FINAL REMARKS

The variants of how to conduct exercises, proposed in these guidelines, are meant to demonstrate the various ways to guide the group to accomplish certain tasks, as well as the questions that can help achieve the objective of the exercise.  It is important to view training as the opportunity to inform participants about rather complex problems and concepts, and to make the process of learning more interesting and useful.  To this end, it is necessary to help the participants comprehend new and sometimes unusual (for some, even unacceptable) viewpoints on a specific problem and possible approaches to dealing with it.  The facilitators need to explain the mission of the exercise in short and concise terms, distribute questions to the small groups on cards (or on sheets of ordinary paper), and disseminate much of the exercise information in handouts, which the participants can use afterwards.

Training programs aimed at addressing violence against women should focus the attention of the participants on desired changes in society and governmental agencies; on the concrete steps that need to be taken to eliminate violence and provide individual support for each victim.  However, there is a danger that demonstrating many examples of violence against women may cause feelings of despair and powerlessness amongst members of the group.  Bearing this in mind, each exercise in the training course should be concluded with some positive solution to the problem, even if it’s just a small step in improving the situation.  The resource exercises are useful for this reason, since they are aimed at relaxing and increasing positive attitudes in the group.  It is recommended that they are implemented following the exercises that deal with the complex issues of violence against women.

For the training exercises to accomplish the learning objectives, they must be tailored to the local situation and country-specific characteristics.  While conducting exercises, it is advisable to use discussions and brainstorming sessions to address concrete problems of the region, as well as specific concerns raised by the participants.  Questions proposed for discussion in the exercises throughout this training program should be considered as reminders as to the best approach to dealing with the group.  Facilitators should use their own judgment to decide which ones best relate to the facilitator’s view of what needs to be addressed, the group composition and the time allocated for the given exercise.  Facilitators may use their own versions of the questions for discussions suggested in these guidelines or come up with their own questions. 

The main goal of a training program on violence against women is not only to increase awareness of the problem, but also to develop specific resolutions.  Facilitators need to deliver the material by emphasizing its usefulness for the target audience, so that the participants realize that newly gained skills and practices are designed to ease their work (e.g. law enforcement officers working with the victims of domestic violence).

To actually benefit from the training, participants must be convinced that the information is important to them.  Therefore, it is imperative to keep the program responsive to the needs of the group, and to maximally increase the amount of individual participation during the training session.

Facilitators should bear in mind that the suggestions presented here are guidelines based on various training experiences, which must be adapted to different settings and different groups of people.

 


What is a Training  |  Needs Assessment  |  Goals and Objectives

Organizing a Training Workshop  |  [Preparing the Training Program]  |  Conducting Exercises  |   Training Methods  |  Tips for Facilitators  |  [Model Sessions]  |  Final Remarks

Guidelines for Developing a Training Program

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