Alternatives to Violence Project

3 Rye Road Mowbray , Cape Town 7700
Tel: +27 21 685 7800 Fax: +27 21 686 8167

Mission statement:
Our mission is to work actively toward a society in which the energy generated by conflict is transformed into positive power.

Alternatives to Violence Project

Project Aim

To reduce the level of violence within organisations and communities

Background

AVP originated in Greenhaven prison in New York in 1975. From this base AVP has grown into non-profit, volunteer driven movement working worldwide. Methods are simple, well proven and well documented.

In January 2009 QPC took over the prison work at Pollsmoor Correctional Facility in Cape Town from NGO Phaphama Initiatives which had started AVP in the Medium B prison (male, long term prisoners) in 2005.The Female prison was soon included. Work continued using volunteer and inmate facilitators through to 2009. The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) was supportive and the Parole Board enthusiastic. By the end of 2008, some 1500 prisoners had been trained and strong (inmate) facilitator teams built up. These ran the workshops and acquired an excellent reputation with the Department of Correctional Services, the Parole Board and, more important, the prisoners themselves.

In 2009, QPC was invited by Correctional Services to extend AVP into the two "youth" prisons on the site.

QPC presently offers AVP in three ways:

within the Non-Violent Schools Campaign
in Pollsmoor prison
in the Community

What AVP does

AVP trains in conflict resolution. The training is practical and experiential-neither academic nor theoretical. It helps people to recognise the sources of violent behaviour within themselves and how to avoid and deal with violence in others.

AVP workshops use the shared experience of participants, interactive exercises, games and role plays to examine ways in which we respond to situations where injustice, prejudice, frustration and anger can lead to aggressive behaviour and violence.

For individuals it provides affirmation, self confidence and communication skills. It provides needed skills for the victims of violence and, for those considering the use of violence, it provides more powerful, non-violent choices to meet legitimate needs.

Target Groups

In the high schools the target groups are first, teachers from the Non-Violent Schools Campaign with the aim of developing them as AVP Facilitators so that they can train (the second target) members of the NVSC peace clubs. AVP has developed a version for the younger children from primary schools and this will be used with them.

In the prisons the main focus is on youth (ages 14 to 21) both sentenced and unsentenced. The programme is also offered (as previously) in the female prison and to the adult male medium-term offenders

From 2010 QPC will also be training prison warders so that they are able to run workshops in their own sections thereby creating a multilevel approach to the culture, nature and levels of violence within the prison. Correctional services management have strongly supported this move.

In the community QPC has recently begun training teachers, social workers and caregivers in "places of safety" for youth in conflict with the law. Again, the aim is to train them so that they are able to train the young offenders in their care and in this way help them to avoid prison.

AVP Programme

A typical workshop involves some 20 hours of group work for some 20- 25 participants plus between two and four facilitators. In prison work this is spread over four mornings. In other situations it can be done in two days.

There are 3 levels of workshop. Basic, Advanced and, for those with the interest and aptitude, Training for Faciliators (T4F). T4F is effectively the start of an apprenticeship.

Prisons

In each prison the project runs each month a pair of workshops (Basic and Advanced) plus a "follow-up" workshop for the same group. On average we train some 600 prison inmates each year. Training for Facilitators-selected participants-produces some 12 new inmate facilitators a year.

Schools

The first advanced workshop for teachers took place in mid November 2009 Quarterly AVP training sessions for teachers are running at present. Fifteen have been trained already. Yearly total will be thirty.

Community

This year training began in "places of safety". Children in the age range 13-21 years who are in trouble. "Bonnytoun House" for boys, "Huis Vredelust" for girls and also "Tenterden Place of Safety" for juveniles.(6-12 years). As with the NVSC schools the focus is on training the teachers, social workers and caregivers so that they can continue training on their own account.

"Young Women in Leadership" is working with the Department of Social Development on an experimental parent/child programme. A part of this is AVP training in communication delivered every month to groups of some 25 young women from the peace clubs and their parents.

QPC aims to demonstrate that its work shifts people toward the non-violent. M &E for the Non Violent Schools Campaign (including the AVP element) is discussed in that section.

Correctional Services management persistently ask for more AVP training. With their assistance we need to demonstrate this shift objectively by frequent reviews in each prison each year. The practical problems are significant as prison population changes constantly.

AVP Development

It is clear that the demand for AVP training is enormous. Our approach is to expand the number of facilitators working within organisations (e.g. schools, religious organisation, prisons, NGO's, places of safety) whether they are volunteer or paid.

To encourage this QPC will provide support, mentoring and work to develop an AVP-community.

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