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Domestic Violence
Awareness
Merit Program

Copyright 1999, 2000 by Pam Butler and Douglas Dailey.
Disclaimer: This is a sample program only. This merit program is a locally based program. It was partly inspired by the Shawnee West Virginia Girl Scouts with changes provided by Santa Clara County Domestic Violence experts. It is provided for historical and/or research purposes only. For more information contact Pam Butler in Santa Clara CA at (408) 488-3432.

Table of Contents

Credits and Special Thanks
Requirements and Process
Introduction for Group Leaders and Parents / Guardians
Violence in the Lives of Women and Children: Some Facts
Parent / Guardian Permission Form
Activities
Required Activities for All Levels
Level One and Above
Level Two and Above
Level Three
Books about Domestic Violence
Domestic Violence Resource Numbers and Contacts (Santa Clara County, CA)
Project Evaluation Form

Credits and Special Thanks

We would like to thank all the people and organizations that helped make this Domestic Violence Awareness Merit Program Possible.

Principle Author:
Pam Butler, Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Victim Advocate, Social Services Agency and Chairperson of the Victims' Voice Committee, SCC Domestic Violence Council.
Special Thanks:
Merit Program Consultants	The members of the Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Council (SCCDVC) Badge / Patch Design by Charlene Haussler, Social Services Agency and member of the Victims' Voice Committee, SCC DV Council. Shawnee Girl Scout Council, Inc., Keyser, West Virginia - The developers of the original Domestic Violence Awareness Patch Program which was inspiration for this merit program.

Domestic Violence Awareness Merit Program
Requirements and Process:

Step 1:	Read the "Introduction for Group Leaders and Parents / Guardians" and “Violence in the Lives of Women and Children: Some Facts”. Preview the activities you are interested in completing with your group.
Step 2:	Obtain a completed parent permission slip for all youth in your group participating in this merit program before starting. Keep these permission slips in your group files for at least __ years.
Step 3:	Talk with the youth about the program and work with them to select the activities they want to do. All levels must complete the activities marked with an asterisk ().( ).
Step 4:	Optional activities may be selected from any section. The activities are grouped in sections by age appropriate activities recommended by organization leaders, however, it is up to the group leader and parents’ discretion as to which activities they feel most comfortable discussing and teaching to their children. Number of Optional Activities each level needs to complete: 3 activities for Level One (school grades 1-3) 4 activities for Level Two (school grades 4-6) 6 activities for Level Three (school grades 7-12)
Step 5:	After completing all the requirements fill out the evaluation form (included). Turn this evaluation form into your local organization headquarters. All group leaders should keep copies.

Introduction for Group Leaders and Parents / Guardians

Please read before starting this patch program

Many youth organizations have noted the importance of addressing issues that could affect the lives of children both now and in their futures. It is our hope that by addressing issues of violence in the home and between acquaintances and partners young people will have a better understanding of dangerous situations and will be able to handle them in an appropriate and safe manner.

The Domestic Violence Awareness Merit Program will help educate young people about Domestic and Date Violence. Some specific topics are: Identification of positive and negative behaviors in relationships, knowing how and when help can be provided to someone in a violent situation, how to promote domestic violence awareness in the community, and understanding domestic violence as a problem that crosses all socio-economic, cultural and gender lines. The program is divided into age-appropriate activities. It is at the leader’s discretion to determine which activities are most appropriate for participation by the youth in his or her group. Training for group leaders should be offered at various times throughout the year and resource to help leaders with this merit program should be identified. Domestic and date violence are sensitive topics to discuss with children; many of them may have already been exposed to violence. For this reason, before this merit program is implemented group leaders should have established contacts with domestic violence experts in their localities.

We hope that through this program children and parents will have a better understanding of domestic and date violence; and that, through this knowledge, awareness will increase in all communities across our country. We commend the children and adults who participate in this merit program and sincerely hope it will help prevent them and others from becoming victims of violence.

Important Notes

Web Site:
Please be aware that the website www.growing.com/nonviolent is referred to at various points in the activities as a resource for information on domestic violence as well as school and date violence. This website is a great resource for all interested parties, however, there are some areas of the website that are graphic in nature. The program developers advise that an adult navigate through the website prior to introducing the website to her/his group. It may also be advisable to have an adult present when children are researching this website.

Parent Permission Form:
We have also included a parent permission slip for all children. Groups should have the permission slips signed by a parent or guardian before starting this program. The intent of the permission slip is to inform the parent / guardian of the content of this program and to give the group leader permission to discuss these issues with the child. This permission slip is for records of the group leader. Your local group headquarters may require you to keep the signed permission slips for __ years after conducting the merit program.

Disclosure of Information:
Because the nature of domestic violence is related to abuse, it is possible that a youth may disclose information about abuse in her or his family. Group leaders may not be mandated reporters of child abuse, however, the staff of the group headquarters may be mandated reporters. If a child self-discloses any kind of abuse, please treat this situation as serious. If possible, comfort the child and let her or him know that she or he has acted correctly by talking with you. Let the child know that you will get the information to someone who can help deal with the situation. Then report the incident immediately to either to your Group Director or Headquarters. If this is not possible then report the incident to your County Child Protective Services (CPS) or the police.

Resources Available Through Group Headquarters
Please obtain and review these resources before presenting them to your group.

“From This Day Forward: Domestic Violence Information and Referral Handbook” available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese. Available at the Domestic Violence Project website, www.growing.com/nonviolent, in the section “DV Publications”.
The Burning Bed: this is a fictional movie addressing the issue of domestic violence. This movie is rated “R”. Group leader discretion is advised for viewing this movie. This can be used as optional activity “V”.
Making Peace: Healing the Family. (Moira Production Series for the Independent Television Service). This is a documentary about a battered woman's experience (Pam Butler's) and how it led her to become a victim advocate.

More Information:

For more information on this program, or if you have questions or concerns, please call your Headquarters.

Violence in the Lives of Women and Children: Some Facts

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Violence in the Lives of Women and Children: Some Facts

We would like to thank the Domestic VIolence Project of Santa Clara County at www.growing.com/nonviolent for permission to use this document.

Domestic Violence Awareness Merit Program
Parent / Guardian Permission Form

Members of the organization of which your child is a member will be participating in a program entitled “Domestic Violence Awareness Merit Program”. This program emphasizes building of self-esteem, identification of positive and negative relationship behaviors, education and awareness of domestic, school, and date violence and community involvement in the prevention of violence.

With the training and support of our community resources, your child’s group leader will guide the age-appropriate activities. The group leader’s role is to help the young people acquire the knowledge and skills they will need to identify and participate in healthy relationships, to strengthen their self-esteem, and to make positive life choices.

We encourage parents to become involved in this program. The materials are available for you to preview. Ask your group leader when it would be appropriate for you to attend training or presentations on these topics. You may wish to follow-up by discussing these issues with your children so that good communication can be maintained at home on these important issues. Your permission is needed for your child to be able to participate in the activities included in this merit program.

Please return the attached response form to your child’s group leader prior to the start of this program.

To obtain a copy of the actual permission form please download and print either the MS Word or Adobe PDF 4 version of this document. To download either document right-click your mouse on the link and choose "Save target as..." to save the file to your disk. Then open it and print it.

Activities

Requirements: The 3 activities marked with asterisks (*) must be completed by all levels. Each level must also complete a specified amount of optional activities.

Amount of Optional Activities to be completed in addition to the starred activities.

Level One (ages 6-8 years)	Level Twos (ages 8-11 years)	Level Three (ages 11-17)
3 activities	4 activities	6 activities

Level One and Above (i.e., all levels)

* Find the definition of domestic violence and discuss what this definition means.
* Find out where someone could go if she/he is a victim of domestic violence.
*Discuss the difference between anger and power/control. How are power and control related to domestic and date violence situations, and in what areas can a person gain control to create a violenct situation, i.e., money, time, relationship, etc.?
Design a poster or display to teach your community about domestic violence. Try to include ways to protect yourself and others. Discuss places where you can display the poster in your neighborhood. If possible, display the poster.
List ways families can get along better, such as talking about a problem instead of using violence.
Do a service project that will benefit victims of domestic violence or your local shelter, i.e., clothing drives, blanket drives, etc.
Obtain or draw a map of your community and locate places that are safe for people to go if they are in a violent situation. Some examples are schools, stores, libraries, etc.
Identify a healthy relationship and a non-healthy relationship. Make a list of the differences.
Develop a safety plan to use in case you find yourself in a violent situation. Make safety cards with a list of phone numbers of people you would contact.
Communicate through role-playing some negative and positive statements. Discuss how you felt.
Complete a "Conflict Journal". For one week write down things that made you angry. What did you do? Brainstorm about some positive ways you can deal with the anger.

Level Two and Above

Invite a speaker to your group from the local domestic violence program to speak about domestic violence. Have her or him discuss what domestic violence is and how to prevent it. Ask the speaker to discuss what options when someone knows of someone who is being abused.
Think of some problems that might occur when people are angry or trying to gain abusive power and control. Write them down on slips of paper. In a group take turns pulling out the slips and think of positive ways to handle each problem.
Play a game of charades. Express different feelings that a person in a domestic violence situation may express. Form two teams and try to guess the feeling being described.
Clip newspaper or magazine articles about domestic violence and share them with your group. Discuss the situations and things you might be able to do to help the person if your knew her or him. Discuss when it is appropriate to try to help and when it would be safer to turn to a trusted adult for help.
Discuss how you can help someone who tells you she or he has been abused.
Teach what you have learned about domestic violence to another group.
Learn what information and what facts are needed to make a domestic violence report (i.e., what happened, when did it happen, who was involved, etc.) Find out who handles domestic violence complaints in your county.
Pretend to be a reporter. Write an article about domestic violence. Submit this article to various publications if you like.

Level Three

Look up the Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Web Site at www.growing.com/nonviolent. Create a list of at least 15 things that you learned about domestic violence at this site. (See Internet note below)
Read a book or watch a movie on domestic violence. Write a short paragraph about the story and bring it back to share with the group.
Learn about Domestic Violence Laws in your State and about the County protocols in a domestic violence case.
Attend a County Domestic Violence Council meeting.
Research a domestic violence case that has been featured in a local newspaper or publication.
Look up the Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Web site at www.growing.com/nonviolent. Read an account of a domestic violence victim. Discuss the actions in the account that would signal the beginning of a domestic violence situation. Discuss how you would handle the situation if you started encountering these actions with someone you knew. Group leaders may have a copy of a domestic violence victim’s account available, or you may check out a library book if you do not have access to the internet.

Internet Note: Please be aware that the website for "The Domestic Violence Project of Santa Clara County" located at www.growing.com/nonviolent is referred to at various points in the activities as a resource for information on domestic, school, and dating violence. This website is a great resource for all interested parties, however, because of the nature of this topic, there are some areas in the website that may be disturbing to children. Leaders are advised to navigate through the website prior to introducing the website to her or his group. It may also be advisable to have an adult be present when children of any level are viewing the website.

Books about Domestic Violence

This list is taken directly from the Domestic Violence Project website: www.growing.com/nonviolent. Your group leaders may want to review this list and make subtractions or additions.

Group Leaders: Please review any book from this list before introducing it to a child. Some books may not be appropriate for younger children.

The printed version of this document contains the entire text of this document. Please go to the top of this page to find download links. To view the booklist now, however, you can link immediately to the original by clicking on the underlined text below. To return to the document you are reading now, use your browser's back arrow.