In this website, we use the word ‘facilitator’ for the person who prepares, presents and coordinates the activities for participants. A facilitator is someone who helps people to discover how much knowledge they already possess, encourages them to extend their learning, and helps them to explore their own potential.

Facilitation means creating an environment in which people learn, experiment, explore and grow. It differs from the process where one person - the ‘expert’ - imparts knowledge and skills to others. This terminology helps to emphasise that educational work on the themes of gender and gender-based violence requires a democratic and participative approach. We assume that you are facilitating groups of young people, for example in a classroom, in a youth club, on a training course, at a youth camp or at a seminar.

What follows are some general facilitation tips for work with groups of young people, and specific advice for working with the sensitive issues addressed by Gender Matters. Different approaches to facilitation exist, but all approaches require sensitivity to participants’ context and to their special situations and needs. All activities in this manual can be adapted to specific circumstances with little effort. However, the facilitation of activities addressing gender issues, and in particular the issue of gender-based violence, requires particular sensitivity. It also demands careful attention to ethical questions and questions of responsibility.
 

Facilitation tips

This website does not require that facilitators have prior experience, however, it does recognise that working with the issues of gender and gender-based violence may be challenging. An interactive and participatory approach is essential, together with a sensitive approach to the issues, particularly where discussion is likely to lead to disclosures by participants on highly personal matters.

Working on gender issues, as with other topics in human rights education, requires particular competences. Youth educators/trainers/activists always need to begin by working themselves, and reflecting on the attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and behaviour that they bring to youth work in general, and to work on gender in particular.

Users of this website do not have to read it in its entirety to be able to use it: this will depend on their own self-knowledge, the needs of the group, and the extent to which the facilitator feels competent in the area. However, use of this resource should always be preceded by a process of reflection on the issues.

The website asks those who use it to be ‘translators’ from one context to another. The information provided needs to be supplemented with information from, for example, national institutions, NGOs, legal and judicial systems, and local contexts. It is important also that users of the manual reflect on whether particular perspectives fit their own experience and youth work context; and that they adapt or substitute examples, ideas and explanations, where appropriate.

Finally, working on gender, sex, gender-based violence and related issues should be an essential part of all youth work because it is something that concerns all young people. The questions and concepts that are addressed through this work are all relevant to young people’s lives, and they relate directly to the world young people live in.
 

Specific ethical and practical considerations

Ethical considerations belong in any educational activity that brings people together, and these ethical considerations are particularly important when issues of identity and power are present, as in the case of many activities dealing with gender or gender-based violence. There are certain important issues to be taken into consideration when working on the issue of gender and gender-based violence with groups of young people, and these are particularly relevant when making decisions about which activities to choose.
 

Gender is a politically sensitive issue

Gender related issues can be highly politically charged.

For example, equal rights for LGBT+ people or the rights of young women to determine their reproductive destinies have caused significant and often acrimonious debates in the public and political sphere between people of different political persuasions, as well as between people from different social, religious or cultural backgrounds.

On a more personal level, people of authority surrounding young people - e.g. parents, teachers and professional youth workers - may have objections to certain issues being discussed or raised in the context of youth work or in leisure time activities, for example questions about sexuality.

Facilitators need to be aware of such potential concerns before beginning to work on the issues with young people, and when choosing activities from this manual.

It is also important to make sure that your organisation will support you, and that its policies and approaches do not conflict with the work that you are aiming to carry out.
 

Cultural difference matters

The cultural backgrounds of the members of the group you are working with may be a relevant factor in choosing your approach and the activities you will use. For some people and communities, specific gender related issues (such as sex, relationships and sexuality) should not be spoken about in public, or in mixed sex settings. Many young people may therefore find it difficult to engage in open discussion about such issues directly, especially if members of the other sex, or people that they do not know well, are present. Furthermore, the existence of domestic violence and sexual abuse is often denied in traditional (as well as in modern-secular) communities. The socialisation of a given participant in this relation will influence whether they will be willing to discuss or will be resistant to engaging with the activities you propose.

However, the importance of cultural background can also be overestimated. Not all young people who come from 'traditional communities' will have difficulties in engaging with these issues. For example, a person’s social background can often be more relevant than their religion to how they deal with sexuality. However, the fact that the young people you work with may come from very diverse cultural and social backgrounds, each of which may have a specific way of dealing with these issues, means that you need to consider the intercultural nature of your group, both in the development of your educational programmes and in the choice of the activities you propose.
 

The context of your work

It will be useful for you to consider your own reasons for undertaking to work on gender related issues in the context of (general) youth work. Ask yourself such questions as:

• What is the relevance of such issues, and why the need to address them in this context?
• Why do the young people you are working with want to or need to address such issues?
• What are your educational objectives in undertaking the exploration of such issues?
   

Before you begin, you should think about such questions. Your responses will help you to select the kind of activity that is better suited for your purposes.

It is also important to consider how you will group your young people, considering your educational objectives at any given time. For example, when wishing to engage the members of your group on the question of female sexuality, you may consider beginning with work in single-sex groups to avoid participants feeling forced into discussing something they do not feel comfortable about with members of the other sex.

Finally, while you may consciously decide to engage in youth work with one or other target group, for reasons relating to the specificity of the context you are working in, you also must consider that you can never fully know ‘who is in the room’. For example, even if working with an all-female group, you may not be aware of the sexual preferences of all members.

For this reason, you must also take into account that within single-sex and mixed groups there always exists a modicum of diversity that may complicate the dynamics, or enrich them. You should also bear in mind that the oppressed and marginalised are not immune to prejudice, any more than are members of the privileged classes or the majority. The most important thing is to remember that everyone needs to feel comfortable and respected, if they are to engage fully.
 

Disclosure may take place

Noting that one can never fully know 'who is in the room', it is important to remember you cannot know whether or not there are participants who have experienced sexual or relationship abuse, or another form of gender-based violence. Although it is important to create a safe space for participants to discuss sensitive issues related to gender and gender-based violence, you should always be prepared for the possibility that creating such a safe space, and the dynamics of the activity, may lead young people to disclose painful personal experiences of gender-based violence. When this happens, it can be difficult for everyone concerned – for the participant disclosing, for other participants, and for the facilitator.

It is difficult for a facilitator to prepare in advance for such a disclosure in the group. The disclosing participant may become very emotional, as may other participants listening to their story.

In such an event, you should aim to observe the following points:

• Do not interrupt or try to stop the participant.
• Listen to the participant, for as long as they are willing to speak
• Avoid pressing anyone else to go further or deeper in sharing experiences
• You may want to call for a break and invite everyone to refresh themselves, in order to defuse the atmosphere
• Pay special attention to the participant in question, and make sure that they are not left alone, if they do not want to be. You or another person that they trust might accompany them to another room to enable them to calm down and collect their strength. They may need a short time away from the group, or on their own.
• It may be necessary, either immediately or at a later point, to come back to the disclosure in the whole group and speak about the fact that it took place.
• Whatever you and your team decide to do, the decision should be made in consultation with the participant who made the disclosure. This also concerns how the disclosure is to be dealt within the group.
   

Facilitators should not attempt to enter into a psychological support role or try to offer 'therapy' to participants. There may be a need for such support, but this is neither the responsibility nor the role of a facilitator in an educational setting. You may, however, offer to provide details about support that is available.

Finally, disclosure in the context of youth work is not only a matter of dealing with a complicated group dynamic or an emotionally charged situation. When a participant discloses something that they have experienced, the act of which constituted a crime (rape, sexual abuse, grievous bodily harm), then you may be obliged to inform the relevant authorities (police, social services, etc.), especially if the person who disclosed such information is a child (a person under the age of 18). In case such a situation arises you should be properly informed about your legal obligations. At the very least, and despite the importance of respecting confidentiality, you will need to tell your superior (e.g. the president of your organisation, a senior youth worker or your line manager or employer). You will need to decide together if further action is necessary. Of course you must keep the participant concerned fully informed and try to ensure that your action does not put them at any further risk.