past Experiences.

Instructions

• Continuing from the previous activity, read with the participants the informative text about the seventh “P” that is the “Past Experiences”. Tell the participants that kids who grow up witnessing violence are far more likely to use violence themselves.

• Instruct the participants to take the quiz titled “Topic 3.8. Activity 20: Past Experiences II” and reflect on the idea that everyone who has experienced violent situations will themselves use violence in the future.

• Ask the participants to move to Topic 4 found in the platform when they finish taking the quiz.

Topic 4 Ideas And Myths About Perpetrators

Activity 21: Myths

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Reflect on the myths about perpetrators and the importance of disassembling these ideas to fight gender-based violence.

Instructions

• Begin by reading with the participants the informative text that introduces them to the ideas and myths about perpetrators.

• Then invite the participants to take the quiz titled “Topic 4 Activity 21: Myths” found in the platform that asks them their opinion on four different typical statements related to myths about perpetrators.

Tip to the facilitator!

Following you can find some feedback for the questions of the Quiz titled “Topic 4 Activity 21: Myths”:

Feedback to Question 1: From a socioeconomic perspective there is a consensus that gender-based violence appears in a similar percentage in rich, working class or poor people.

Feedback to Question 2: Although some studies show that a part of the perpetrators suffer from anxiety, depression or different personality disorders, the great majority of them are not sick people at all. And even in the case of having a specific diagnosis, this should not be understood as a simple cause of violence, but as problems complexly related with the use of violence.

Feedback to Question 3: This is also a widespread idea, and its root is in the interrelationship between both problems pointed by many studies. A part, but not all, of men who use drugs they also use gender-based violence against their partners; and a lot of perpetrators, but not all, also have problems with drug abuse. It is important to understand that the coexistence of both problems cannot be interpreted as simple causality (drug abuse causes gender abuse) but there is a bidirectional relationship between them and a lot of risk factors that lead to coexistence.

Feedback to Question 4: This belief could have originated from the strategy of dissembling hopes about the ability to change which sometimes women have towards their perpetrators. That idea can help them keep themselves safe and taking their own decisions. But paradoxically, this involves a deterministic understanding that goes against the idea that the use of gender-based violence is a choice and that we learn violence, therefore, we can unlearn it.

Activity 22: Myths, Why Disassemble Them?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 5 minutes

Objectives

• Reflect on the myths about perpetrators and the importance of disassembling these ideas to fight gender-based violence.

Instructions

• Read with the participants the text found in the platform and discuss that perpetrator programs help thousands of men who want help with their own violent behavior.

• Then ask the participants to take the quiz titled “Topic 4.1 Activity 22: Why disassemble them?” and inform them that this activity concludes Unit 1 of this module.

Unit 2 Gender Based Violence Goals

• Understand the difference between aggressiveness and violence

• Reflect on the concept of Gender Based Violence

• Learn and understand the Violence Pyramid (J.Galtung) and reflect on its classification.

• Identify and understand the different types of Gender Based Violence

• Identify and understand the different settings of Gender Based Violence

• Review the definition of Gender Based Violence and reflect on it after the Unit

Topic 1 Aggressivity Or Violence?

Activity 1 and 2: Aggressivity Or Violence? I and II

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Introduce the subjects discussed in this unit.

• Understand what violence is and why gender-based violence is distinct.

Instructions

• Begin by reading the informative text found in the platform and inform the participants that in this unit you will discuss what violence is and why gender-based violence is distinct.

• Note to the participants that although we often use the words aggressive and violent as synonyms, they are in fact different.

• Ask the participants to take the quiz titled “Topic 1 Activity 1 and 2 Aggressiveness and Violence I and II” that is expected to help them understand the difference between aggressiveness and violence. The quiz includes questions about what the participants define as aggressive and what as violent.

• When the participants finish the quiz ask them to press the button “click here to continue” which will take them to the next activity.

Activity 3: Aggressivity Or Violence? III

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Introduce the subjects discussed in this unit.

• Understand what violence is and why gender-based violence is different.

Instructions

• Read with the participants the informative texts about aggressiveness and violence.

• Emphasize that aggressiveness is a biological response related to a survival instinct and that violence on the other hand is learned behavior with a huge load of premeditation and intentionality.

• Continue by asking the participants to take the quiz, found in the platform, titled “Topic 1 Activity 3: Aggressiveness or Violence? III” that asks them to reflect on all that was mentioned and write three examples of violent situations and three examples of aggressive situations.

• After they finish the quiz ask them to press the button “click here to continue” which will take them to the next topic.

Topic 2 What Is GBV?

Activity 4 and 5: What Is Gender-Based Violence?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Reflect on the concept of Gender Based Violence.

Instructions

• Inform the participants that you will try to define Gender Based Violence. Urge them to reflect on all that has been discussed throughout this module so far.

• Then ask them to take the quiz titled “Topic 2 Activity 4 & 5: What is GBV? I & II” found in the platform. The participants are first asked to look for an image that makes them think of GBV and up-load it to the platform. They are advised to search for the image on the internet, in a magazine or, even better, take a picture with their phone but avoid their own image in the picture. Second, they are asked to say why they have chosen this image. Third, they are invited to share the image they chose and the explanation they gave with the group. Finally, the participants are requested to write their own definition of gender-based violence.

Topic 3 Gender Based Violence Pyramid

Activity 6: Place In The Pyramid

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Learn and understand the Violence Pyramid (J.Galtung).

• Reflect on the classification of the Violence Pyramid (J. Galtung).

Instructions

• Allow the participants to read the informative text about the pyramid of violence introduced by Johan Galtung. The Norwegian sociologist defined a pyramid on which one can place different acts of gender-based violence. The pyramid is halved in a visible and an invisible part and four levels in total. Emphasize that according to the pyramid classification it all takes place in a patriarchal society and that murder is placed at the top of the pyramid.

• Invite the participants to take the quiz they will find in the platform under the title “Topic 3 Activity 6: Place in the Pyramid” The questions of the quiz ask the participants to try and place the actions mentioned there on the pyramid of violence based on what they have discussed thus far.

• Then tell the participants to press on the button “click here to continue” that will bring them back to the pyramid.

• Read with the participants the actions classified on the pyramid. Ask them questions such as “Do you think that visible forms of violence such as rape would be rarer in a society where subtle forms of violence, such as sexist language, are more condemned?”

• When they finish the quiz, they will be directed to the next topic of this unit.

Topic 4 Types Of Gender Based Violence

Activity 7: Types Of GBV

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Identify and understand the different types of Gender Based Violence

Instructions

• Allow the participants to read the information provided in the platform about the different types of gender-based violence. Explain that the different types are the physical, the psychological, the sexual, the economic and the social violence.

• Then the participants will take some time to complete the quiz found in the platform under the title “Topic 4 Activity 7: Types of GBV” where they will try to describe physical violence in their own words.

• Following this, urge the participants to read the feedback provided in the platform about the definition of physical violence offered by the Council of Europe.

• Afterwards ask them to take the quiz titled “Topic 4.1 Activity 7: Types of GBV”. Here they are asked to give three examples of physical violence and to describe psychological violence in their own words.

• Continue by reading with the participants the informative text about the psychological aspect of violence.

• Tell the participants to take the quiz titled “Topic 4.2 Activity 7: Types of GBV”. There they are asked to offer three examples of psychological violence and to describe sexual violence in their own words.

• Next, read with the participants the text found in the platform about the definition of sexual violence offered by the World Health Organization.

• Instruct the participants to answer the quiz titled “Topic 4.3 Activity 7: Types of GBV” and name three examples of sexual violence in addition to describing economic violence in their own words.

• Ask the participants to read the feedback about economic violence offered by the European Institute of Gender Equality.

• After this, ask the participants to take the quiz titled “Topic 4.4 Activity 7: Types of GBV”. There they will offer three examples of economic violence and describe social violence using their own words.

• Then ask the participants to read the text explaining that social violence is any form of limitation, control, or inducement of social isolation of a person and afterwards take the quiz titled “Topic 4.4 Activity 7: Types of GBV” where they will be asked to offer three examples of social violence.

• They will then continue to the next topic of this unit.

Tip to the facilitator!

For more information about the types of gender-based violence see here:

https://www.coe.int/en/web/gender-matters/physical-violence

https://www.coe.int/en/web/gender-matters/psychological-violence

https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/global_campaign/en/chap6. pdf

Topic 5 Settings Of Gender Based Violence

Activity 8: What Would You Say…?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 5 minutes

Objectives

• Identify and understand the different settings of Gender Based Violence. Instructions

• Tell the participants that they will now be asked to think about the different scenarios where gender-based violence might act.

• Ask them to take the quiz titled “Topic 5 Activity 8: What would you say…?”. There they will be asked to name four different settings where gender-based violence could happen.

Activity 9: Settings of Gender Based Violence

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Identify and understand the different settings of Gender Based Violence.

Instructions

• Moving forward, review with the participants the four different settings where gender-based violence could happen starting with the gender-based violence by the intimate partner. Ask them to take the quiz titled “Topic 5.1 Activity 9: Settings of GBV” and name three examples of gender-based violence by the intimate partner.

• Following this, read with the participants the text about the second setting of gender-based violence that is the gender-based violence in the family. Instruct the participants to take the quiz title ““Topic 5.2 Activity 9: Settings of GBV” and offer three examples of gender-based violence in the family.

• Continue by reading the text about the third setting of gender-based violence that is the gender-based violence at the workplace. Tell the participants to take the quiz title ““Topic 5.3 Activity 9: Settings of GBV” and write three examples of gender-based violence at the workplace.

• Afterwards, read the text about the fourth setting of gender-based violence that is the gender-based violence in the social and community sphere. Ask the participants to take the quiz title ““Topic 5.4 Activity 9: Settings of GBV” and write three examples of gender-based violence in the social and community sphere.

• Afterwards, the participants are directed to return to Topic 2.

Return To Topic 2 So… What Is Gender Based Violence?

Activity 10: So… What is GBV I?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Review the definition of Gender Based Violence and reflect on it after the Unit.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to rewind and remember the group definition of Gender Based Violence

• After reading it again, the participants are asked to take the quiz found in the platform under the title “Return to Topic 2 Activity 10 So… What is GBV?”. They are urged to consider whether they would change their group definition of gender-based violence and discuss amongst themselves. It is important here to encourage the participants to talk and express their opinions. When they have concluded in their new group definition of gender-based violence they are asked to upload it in the platform.

Activity 11: So… What is GBV? II

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration • 10 minutes

Objectives

• Review the definition of Gender Based Violence and reflect on it after the Unit.

Instructions

• Continue from the previous activity by reading with the participants the definition offered by the UN for gender-based violence.

• Then ask them to take the quiz titled “Return to Topic 2 Activity 11 So… What is GBV? II”. There they are asked to compare the UN definition with the group’s definition and discuss as a group.

• Close this unit with a reflection of the issues discussed.

Unit 3 Psychological Violence Goals

• Reflect on the gravity of Psychological violence in all its forms.

• Understand how and why Psychological violence can be more difficult to identify and therefore easier to accept.

• Understand how and why Psychological violence can be an entrance door and lead to other kinds of GBV.

• Reflect on the concept of Romantic Love and its relation with GBV.

• Learn The Circle of Abuse in GBV.

• Identify the relation between psychological violence and invisible GBV.

• Think of alternative behaviors in the face of psychological violence.

Topic 1 Is It Violence?

Activity 1: Is This Violence?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Identify Psychological Violence in a toxic relationship

Instructions

• Read the text found in the platform that introduces the participants to the subjects discussed in this unit.

• Then move to read the text found under the title “Is it violence?” in Topic 1 of Unit 3. Apply emphasis to the fact that any psychological abuse is as real as physical abuse.

• Ask the participants to take the quiz provided in the platform found under the title “Topic 1 Activity 1: Is it violence?”. There they will be invited to watch a video and answer three questions based on what they watched. The participants are called on to give their first opinion on psychological violence in a relationship.

Topic 2 Does It Leave A Mark?

Activity 2: Does It Leave A Mark?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 5 minutes

Objectives

• Relate Galtung’s Pyramid, and its invisibility in GBV, with Psychological Violence.

Instructions

• Remind the participants what has been discussed in the previous Unit about Galtung’s Pyramid.

• Then ask them to answer the question of the quiz found in the platform under the title “Topic 2 Activity 2: Does it leave a mark?”.

• Following this, explain to the participants that psychological violence is kind of invisible and the consequences are sometimes invisible too, it seems that there are no consequences. And it is, therefore, easy to hide.

• Direct the participants to move to the next topic.

Topic 3 Is It Easier To Accept?

Activity 3: Is It Easier To Accept?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Understand how Psychological Violence can be easier to accept than other kinds of violence, in the beginning of a relationship.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to take the quiz titled “Topic 3 Activity 3: Is it easier to accept?”. There they will first be asked to give their opinion based on the three scenarios provided.

Activity 4: What Would You Say…?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 5 minutes

Objectives

• Understand how Psychological Violence can be easier to accept than other kinds of violence, in the beginning of a relationship.

Instructions

• Read with the participants the text found in the platform and emphasize that it is not always so easy to react to violence when the person that hurts you is someone you love.

• Instruct the participants to take the quiz titled “Topic 3.1. Activity 4: What would you say?” and answer the question found there.

Activity 5: Romantic Love?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 5 minutes

Objectives

• Understand how Psychological Violence can be easier to accept than other kinds of violence, in the beginning of a relationship.

• Reflect on the relation of the idea of Romantic Love and GBV.

• Understand the effect on the idea of Romantic Love has on GBV.

Instructions

• Review with the participants the informative text and images found in the platform for this activity. Explain that the well spread idea of romantic love is not neutral, it has many consequences. And one of them is that it has become a dangerous weapon for those boys and men who want to have power, control or possess girls and women.

• Afterwards the participants will see some images of scenes from animated movies. Ask them to take the quiz titled Topic 3.2. Activity 5: Romantic Love” and write down how they think these movies portray love and whether they suggest ideas about love that can be associated with toxic relationships.

Activity 6: Love Actually

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 5 minutes

Objectives

• Understand how Psychological Violence can be easier to accept than other kinds of violence, in the beginning of a relationship.

• Reflect on the relation of the idea of Romantic Love and GBV.

• Understand the effect on the idea of Romantic Love has on GBV.

Instructions

• Discuss with the participants the notion that the patriarchal idea of love is within all those stories, and it has become, most of the time, the model of romantic relationships.

• Following this ask them to take the quiz titled “Topic 3.3. Activity 6: Love Actually”. There they will be invited to watch a short video from the romantic movie “Love Actually” and answer a question.

Tip to the facilitator!

You can also watch the short video from the romantic movie “Love Actually” here.

Topic 4 Is It An Entrance Door?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 5 minutes

Objectives

• Understand that the subtle manifestations of Psychological Violence can make it an entrance door for other violent situations.

Instructions

• Request that the participants read the text found in the platform. Note that the subtle manifestations which psychological violence includes can be harder to identify in the beginning and, therefore, easier to accept and enter in the spiral of violence.

Topic 5 Is It Always There?

Activity 7: Psychological Violence: Is It An Entrance Door?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 25 minutes

Objectives

• Identify Psychological Violence in teenage relationships.

• Understand the Cycle of Abuse.

• Reflect on ways to act when facing Psychological Violence and alternatives to avoid it.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to read the text and review the informative image offered in the platform about psychological violence and the cycle of abuse. Draw their attention to the fact that if you take a closer look at all other kinds of violence, you will always find psychological violence there. Explain the three stages of the cycle of abuse and how they repeat themselves.

• After this, invite the participants to take the quiz found in the platform titled “Topic 5 Activity 7: Is it always there?”. There the participants will watch five videos and answer two questions relevant to each of the videos. They are called on to identify psychological violence in teenage relationships. The activity and the Unit end with a question where the participants are asked to discuss possible reactions or alternative behaviors for both girls and boys portrayed in the videos.

Unit 4 Sexual Violence Goals

• Learn and understand a Sexual Violence classification, based on the contact and the relationship with the perpetrator.

• Learn, understand, and reflect on the concepts of Sexting and Sexpreading.

• Learn and understand the concept of Rape Culture.

• Understand, identify, and reflect on the social mechanisms that promote Rape Culture.

• Review the idea of Consent.

• Identify myths about Sexual Violence.

• Explore alternatives to violence in relationships.

• Reflect on the role of boys and men in combating GBV.

Topic 1 Sexual Violence Types

Activity 1: Place On The Axis

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Learn and understand a Sexual Violence classification, based on the contact and the relationship with the perpetrator.

Instructions

• Begin by introducing the participants to the subjects that will be discussed in this unit. Emphasize that sexual violence cannot be seen as isolated acts affecting particular individuals alone, because it is actually the result of a broader concept of violence in which men’s relationships with women are based on power and control.

• Remind the participants the definition that the World Health Organisation (WHO) offers about sexual violence.

Tip to the facilitator!

You can find the definition of sexual violence and further information on the issue here

• Continue by reviewing with the participants the classification of acts of sexual violence based on different axes which is offered in the platform. Explain that sexual violence acts can be based on the axis of contact whether that is physical or not physical.

• Also, inform the participants that a second axis of such acts is based on the relationship with the perpetrator, and they can occur either in intimate or non-intimate relationships.

• Having reviewed this material, the participants are asked to take the quiz titled “Topic 1 Activity 1: Place on the axis” found in the platform.

Activity 2: New Forms of Sexual Violence

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Learn and understand and reflect on the concepts of Sexting and Sexpreading.

Instructions

• Note to the participants that new forms of sexual violence such as sexting and sexpreading have developed in the digital word we are living in and that the denial to use contraceptive methods is also considered as an act of sexual violence.

• Ask the participants to take the quiz titled “Topic 1.1. Activity 2: New Forms of Sexual Violence”. There, the participants are asked to watch three videos and answer the relevant questions. When they finish the quiz ask them to press on the button “click here to continue” which will take them to the next part of this Topic.

• Read with the participants the text found in the platform which emphasizes that denial to use contraceptive methods is a form of sexual violence.

• Following this, draw their attention to other forms of sexual violence listed in the platform.

Tip to the facilitator!

You can find further information about the different forms of sexual violence here.

Topic 2 Rape Culture

Activity 3 and 4: The Culture of Rape

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Learn and understand the concept of Rape Culture.

• Identify elements that contribute to Rape Culture.

Instructions

• Start by introducing the participants to the issue that will be discussed in this topic. Inform the participants that rape culture refers to the social and cultural structure that normalizes, justifies, accepts, and makes invisible sexual violence.

• Instruct the participants to take the quiz titled “Topic 2 Activity 3 & 4: The culture of rape” found in the platform.

Activity 5: Objectification and Sexualization

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 5 minutes

Objectives

• Learn and understand the concept of Rape Culture.

• Identify elements that contribute to Rape Culture.

• Identify Objectification and Sexualization of women.

Instructions

• Continue by reminding the participants that as we have seen before, sexual violence is not inherent to human being, but it is a social construction. So, to eradicate this, is necessary to be awareness of the social mechanisms that promote it.

• Inform the participants that objectification and sexualization are two concepts that work together to turn women into sexual objects.

• Ask the participants to take the quiz titled “Topic 2.1. Activity 5: Objectification & Sexualization” found in the platform

Activity 6: Domination’s Eroticization

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 5 minutes

Objectives

• Learn and understand the concept of Rape Culture.

• Identify elements that contribute to Rape Culture.

• Identify “Domination’s Eroticization”

Instructions

• Use the text found in the platform to explain to the participants that “domination’s eroticization” is a process dictated by patriarchy. Men and women are expected to get excited by images and experiences of masculine domination over women.

• Instruct the participants to take the quiz titled “Topic 2.2 Activity 6: The domination’s eroticization”.

Activity 7: Hegemonic Pornography I

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Learn and understand the concept of Rape Culture.

• Identify elements that contribute to Rape Culture.

• Reflect on how Hegemonic Pornography contributes and promotes rape culture

Instructions

• Tell the participants to take the quiz titled “Topic 2.3. Activity 7: Hegemonic Pornography” found in the platform. There the participants will be asked to answer seven question relevant to hegemonic pornography and will be offered feedback on their answers.

Tip to the facilitator!

Feedback to some of the questions included in the quiz “Topic 2.3. Activity 7: Hegemonic Pornography”:

Question: “At what age do you think boys start watching porn?”

Feedback: The average age for starting to watch porn is 14 for boys and 16 for girls. However at least 1 in every 4 boys started before the age of 13, and the earliest age goes down to 8 years old.

Question: “Do you think boys watch more porn than girls?”

Feedback: Pornography consumption is higher in men. 87% have seen these movies every now and then, and 30% consider themselves a little addicted or very addicted.

Question: “Do you think there is a relation between hegemonic pornography consumption and risk sexual behaviors?”

Feedback: Fifty percent of young men admit having increased risk sexual behaviors after having watch porn. Hegemonic pornography is behind the rising of risk sexual behavior, meaning behaviors that can have a negative impact on health such as unprotected sex, sex groups, sex with violence etc.

Question: “Do you think there is any relation between hegemonic pornography and prostitution? What is the relation do you think?”

Feedback: Hegemonic pornography generates a “behavior escalation”, from image consumption to other practices related to prostitution. 46,7 % of men have received sexual offers adds while watching porn, and 4,5 % admit having encountered or be willing to pay for them.

Question: “Do you think hegemonic pornography consumption could be the main source of sex education among young boys and girls?”

Feedback: Around 80% of young boys and girls declare not having received a satisfactory affective-sexual education or not having received it at all.

Activity 8: Hegemonic Pornography II

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 5 minutes

Objectives

• Learn and understand the concept of Rape Culture.

• Identify elements that contribute to Rape Culture.

• Reflect on how Hegemonic Pornography contributes and promotes rape culture

Instructions

• Read with the participants the text found in the platform explaining that hegemonic pornography is based on the values of hegemonic masculinity, objectification, sexualization, and masculine domination.

• Following this, ask them to take the quiz titled “Topic 2.4. Activity 8: Hegemonic Pornography II” found in the platform. There they will be asked to answer questions about how they think hegemonic pornography is portraying men and women and how this portrayal may be confusing to young people who watch pornography.

Activity 9: Blaming The Victim

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Learn and understand the concept of Rape Culture.

• Identify elements that contribute to Rape Culture.

• Understand and reflect on the concept of “blaming the victim”

Instructions

• Instruct the participants to take the quiz found in the platform titled “Topic 2.5. Activity 9: Blaming the victim”. Here they will be asked if they are familiar with the sentence “She was asking for it” and urged to reflect on what they think this sentence means when it is related to sexual violence. When they finish taking the quiz, ask them to press on the button “click here to continue” that will take them to the next part of this topic.

Activity 10: Consent

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Learn and understand the concept of Rape Culture.

• Identify elements that contribute to Rape Culture.

• Reflect on the idea of Consent.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to read the text found in the platform and explain that “Rape is the only crime where the perpetrator feels innocent, and the victim feels ashamed”.

• Inform them that the issues discussed in this topic lead back the concept of “consent” which they have reviewed before. Then ask them to watch the video about consent.

• Tell them to take the quiz found in the platform titled “Topic 2.6 Activity 10: Consent”.

• Conclude this topic by watching the humorous video titled “Asking for it” offered in the platform.

Topic 3 Myths On Sexual Violence

Activity 11: Is It Rape?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Identify myths about Sexual Violence

Instructions

• Begin by introducing the participants to the subjects that will be discussed in this topic. Emphasize that there are a lot of myths about sexual violence that represents an obstacle to the victim’s reparation and contribute to the crime’s impunity.

• Ask the participants to review the informative texts offered in the platform about the myths associated to sexual violence. Review the myths about perpetrators being motivated by sexual desire, perpetrators being people with psychiatric illnesses, dirty old men or monsters, sexual violence happens to young and beautiful women, an excited man can’t control himself, and rape happens, mostly, during the night in dark and lonely places.

• After this, ask the participants to take the quiz titled “Topic 3 Activity 11: Is it rape?” found in the platform. There the participants are asked to watch the video and answer the questions.

Topic 4 Sexual Violence Consequences

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Identify the consequences of sexual violence.

Instructions

• Introduce the participants to what will be discussed in this topic. Note that sexual violence means an aggression and a use of someone’s body for the sexual gratification of some other person, preventing the use and right of self-freedom. It can have effects in different aspects of a woman’s life; among them we can find psychological, physical, economic, social, and behavioral consequences.

• Continue by urging the participants to read the texts about the different types of consequences that sexual violence has. Mention that there are mental health consequences: both psychological and behavioural, physical consequences, sexual and reproductive health consequences, social relationship consequences, and mortal consequences.

• When you finish reviewing the consequences, ask the participants to move to the next topic.

Topic 5 A Different Way

Activity 12: Is There A Different Way?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Explore alternatives to violence in relationships.

• Reflect on the role of boys and men in combating GBV.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to take the quiz titled “Topic 5 Activity 12: A different way” found in the platform first. There the participants will be asked to watch a video and answer the questions based on what they watched.

• Afterwards, ask them to press on the button “click here to continue” that will take them to the next part of this topic. Review with the participants the informative text about movements and campaigns that are working towards combating gender-based violence.

• End the activity and the unit by watching with the participants the video titled “Boys don’t cry” offered in the platform.

Tip to the facilitator!

You can also watch the video “Boys don’t cry” here

Module 4: Be The Change

Module 1: Be The Change

Created by the Center for Gender Equality and History, Cyprus

A module based on experiential and interactive activities designed for online education exploring diversity, identity, equality, and change. It is particularly appropriate for confronting stereotypes, prejudice, and all forms of discrimination with emphasis on gender.

Unit 1 My Place in the World! Goals

• Define “diversity”.

• Acknowledge the importance of diversity.

• Define “identity”.

• Reflect on one’s own identity.

• Recognize that social identities are dynamic in the sense that they can be stable or fluid, by birth or by choice, visible or invisible.

• Recognize that everyone has multiple social identities and these impact a person’s experiences.

• Recognize that society determines which identities matter or which identities are understood as socially relevant, valued or disfavored.

• Recognize that an identity can be more prominent in one context than another.

• Understand how identity can lead to priviliege and discrimination.

• Detect situations when an identity is empowering or disempowering according to the social context.

• Identify situations when focusing on a single identity can lead to violence.

Topic 1 Introductions Variation

If you are facilitating this Unit with a new group of participants rather than as part of the larger course, you can integrate here “Step 2: Getting to know each other” of the “Introduction to the course” of this guide (p. 14) which refers to an introductory circle where participants introduce themselves by saying their name, age and one thing they are proud of about themselves.

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

Activity 1: Icebreaker

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Activity 1: Circle Of Expectations

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• Varies according to the number of participants.

Objectives

• Reflect on one’s expectations from this Unit.

Instructions

• Start a “circle” where each participant should state one or two things they expect from this course.

• Alternatively, you could give them two minutes to write one or two things they expect from this course and send them via text (for example, if you use zoom, they could send it via the “chat”). Then, you could read them out-loud.

Activity 2: Introducing Each Other

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• Varies according to the number of participants.

Objectives

• Build trust between the participants.

• Build a safer learning space.

• Get acquainted with the diversity of the group and the identities of the participants.

Instructions

• Divide the participants in pairs, using virtual rooms, and give them five minutes to learn (more) about each other (approximately two and a half minutes for each).

• Explain that, once the five minutes pass, the participants will return to the plenary and each participant will be asked to present their pair to the plenary within one minute.

• After the five minute, bring all back to the plenary and give each person approximately one minute to present their pair based on the things that they have learned during their conversation.

Activity 3: Group Agreement

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Set / Refresh the rules to follow during the course.

• Share responsibility and ownership of the rules.

Instructions

• If this is a new group, follow the exact instructions found in “Step 3: Ground Rules/ Group Agreement” under the subchapter “Introduction to the Course” of this Guide (p. 14).

• If the group has already gone through the “Introduction to the Course”, you could make a variation of the relevant activity. In this case, instead of asking each participant to think of one to three rules that they would consider important for the group to follow, ask them to think of one rule that they found to be most important during their participation in this course up to this point.

Topic 2 Diversity and Identity

Activity 1: Tell Me Who You Are!

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 45 minutes

Objectives

• Recognize there is diversity between the participants.

• Define “diversity”.

• Acknowledge the importance of diversity.

• Realize that diversity is inherent to life and can make life interesting.

• Define “identity”.

• Reflect on one’s own identities.

Instructions

Step 1: Drawing the Tree of Identity

• Ask the participants to draw their Tree of Identity. A sample of such a tree can be found in the platform.

• As shown in the sample, the Tree of Identity must have six branches. For each branch they must write one identity which represents an aspect of who they are.

• Explain that the six identities must be qualities or characteristics which are important to them and which they would probably use to describe themselves to a person they just met. Explain that there is no wrong or right answer. An identity refers to any quality or characteristic of a person.

• However, explain that for the sake of the exercise, it is better to avoid adjectives such as «beautiful», «good» etc. or physical characteristics related to appearance such as «greeneyed», «blond» etc. UNLESS they are really important to them in terms of who they are. It is preferable, for the sake of this activity, to focus on identities which make them belong to a group. For example, age group (being a teenager), gender (being a boy), ethnicity (being a Cypriot), race, hobbies (being an athlete), religion etc.

• To help them understand how to do this, you can make your own Tree of Identity or use the example of a famous person to do a (hypothetical) Tree.

• Give them a few minutes to write their six identities.

Step 2: Find common identities

• Divide the participants in groups of three-four people using virtual rooms and ask them to find out whether others share one or more common identities with them.

• Whenever they find someone who has written one identity that is the same as theirs, they should note their name next to the relevant identity.

• Rearrange the rooms twice so that everyone will pass from all groups to find common identities.

Step 3: Discussion

• Bring everyone back to the plenary and lead a discussion based on the following questions:

“WHAT” QUESTIONS (TO REFLECT ON WHAT HAPPENED)

- Have you found the same identities with a lot of people or with a few?

- Did you have an identity that no one else had?

- How did you feel when you found common identities?

- How did you feel when you didn’t find anyone sharing your identity?

- Did you enjoy meeting someone with whom you shared an identity?

- Did you enjoy meeting someone who had different or unique identities?

“WHY” QUESTIONS (TO REFLECT ON WHY IT HAPPENED)

- Why do you think that it mattered to you (finding a common identity with someone)?

- Do you think having different identities is an obstacle in making friends or connecting to other people?

- Is it necessary to have common identities in order to feel that you belong?

- Are you able to accept someone only as long as they have the same identities as yours?

- Do you think you should decide your identity according to the identities of others or based on the expectations of others?

- Is it a positive/negative thing to have common/different identities? Can it cause problems? Would it be better if we were all the same?

• It is expected that the discussion will conclude that we all have some identities that we share with others and at the same time each one of us has unique identities and characteristics. In society, having different identities is called «Diversity». At this point, you should read the definition of «Diversity» together with the group (found on the platform).

• It is also expected that you will be able to declare through the conversation that diversity can result in problems if we don’t respect the identities of others and if we are not willing to enjoy both our commonalities and our differences. However, the fact that every person and even every animal or plant is unique is what makes our lives interesting!

Definition of diversity (found in the platform)

Diversity is the condition of having, or being composed of, differing elements. When we refer to human societies, diversity refers to the range of human differences. For example, human beings can have differences based on their ethnicity, gender, age, religion, political beliefs, sexual orientation and many other social or personal characteristics.

Topic 3 Social Identities

Activity 1: Me In The world!

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 30 minutes

Objectives

• Reflect on one’s own identity.

• Acknowledge the impact of identities on one’s life.

• Understand how identity can lead to priviliege and discrimination.

• Detect situations when an identity is empowering or disempowering according to the social context.

• Recognize that society determines which identities matter or which identities are understood as socially relevant, valued or disfavored.

• Recognize that an identity can be more prominent in one context than another.

Instructions

• Building on the previous activity, ask the participants to choose (out of the six branches of their Tree of Identity):

(A) Two identities which empower them or make them feel comfortable or even important in the social environment they live in.

(B) Two identities which disempower them or make them feel uncomfortable or devalued in the social environment they live in.

• Explain that this doesn’t necessarily mean that an identity empowers/disempowers them all the time. It could be that a particular identity makes them sometimes feel comfortable/ uncomfortable, or just has made them feel that once, during an incident or a situation.

• Share a board with the participants. You could do this by creating a shared interactive board using relevant programs with virtual sticky notes.

• The board must be divided in two categories/areas:

(A) Empowering Identities.

(B) Disempowering Identities.

• Ask the participants to write their selected identities in virtual sticky notes (anonymously) and allocate them under the appropriate column. Note that it is possible to put an identity in both columns.

• Close the activity with a discussion based on the following questions:

-Was it easy/difficult for you to allocate identities as empowering or disempowering?

-What do you observe? Which identities are repeated in each column?

-Are there aspects of identities which can be found in both columns? Why do you think that is?

-What makes an identity empowering or disempowering?

• It is expected that the discussion will indicate that an identity can be experienced as empowering or disempowering according to the social context and the social hierarchies dominating different societies or groups.

Activity

2: Are You The Same Person?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 25 minutes Objectives

• Recognize that social identities are dynamic in the sense that they can be stable or fluid, by birth or by choice, visible or invisible.

• Recognize that an identity can be more prominent in one context than another.

Instructions

• Explain to the participants that you will divide them into virtual rooms of three to four people. The aim is to examine some questions and present them to the plenary.

• The questions are:

- Is identity something stable or does it change? Are all identities the same in this respect?

- Are there identities that can not change? Which are they?

- Are identities something visible or invisible to others?

• To answer the above questions, they are expected to go back to their own Trees and get inspired by examples of their own identities to reflect on. Which of those identities did they have three years ago? Which of those identities can or cannot change? Which are visible or invisible?

• Give them eight minutes in the rooms.

• Return everyone to the plenary and ask each team to present their thoughts.

• It is expected that the discussion will put light to the dynamic nature of identities. The participants should realize that some identities are by birth, others are by choice, some identities are visible to others and some are invisible, some identities are stable and some are changing. Moreover, the level of fluidity is also dynamic. It is possible that an identity changes once or twice in your life (for example, before a certain age you are a child and above a certain age you are an adult) but it is also possible for an identity to be constantly changing (for example one’s dress style). Also, the context changes the impact of an identity (for example, being tall in a basketball class has a different significance than being tall in an English class).

Tip to the facilitator!

At this point, the discussion about sex/gender may come up. Some participants could mention that sex is by birth, while gender is socially constructed and can differ from society to society, and from one time period to another time period. For this reason, it is advisable, as a preparation for this activity, to consult the definitions of sex and gender found on the platform, under Topic 2: What is sex and what is gender (of this Unit). It is also good to keep in mind that biologal sex can also change by hormone therapy and/or surgery. Remember, however, that it is not the purpose of this activity to go into detail in regard to the difference between “sex” (biological) and “gender” (social) because this will be discussed at a later stage of this course.

Topic 4 Closing Reflections

Activity 1: Find The Object!

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 5 minutes

Objectives

• Energize the group.

Instructions

• Explain to the participants that you will play a short game!

• The aim of the game is to bring a number of particular items to their desk in three minutes.

• You can use the items listed in the platform or choose different ones.

• The game begins as soon as you set the alarm and say ‘’Go’’.

• Whenever someone finishes, they should shout a funny word. The word could be “Halloumi” which is the traditional cheese of Cyprus.

• Whoever brings all the items to their desk up to the alarm ring, they win!

Tip to the facilitator!

This activity may not be appropriate if the group includes people with physical disabilities or injuries. In that case, you should replace this with a more appropriate energizer according to the abilities of the group.

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

Activity 2: Recap

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Define identity.

• List different types of social identities (national identity, gender identity etc.).

• Reflect on the components of one’s own social identity.

Instructions

• After the activities you have been through, ask the participants how they would define the term identity.

• Allow a few answers.

• Then, read the definition of identity (see below or find on the platform) and discuss if you all agree with this definition.

Definition of Identity

The word “identity” simply means being what one is! If we refer to your identity as a person, we just mean who you are.

In contemporary society, when we talk about the identity of a person we may refer to:

-A person’s characteristics, qualities, feelings, beliefs, experiences, interests, preferences, and anything else which make them who they are

-A person’s sense of self, meaning who they think they are, or how they view or perceive themselves to be

-How a person sees themselves compared to others and how others see them

When we refer to identities which are based on our sense of belonging to a group of people or in major social categories―such as gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, class, and many others―we then refer to “social identities”. In this context, based on the social category linked to each identity, one can refer to different social identities, such as national identity (Greek or Turkish ect.), religious identity (Christian or Muslim etc.), gender identity (woman or man etc.), sexual identity (gay or straight etc.), and the list goes on.

• After reading the definition of identity, ask the participants to see the «Components of one’s social identity» graph in the platform.

• Explain that each color refers to a social category which determines our identity.

• Note that the place of each social category in the wheel does not imply that one is more important than another.

• Read the categories out-loud and discuss together the meaning and the significance of each component.

Activity 3: One Identity

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Identify situations when focusing on a single identity can lead to stereotyping, discrimination, and violence.

Instructions

• Initiate a discussion using the following questions:

-To what extent do we judge people based on one identity only?

-What effects may come up by judging people based on one identity?

• Allow a short discussion.

• Explain that, to help explore these questions, you will show a picture (that is, the picture of a soccer fan getting beaten by a group of supporters of the opposite team). The link can be found on the platform.

• Continue the discussion using the following questions:

-Why does violence happen in this case?

-What is the relation to identity in this case?

-Reintroduce the question:

-What effects may come up by judging people based on one identity?

• It is expected that the discussion will conclude that focusing on one identity can lead to the dehumanization of a person, that is, when someone sees just an identity (a football fan), they miss the opportunity to see the other person as a human being, they fail to acknowledge that the other person exists, having their own feelings, struggles, loved ones, etc. This leads to phenomena such stereotyping, discrimination, prejudice, and physical violence. You can mention that we are going to explore some of these terms later in the course.

Activity 4: Word Cloud!

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 5 minutes

Objectives

• Assess and reflect on the experience of taking this course so far.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to write down one or more words which describe the feeling(s) they have right now, after completing this course.

• If you wish, you could use a program, such as “mentimeter”, with which you can create a shared space (via a shared link) where the participants can write (anonymously) their word and the program will automatically generate a word cloud out of all their words.

• Alternatively, you could do this simply by asking them to send you their words via text and then you insert their words (anonymously) on a document and share your screen with everyone.

Unit 2 In your shoes!

Goals

• Define “stereotype”.

• Define “prejudice”.

• Define “discrimination”.

• Construct a definition of “social privilege”.

• Identify different forms of discrimination (sexism, racism, agism, classism, homophobia).

• Strengthen empathy for people of other genders, classes, colors, etc.

Topic 1 Ice-Breaking And Recap

Activity 1: Guess Who!

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 20 minutes

Objectives

• Break the ice / Reinforce rapport among participants.

• Build/ Enhance trust between the participants.

• Create / Reinforce a relaxed learning environment.

• Build a safer learning space.

Instructions

• Explain to the participants that before you begin the lesson, you would like to give everyone the opportunity to learn a little more about each other! So, you will all play a game named «Guess who»!

• Each person will write down three facts about themselves which are not obvious to the eye. For example, one should not write «I have blue eyes» but they could write «I am an only child», «I love football», «I speak Chinese» etc.

• They will then send their answers to you [as the facilitator].

• After you have received the statements of all the participants, read out loud the three statements of each participant. Every time you read a person’s statements ask the group to guess who they think we are talking about.

• This way we will see how much we know each other as a group.

• In case the group comes from the same classroom and therefore you know that they already

know each other, you could ask them from the beginning to think of three things that would make it difficult for their friends to immediately recognize them.

• It is advisable to include yourself in the game.

• During the conversation, be aware of possible stereotypes. For example, «I didn’t think that she would love heavy metal. She seems so sweet». «I didn’t think he would enjoy romantic movies. He looks mutcho and clever». These kinds of presumptions and stereotyping about others is very easy to come out during this activity.

• It is expected that during (and at the end of) this activity you will help the group notice that we often make judgments about others without really knowing them. Explain that this is something we will explore during this unit.

Activity 2: Recap Unit 1

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Recall basic terms and ideas learned in Unit 1.

• Reinforce the fundamental rules that must be followed by the group.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to say a few things that they remember from Unit 1.

• Refresh the Group Agreement rules if needed (see “Step 3: Ground Rules / Group Agreement” (p. 14) and “Activity 3: Group Agreement” (p. 127).

Topic 2 What Is Social Privilege?

Activity 1: Race Of Privilege

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 30 minutes

Objectives

• Detect and define social privilege.

• Identify the relationship between identity and privilege (that is, understand that certain identities, such as one’s gender, race and class, can be a privilege or a disadvantage in the given social context).

• Reflect on one’s own privileges.

• Recognise that other people may be struggling just because of their identities in the given social settings.

• Cultivate empathy.

Preparation needed in advance for this activity

• To implement this activity, you will need to create a digital file which will operate as a digital board. This board must show a line of virtual pawns representing each role in a “virtual race”. You must be able to move the pawns during the lesson. See an example below:

Instructions

• Explain to the participants that you are going to play a game based on different roles or fictional characters.

• Explain that each participant will receive one role.

• Make clear however that they are not going to act or play theater. They will just follow a simple instruction according to what they assume that their character / role would do. Particularly, they will be asked to make a step forward in a virtual race.

• At this stage, you need to distribute the roles. This could be done via chat or email or any way you find practical.

• Below you can find fifteen roles to be distributed to the participants. If there are more participants in the groups, please invent some additional roles inspired by the existing ones and add them to the game.

• Examples of roles.

Have in mind that these roles were designed in the context of Cyprus. You can adjust them according to your context.

1. You are a young man refugee from Syria. You traveled to Cyprus along with your wife and your little daughter via a small boat with other refugees. Your request for asylum was approved. You now work as a delivery man with the minimum wage.

2. You are a 16-year-old girl from Palestine. You lost your father in a conflict. Your mother decided that you should use all your money to pay for a boat with other refugees and travel to Cyprus. You are now living in a refugee reception center waiting for your asylum request to be examined by the Cyprus government.

3. You are an immigrant man from Nigeria. You have lived your childhood in extreme poverty and domestic violence. An agent from a university advertised that you could become a student in Cyprus, a peaceful and financially prosperous EU country, while working there. You decided to borrow money to pay the fees and the tickets. However, when you arrived, you could not make enough money to pay for the second year of university. You are therefore considered now as an illegal immigrant because you are not registered in your university. Although the police could arrest and deport you, you continue to work in Cyprus for as long as possible and save money.

4. You are a white 15-year-old Greek-Cypriot girl living in Cyprus. You are on a wheelchair as you can not use your legs. You are living a happy life in a loving and supportive family. You have good grades at school and your family is middle class.

5. You are a white man, owner of a large insurance company. You have inherited a huge property from your family who raised you with love and care. Your parents are very proud of you.

6. You are a woman, president of a sports club, an important department of which is football. Although in the beginning you faced doubt and prejudice from some members of the Board as this was the first time a woman was president of a football club in Cyprus, the results you brought were impressive. Therefore, despite the gossip and the doubts, you have now earned the respect of the vast majority of the members of the club.

7. You are Cypriot student at the University of Cyprus. Your parents support you financially, they love and care for you.

8. You are a Cypriot soldier. Your family is middle class and supports you always. You have been accepted for studying at the medical department of a very prestigious university. You are gay but you haven’t told anyone because you are afraid to face the reactions of your parents and your circle. You are dating a man but you keep your relationship secret.

9. You are a 19-year-old girl in your first year at university. You are blind from birth and your mother is always with you at the university classes. Your family takes care of you and love you. However, it is extremely difficult for you to walk alone in the streets as this is very dangerous due to the car traffic, and because you don’t know if you could defend yourself if someone tried to take advantage of you or harass you.

10. You are a 55-year-old man. You were recently fired because the factory you had been working for the last years faced financial collapse. Your wife does not work as she has always been a housewife. You are now living on your savings and your unemployment allowance. You are looking for work but employers see you as too old to hire you because they prefer to invest in younger employees.

• Give the participants a few minutes to read their role and ask you privately if they need any clarifications.

• Then, ask them to imagine the details of their role. To do this, you will make some questions and they must use their imagination to answer them, in order to build their role.

Tip to the facilitator!

You could ask the participants to close their eyes after each question and use their imagination to build their role in their mind.

-What do you imagine that your childhood was like?

-What sort of jobs did your parent(s) do?

-What sort of house do you live in now?

-With whom do you live?

-What do you do in the morning and in the evening?

-Where do you socialize?

-What excites you and what are you afraid of?

• After this, explain that during the game you will read a list of statements. Their character, that is, the pawn representing their character, must take a step forward in the virtual race if the situation is true for them (their role). If the situation is not true for them, they should stay put. Remind them that they are now acting according to their role.

• Remind them also that they will have to decide if the statement is true according to their own judgment and assumptions about their character.

• When everyone is ready, start with reading the first statement out of the list of statements:

1. Take one step forward if you have never really worried about your next meal (worried that you would go hungry).

2. Take one step forward if you have both your parents to support you, take care of you and love you.

3. Take one step forward if you have never experienced sexual harassment in your life (such as unwanted touch, verbal harassment on the street, ect.).

4. Take one step forward if your childhood was full of play and joy.

5. Take one step forward if you have never really experienced violence.

6. Take one step forward if you have never been the receiver of racism.

7. Take one step forward if people generally see you with respect.

8. Take one step forward if you are free to go out and openly hug your loved one.

9. Take one step forward if you can just drop by the mini-market of your neighborhood whenever you decide (provided that it happens during its open hours).

10. Take one step forward if you can easily arrange a doctor’s appointment whenever you need to.

• When a pawn reaches the finish line, celebrate and congratulate the winner.

• After this, initiate a discussion based on the following questions:

-What did you think of this activity?

-How did it make you feel?

-Why did some people take more steps than others?

-Can you guess what was the role of the character who won the race?

-Can you guess what was the role of the character who came last?

• Ask them to share their roles.

• Continue the discussion using the question:

-Is this activity relevant to real life and social realities?

-How is this linked to identity as we have seen it throughout Unit 1?

• Conclude the activity with linking it to the next one when you will discuss what is a social privilege, and what it means to say that there are people or groups who are more privileged or less privileged than others.

Tip to the facilitator!

After the activity, it is advisable to do a quick activity aiming to symbolically free the participants from the identification with their roles. This refers to a symbolic shower. Ask the participants to stand up and start shaking each hand and leg eight consecutive times, then four times, then two times and then one time. Shake as if you are getting rid of something off your hand or leg. Then, raise both hands above your head and imagine that the water is running from the top of your head all over your body. Begin to move your hands from the top of your head toward your feet. Follow this movement while you are making the sound of the water (shh..) to wash off your role.

Activity 2: Why Does Privilege Exist?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 30 minutes

Objectives

• Construct a definition of social privilege.

Instructions

• Divide the participants in virtual rooms of approximately three people. Ask them to discuss the following questions:

-Based on what we have seen through the previous activity, why do you think social inequalities exist?

-What does it mean to say that there are people or groups who are more privileged or less privileged than others?

-Why do particular groups of people continue to face more obstacles than other groups?

• Give five minutes to the group discussion.

• Bring them back and ask from a representative to briefly present the findings of their team to the plenary.

• After this, explain that you are going to explore together the causes of inequalities in the next activities.

Topic 3 The Cycle Of Oppression

Activity 1: The Image In Our Head

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 50 minutes

Objectives

• Realize we often jump to arbitrary assumptions.

• This activity intends to be a starting point on the subject of stereotypes which is covered in this topic.

Preparation needed in advance for this activity

• As this activity is about gender segregation in occupations, you need to have at hand some examples of non-stereotypical workers/professionals to share with the participants at the last phase of this activity. You can find some examples in the platform where we have included some relevant links. However, it is advisable to check in advance whether the existing examples are appropriate for your audience or whether you would like to use different occupations or examples.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to take three minutes individually to note:

-What does a blacksmith look like? (How is their physical appearance? What do they wear? etc).

-What does a nursery teacher look like?

-What does a referee look like?

-What does a secretary look like?

-What does a nurse look like?

-What does someone with learning disabilities look like?

Tip to the facilitator!

You could exchange the professions with any profession or quality which you find appropriate for a particular group. For example, a hairdresser, a spy, a butcher etc.

• Back to the plenary, ask some participants to share their view on the professions.

• Reveal one real person who is each one of the above. The person should embody something different than the stereotype. For example, show them a picture (preferably from a real female plumber living in their country, a picture from a real male secretary etc).

• Close the activity with a short discussion based on the following questions:

-Were you surprised?

-What did this exercise make you think?

• It is better to keep this discussion very brief because you will have the opportunity for a deeper converstation on the same subject at the end of the next activity.

Activity 2: Cards

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 50 minutes

Objectives

• Define “stereotype”.

• Detect stereotypes.

• Reflect on one’s own stereotypes.

Instructions

• Divide the participants in groups of two to three persons.

• Assign to each group a pair of characters described in the relevant cards found on the platform.

• Particularly:

-One group must take the characters found in the A and F cards

-One group must take the characters found in the B and G cards

-One group must take the characters found in the C and H cards

-One group must take the characters found in the D and I cards

-One group must take the characters found in the E and J cards

• Explain that the pairs can take five minutes to write down the answers to the following questions:

-What do they imagine that each character looks like?

-What personality traits do they have?

-What are their likes and dislikes?

-Which of the two characters they would rather spend a day with, and why?

• Bring the groups back to the plenary and ask them to share their characters with the rest of the group and explain who they had chosen to spend their day with, and why.

• After all groups have presented, reveale that in reality the two characters are one person. Particularly, reveal that:

-The A and F cards refer to David Beckham. He has been a supporter of UNICEF for many years. In January 2005 he became a Goodwill Ambassador with a special focus on UNICEF’s Sports for Development programme.

-The C and H cards refer to child soldiers. Accurate figures on child soldiers are not available –but tens of thousands of teenagers, including girls, have fought in conflicts around the globe.

-The B and G cards refer to Yusuf Islam. He was recently voted Songwriter of the year. He performed at the Nelson Mandela tribute concert and last year dueted on a recording with Ronan Keating. He was known as Cat Stevens until he converted to Islam in 1977 when he became an active British Muslim.

-The D and I cards refer to Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. She became Liberia’s president in 2006, making her Africa’s first elected female leader. She is a former World Bank economist.

-The E and J cards refer to Tanni Grey-Thompson. She was born with spina bifida. She is a highly successful wheelchair athlete, who has won 14 medals, nine of which are gold, countless European titles, six London Marathons and has over 30 world records.

* The material for this activity have been created by the British Red Cross (see https://sharemylesson.com/teaching-resource/introduction-stereotyping-183354, https:// www.redcross.org.uk/get-involved/teaching-resources).

• Close the activity with a discussion based on the following questions:

-Were you surprised with the revelation?

-Was there anything that made an impression on you from this activity? Why?

-Have you ever felt that people assumed things about you?

-How do we call this phenomenon of assuming things about someone without knowing them, just based on a particular identity?

• In reference to the last question, introduce the definition of the term «stereotype» found on the platform.

Definition of stereotype

The term “stereotype”, as used today, has been introduced by Walter Lippmann to describe ideas and images which are already fixed in our minds, and are not necessarily based on our actual experience but rather on an a priori constructed opinion or belief which prevents our judgment. In other words, stereotypes are forms, opinions and images which have been embedded and are used in order to judge or evaluate something according to a predefined view. An example of this can be: “women are bad drivers”. Because there is this prefixed opinion in someone’s mind, in the case of a woman being a bad driver, this will be perceived as a confirmation of the prefixed opinion (stereotype) while, in case a man is being a bad driver, this experience will be perceived as an exception to the rule.

Activity 3: Cycle Of Oppression

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 25 minutes

Objectives

• Define “stereotype”, “prejudice”, “discrimination”, and “oppression”.

• Recognize the impact of stereotypes on the reproduction of social inequalities.

Instructions

• Introduce the cycle of oppression (found on the platform) as an effort to understand why certain inequalities are reproduced in contemporary society.

• Read the cycle together with the group.

• Read it step-by-step, along with the definitions and the links (from stereotypes to prejudice, from prejudice to discrimination, etc.).

• During this process, ask the participants to think of examples. The example may come from their own personal experiences or the experiences of friends and acquaintances, or even from a book or a movie.

Topic 4 Closing Reflections

Activity 1: Matrix Of Oppression

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Detect and define types of discrimination and oppression (racism, sexism, transgender oppression, heterosexism, classism, ableism, religious oppression, ageism).

Instructions

• Introduce the «matrix of oppression» to the participants, which is found on the platform, and explain that this is one way to present the different types of discrimination and oppression (racism, sexism, transgender oppression, heterosexism, classism, ableism, religious oppression, ageism).

• Ask from the participants in the plenary to mention one example for each form.

• Explain that in Unit 3 you will explore gender and how it is relevant to all the social phenomena we have explored in Units 1 and 2.

Activity 4: Blob

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Reflect and self-assess one’s learning experience.

Instructions

• Present the Blob tree found on the platform.

• Ask the participants to choose one Blob figure which represents how they feel at the moment, after the completion of this unit.

• You could either ask whoever would like to share their choice with the group and explain why they chose the particular blob figure or you could ask them to write their answer individually in the relevant box on the platform. If you choose the second option, explain that their answer will only be seen by you [the facilitator].

Unit 3 Unboxing Gender Goals

• Acknowledge that gender can be the basis of privilege/discrimination.

• Recognise that stereotypes can be harmful not only to girls but also to boys.

• Define “sex” and “gender”, and understand the difference between them.

• Assess the role of gender in one’s life.

• Recognize the existence of social inequities which are based on gender.

Topic 1 Introduction

Activity 1: Welcome And Recap

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Recall basic terms and ideas learned in Unit 1.

• Reinforce the fundamental rules that must be followed by the group.

Instructions

• Welcome the participants to the third unit. Explain that in the first two units you have explored issues such as identities, stereotypes, different forms of discrimination, mechanics of oppression, and social inequalities.

• Ask the participants if they could remind the group what these terms mean and what they have learned during the two previous units.

• Explain that this Unit will focus on a particular identity, that is, gender identity, which is connected, in a certain way, to all the phenomena examined so far during the course.

• If needed, remind the Group Agreement (p. 127) and any rules you think are important.

Activity 2: Gender Lightbulb Moment!

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 45 minutes

Objectives

• Acknowledge that gender can be the basis of privilege/discrimination.

• Recognise that stereotypes can be harmful not only to girls but also to boys.

• Assess the role of gender in one’s life.

Instructions

• Explain to the participants that this activity aims to explore their “gender lightbulb moment”.

• A “gender lightbulb moment” describes a time one became conscious of being treated differently because of their gender. For example, a boy could have such a moment when someone told them that they should not play with dolls. A girl could have such a moment the first time someone told her she couldn’t play football with the boys.

• Ask the participants to think of the first time they can remember that they became aware that their gender was a reason for treating them differently or their gender was experienced by them as an obstacle or a limitation. Explain that if they can not remember the first time, or they don’t want to share a particular moment, they could share any moment at which they became aware of their gender in this way.

• After allowing them a minute to think about it, begin a circle so that everyone can share their moment.

• Close the activity with a discussion using reflective questions such as:

-What did you think of this activity?

-Have you found something interesting in thinking of your “gender lightbulb moments”?

-Have you found something interesting in hearing others’ “gender lightbulb moments”?

-Are “gender lightbulb moments” something experienced only by one gender?

Topic 2 What Is Sex And What Is Gender

Activity 1: Becoming Your Gender

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Analyze Beauvoir’s famous quote stating that “One is not born a woman, but rather becomes, a woman”.

• This activity is a starting point for getting interested in the distinction between “sex” and “gender”.

Instructions

• Read the quote based on the French philosopher, Simone de Beauvoir, found on the platform: «One is not born a woman/man. One becomes a woman/man». Explain that we paraphrased the original quote (which was “One is not born a woman, but rather becomes, a woman” to include men as well).

• Divide the participants in study groups using virtual rooms and ask them to discuss how they understand this quote. What do they think she meant?

• Bring them back to the plenary and ask a representative of each group to summarize the opinion of the group. Discuss whether the opinions of the groups are similar.

• Explain that one way we can understand this quote has to do with the division between the biological sex (born a woman/man) and gender (the social constructions, roles and expectations linked to one’s sex).

• In this sense, Beauvoir saw that society and culture “made” someone a woman; that is, society and culture constructed what it means to be a woman, how a “proper” woman was supposed to behave, dress, act, etc. This distinction between sex and gender is what the next acticity refers to.

Activity 2: Defining Sex And Gender

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 5 minutes

Objectives

• Define “sex” and “gender”, and understand the difference between them.

Instructions

• Read together with the group the definitions of “sex” and “gender” found in the platform.

• After reading each definition, you could ask a participant to paraphrase (by asking what they understand by this definition) in order to help the group grasp the meaning.

• You don’t need to elaborate much on the definitions because the next activity aims to deepen the understanding of the two terms.

Activity 3: Which Ones Refer To Gender?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 10 minutes

Objectives

• Define “sex” and “gender”, and understand the difference between them.

Instructions

• Read together with the participants the statements found on the platform.

• After each statement, ask the students whether that statement refers to sex or gender.

• Finish with the last statement, which claims that “Blue is an appropriate color for baby boys and pink is an appropriate color for baby girls”.

• Show that this statement refers to gender, and not to sex, as which color is considered to be appropriate for each gender is not determined by nature but rather by society and culture. This is evident in the history of blue and pink as in the first decades pink was often considered to be a “boy” color and blue was considered to be a “girl” color.

• For example, “a June 1918 article from the trade publication Earnshaw’s Infants’ Department said, ‘The generally accepted rule is pink for the boys, and blue for the girls. The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl.’ ” (Jeanne Maglaty, When Did Girls Start Wearing Pink?).

• Encourage the participants to research the history of pink and blue if they find the subject interesting!

Topic 3 Gender Gaps

Activity 1: Gender Equality Index

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 25 minutes

Objectives

• Acknowledge that gender can be the basis of privilege/discrimination.

• Recognize the existence of social inequities which are based on gender.

Instructions

• Begin this activity with a question which the participants will explore in study groups.

• Explain that the groups will be asked to explore the existence of inequalities between men and women in the European Union and the way we can measure these inequalities.

• Explain that you will start with the example of what we call the “gender pay gap”. This refers to the phenomenon that if we add up the wages of all men (including all jobs and professions) and find the average wage, and if we then do the same for the wages of women, we will find that the average wage of women is lower than the average wage of men. At the moment, the gender pay gap in the EU stands for approximately 14%. This means that the average wage of women is lower than that of men by 14%. Why do you think this is? Can you think of some reasons?

• Give five to ten minutes to the groups to discuss this and come up with some possible reasons.

• Bring them back to the plenary and allow each group to present some of the reasons they could think of.

• It is expected that the discussion will indicate that there are multiple reasons, from stereotypes and prejudices to job segregation and the division of responsibilities within the family. For example, less women are hierarchically in the highest positions within their job industry; occupations which are considered traditionally as “women’s jobs” (such as cleaning, sewing, caring for babies and the elderly) are often underestimated/devalued, and therefore paid less; women are often found in part-time jobs due to higher degrees of responsibilities in the family. At this point, introduce the Gender Equality Index, a tool to measure the progress of gender equality in the EU, developed by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE).

https://eige.europa.eu/gender-equality-index/2021

• You can encourage the participants to go individually to the following link (found also on the platform) and play the Index Game where one enters a gender and a country to spot the different opportunities for men and women in different EU countries.

https://eige.europa.eu/gender-equality-index/game/CY/W

• You can then encourage the participants to go to the platform and answer individually the relevant question (see the quiz “M4 Unit 3 Topic 3”) followed by a closing discussion, or you can ask the question verbally.

Question:

Based on the Gender Equality Index, there are several inequalities between men and women in the European Union. For example, if you add up the wages of all men (including all jobs and professions) and find the average wage, and if you then do the same for the wages of women, you will see that the average wage of women is lower than the average wage of men. Why do you think that is? Can you think of some reasons?

Topic 4 Personal Reflection

Activity 1: Engendering Objects

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• Varies according to the number of the participants.

Objectives

• Assess the role of gender in one’s life.

Instructions

• Ask the participants to choose an object which to them symbolizes an obstacle they had to overcome due to their gender or a personal / collective struggle they had to give related to their gender. The object could be physically there with them, found at their place or at the space they find themselves during this lesson, in which case they could also show the object to the rest of the group via their camera. However, the object could also not be physically with them, in which case, they can just think of an object which is not there.

• Allow the participants two to three minutes to choose or think of their object.

• Begin a circle and give space to each person to share their object and what it symbolizes to them.

Variation

If you have also gone through Unit 1 and 2 of this Module with the group, you could open up this activity beyond gender. In particular, you could ask them to choose an object which symbolizes a personal / collective struggle they go / have gone through related to any social identity, or any characteristic which makes them belong to a group.

Unit 4 Personal and Collective Goals

• Take ownership and responsibility for creating relationships and environments of equality.

• Synthesize what one has learned.

• Transform ideas and aspirations into actionable steps.

• Create a plan for gender equality.

• Consider the extent to which one’s thoughts and actions can contribute to building a world of gender equality.

• Discover aspects of personal aspirations linked to the subject of this course.

Topic 1 Introduction

Activity 1: What’sYour Name?

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• Varies according to the number of participants.

Objectives

• Discover meanings and assumptions hidden in names.

• Realize that even listening to one’s name can lead to stereotyping.

• Detect your own stereotypical thoughts.

Instructions

• Explain to the participants that this activity is a way to learn or recall the names of our co-participants, but it is also an activity on the stories we tell about ourselves and others. Particularly, what we are going to do in this activity is to examine our own names.

• Ask the participants to individually reflect on their name using the following questions:

-Does your name have a meaning?

-Does it tell a story about you or about your family, your community, or your culture?

-Which identities are reflected on your name?

-Do you think that people assume things about you just because of your name?

• Allow the participants a few minutes to reflect on those questions.

• Begin a circle where each participant gets to share their answers about their name.

• After this, ask if there was something which made an impression on them about exploring their own names or listening to others describing theirs.

• Close the activity by asking the group whether they can find links between this activity and what we have been looking for together in the previous units of this Module.

• Is it expected that the discussion will lead to concepts such as “identity” and “stereotypes”.

Topic 2 Changing The World!

Activity 1: Building A Gender Equality Campaign

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 90-120 minutes

Objectives

• Take ownership and responsibility for creating relationships and environments of equality.

• Synthesize what one has learned.

• Transform ideas and aspirations into actionable steps.

• Create a plan for gender equality.

Instructions

Step 1:

• Explain that the aim of this activity is for the participants to plan a campaign for a cause related to gender.

• Explain that you will divide the participants in groups of three to four people.

• Each group will plan a campaign.

• To do this, they will be asked to answer four basic questions.

• Instruct them to go to the platform and start the relevant “quiz”. There they will find four questions which they will need to answer as a group.

• You could either ask them to use the blank box on the platform to write their answers, or to write their answers elsewhere if that would be more convenient.

• The four questions are:

1. THE AIM OF YOUR CAMPAIGN. What will be the aim of the campaign? That is, they will need to find a subject based on a problem they want to resolve, or decide on a cause they want to raise awareness for. This can refer to a wide topic (for example, combating gender stereotypes), or it can be a more specific issue (for example, name calling against girls at your school, such as calling them “sluts”, or the use of homophobic language).

2. THE EXPECTED RESULTS. That is, one or some concrete and measurable outcomes which will be the result of this campaign. What will their target group, or their school, or their community gain from this?

3. THE TARGET GROUP. What is their target group? That is, what group of people they want to reach? Will this campaign target for example their co-students, or even a particular category of students (for example, boys or girls), and therefore take place at their school, or will it be the inhabitants of their neighborhood, or the general public?

4. THE SLOGAN OF THE CAMPAIGN. Based on their answers, what will be the slogan or the message of their campaign?

Step 2:

• After having looked at the basic questions, divide them in groups using virtual rooms.

• Explain that before beginning to answer the questions, they should use this time to brainstorm different ideas on problems and issues that they have observed and that they would like to do something about. It is advisable that you pass from each group and encourage the brainstorming process.

• After this, ask them to begin narrowing down their ideas, decide one and begin answering the four questions.

• Allow the groups to work on their four questions for about 30 minutes.

• Bring the groups back to the plenary and ask them to present their results by describing their answers to the four questions.

• Allow the rest of the participants to ask one or two clarifying questions to each group. The purpose of these questions should be to help the presenting group create a clear view about their campaign.

Step 3:

• After the presentations, explain that each group will go back to their own virtual groups and design a poster for their campaign. They could use any program they want and any tools they want in order to collectively design a poster for their campaign. The poster should convey the message of their campaign. This could be achieved either by including words and statements, or it could consist of only images and visual representations.

• Allow the groups approximately 15 minutes to create the poster.

• If you have time, and you can see that the participants are getting creative, you could adjust the timeline.

• Bring everyone back to the plenary and ask them to present their posters.

• Conclude the activity by asking them some reflective questions:

-What did they think of this activity?

-Was it easy or difficult?

-Which part of this process, of creating a campaign, did they find more easy and fun, and which part was more difficult?

-Would they like to actually implement the campaign?

• If there is willingness, offer to help them actually apply the campaign.

• You could also upload their posters and slogans in social media or in their school newsletter or any other relevant place. For example, if you are disseminating the results of the workshop, the posters could be uploaded on the website/social media page of your organization, or their school’s site, etc.

Tip to the facilitator!

This activity takes time. Remember to consider in-between breaks and energizers whenever they seem fit.

Topic 3 Changing My Self

Activity 1: Letter To My Future Self

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 15 minutes

Objectives

• Reflect on the learning experience due to this course.

• Synthesize what one has learned.

• Discover aspects of personal aspirations linked to the subject of this course.

• Take ownership and responsibility for creating relationships and environments of equality.

Instructions

• Explain that this activity is an individual activity.

• What the participants will be asked to do is write a letter to their future self.

• Therefore, they will receive this letter after six months.

• This can be done using their emails. Most email programs, if not all, have this service. One can create a new email, attach their letter (written for example as a word document on their personal device), and schedule the email to be sent at a particular date (six months after the course). This way, the privacy of their letter is ensured.

• As the relevant instructions in the platform state, their task is to write a letter to their future self where they can talk about the realizations/experiences/lessons/thoughts/feelings they have had during this course or at the moment. Is there something they would like to say to their future self? It could refer to things that they have learned and want to remember, it could be related to how they imagine themselves and their relationships in six months, or anything else they’d like to express!

• Encourage them not to set unrealistic or static expectations for their future self because many things can change until then. They may learn new things and revise their present plans.

• In other words, the aim of this letter is for their future self to receive something empowering, inspiring, and positive. This is not about setting goals, like “being able to speak French” but rather to reflect on what you have learned about your attitudes, abilities, aspirations etc.

• For example:

-Instead of setting a goal like “being able to speak French fluently”, you could write “I have realized that learning a new language might be an interesting task to pursue because it seems to open up new worlds and new ways to express oneself! What do you think, future me?”

-Instead of setting a goal like “having a girlfriend/boyfriend” which is not something you should necessarily plan, you could write “I have realized that building healthy relationships could enrich one’s life! Maybe this is something worth experiencing. I wonder if you are already experiencing this, future me!”

• Allow the participants 10 to 15 minutes to write their letter and schedule their email.

• Encourage them to all put the same date for the email to be sent because it may be fun to know that the rest of the group will also receive their letter simultaneously!

Topic 4 Reflect

Activity 1: One Thing I Could Do For Gender Equality

What is needed for this activity?

• Access to the internet.

• Access to the G.EDU platform.

• Real time facilitation (with physical presence or video conference e.g. zoom, skype, webex, viber etc.)

Duration

• 5 minutes

Objectives

• Take ownership and responsibility for creating relationships and environments of equality.

• Consider the extent to which one’s thoughts and actions can contribute to building a world of gender equality.

• Transform ideas and aspirations into actionable steps.

• Consider the extent to which one’s thoughts and actions can contribute to building a world of gender equality.

• Discover aspects of personal aspirations linked to the subject of this course.

Instructions

• As a closing activity to this course, ask the participants to write one thing they could do for gender equality. The point here is to put a few things that they could immediately apply to their everyday life and which can have an impact on making their family, their relationships, their community, their school, their neighborhood, etc. a more equal and respectful place!