About VIP
In 1997, staff at Eighteen And Under realised, from the large numbers of young people who were increasingly demanding support services, that there needed to be an intense focus on preventing abuse from happening in the first place and encouraging children to disclose abuse sooner.
We searched the world for an evidence based abuse prevention programme for children of all ages and when we did not find one, decided to create such a programme ourselves.
Since then Eighteen And Under has worked to develop and evaluate broad focused evidence-based programmes and resources for all children of all ages and stages of development. We now have a wide range of resources available for use by teachers, educators, leaders and communities.
VIP Location
Violence Is Preventable is situated in Scotland where violence is on the increase, particularly amongst young people. Scotland has the highest murder rate in Europe and a serious drink, drug and knife culture. This violence includes gendered violence, with domestic abuse and sexual abuse of women and girls endemic. A study by Health Scotland in 2006 found that 1 in 5 young people believe that violence against women is okay in certain situations such as cheating on a partner or if wearing a short skirt.
World Wide Reach
The Violence Is Preventable (V.I.P.) Project has been accepted as participants in the World Health Organisation’s Violence Prevention Alliance. Violence Is Preventable accepts the World Health Organisation view that violence is a major health issue and should be tackled in the same way as other serious epidemics. V.I.P. consists of a wide range of resources which have been developed since 1997. It includes use of songs, DVD’s, activities, games, worksheets, resource packs, quizzes, storybooks and puzzles designed to engage with children, young people and vulnerable adults to make learning about complex issues of safety from violence and abuse both fun and achievable.
Wide range of programmes
The project tackles all forms of violence and abuse including sexual, domestic and interpersonal violence, racism, homophobia, bullying, sectarianism, sexism and gender issues. It seeks to challenge and change the attitudes which lead to violence and encourage children to make early disclosures of violence and abuse so that it can be identified and dealt with sooner. There are a wide range of resources and programmes available.
Engages all participants
V.I.P. seeks to engage with all 3 characters involved in any abusive or violent situation
- the ‘victim’ or potential victim to encourage them to talk, tell and get help to get out of the situation and stay out of future situations that might be abusive.
- the ‘offender’ to encourage them to see what they are doing, change what they are doing and address and change future behaviour which might become abusive.
- the ‘witness’ of any violence or abuse to encourage them to take appropriate action to challenge and change the situation, make others aware of the situation and look for solutions that may lead to conflict resolution.