National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect

Expanding respectful relationships program to more schools

The National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN) partnered with the Zonta Club of Brisbane East Inc, Australia, to train additional facilitators to conduct LOVEBiTES, a well-recognized respectful relationships program, in more schools.

A US$5,000 grant from Zonta International allowed NAPCAN to provide two 2 ½-day trainings, a refresher course, and a launch event featuring then Minister for the Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence, Di Farmer MP. The launch, held as part of the Zonta Club of Brisbane East Inc’s 2019 Zonta Says NO to Violence Against Women campaign, was an excellent opportunity to promote Zonta International and the club, as many speeches referenced international and local service projects and increased awareness of domestic and family violence.

LOVEBiTES is based on best-practice standards for education programs as recommended by the federally funded Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearing House and other leading academics in the area of violence against women. It is a respectful relationships education program for young people, ages 15-17. It consists of two interactive workshops: one on relationship violence and one on sex and relationships, followed by creative workshops and community campaigns. The program emphasizes the importance of a whole-of-school commitment to respectful relationship education.

At the end of each training program, the student participants were given the opportunity to design a creative activity to sum up their learning from the program, such as a poster, video or music performance.