How can education reduce the likelihood of Coercive Control occurring within the school setting?

In my first news letter I tried to bring out the emotional and psychological damage inflicted by coercive control through my personal experience. After 2 decades I realised its time to culminate my internal (what I was feeling) and the external battle (what others thought and how they actually perceived my life) and that its possible only if it stops right at the start of any relationship. So my focus here is on creating awareness among young minds through education.

Building on that foundation, my focus is on equipping young minds with the knowledge and tools they need to recognise and resist such behaviors, particularly within the educational environment. I mentioned looking into the different ways that education can attempt to prevent coercive control in the school setting.

The truth is there are many different ways that education can reduce the likelihood of coercive control occurring within the school culture, and while coercive control will always be present as a society we can be hopeful and try in the best ways we know how, to protect our next generation and make things difficult for perpetrators.

The focus here is on Awareness Programmes.

By allowing Workshops around coercive control that are dynamic, interactive and thought provoking, schools are able to not only educate the learners but also educate their staff on the complexities of coercive control.

Workshops will enable and give learners opportunities to talk about coercive control in a safe space while giving them the tools to identify the signs of coercive control. Once this identification process occurs it will allow learners to not only be aware of what constitutes coercive and controlling behaviour that they may be experiencing themselves. It will also allow them to recognise within themselves if they possess characteristics of this coercive and controlling behaviour. This recognition can be extremely eye opening, where this may help learners to discuss these behaviours or at least listen to how these behaviours can impact those being subjected to this type of abuse. For young men and young women, I believe this stage is extremely important in terms of acknowledging behaviours that are harmful and whether these behaviours are behaviours they are prone to entertain.

Similarly, seminars and assemblies that are designed to educate learners on coercive control and its impacts on the wider community can also be extremely beneficial for the school culture.

Educating the next generation is not only necessary, it is imperative given that coercive control is a global issue. The narrative of what a healthy relationship should and needs to be redefined, change needs to occur so the next generation can learn to trust their ‘GUT INSTINCT’ and how they ‘FEEL’ when it comes to relationships, rather than rely on harmful externals as a guide to what a healthy relationship is. This is one of the main reason why I created the Coercive Control Curriculum to support the RSE Curriculum within secondary schools.

We have a collective responsibility to protect and keep young people safe because they need us and they matter.

Discover insights on Coercive control and Misogyny in our free guide, "Lis’s Mission On Empowering Schools." Gain critical understanding and join the mission to create safer spaces for young minds.

Gain profound insights into coercive control behavior by exploring our latest blog post: "The Impact of Coercive and Controlling Behaviour". Understand the key issue effecting convictions.

Lets take a stand together to use education as a powerful tool in the fight against coercive control, particularly within the school setting. With the Coercive Control Curriculum supporting the RSE Curriculum in secondary schools, we aim to equip the next generation with the knowledge to trust their instincts. Let's work together to break the cycle of abuse and ensure that no one suffers in silence. Take the first step today by signing up for our workshops.

I will leave you with my message:

Make choices and decisions that will create peace in your heart.

Much love Lis ??