This page contains information about promoting gender respect in Texas schools.  It also provides information to school staff and students to help them address gender violence, including issues such as sexual harassment, sexual assault, and dating violence – issues that impact an overwhelming number of our students.  As you celebrate National School Safety Week – October 21-27, 2008 – keep in mind that much of the school violence we have seen in Texas schools has gender violence at its roots.  Please click on the appropriate link to get more information about particular topics or programs.  For training regarding these topics, please contact Curtis Clay with the Texas School Safety Center at cc36@txstate.edu.

Click on the requested title link below to jump directly to it, or scroll down:

• Sexual Violence
• Teen Dating Violence
• Student Taking Action for Respect (STAR)
  

Sexual Violence is a major issue facing Texas schools today.  Four out of five students report having experienced sexual harassment at some point in time during their school careers, and more than sixty percent of all victims of sexual assault are under the age of 18.  Sexual harassment and abuse happen everyday in our schools, and the effects of sexual violence can impact victims’ behavior, safety, and school performance.

Click here to learn more about Sexual Violence:
www.taasa.org 

Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention

April is Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Month, an opportunity for schools and communities to take a proactive approach to the issues of sexual violence by raising awareness about it, as well as working to prevent it and to promote gender respect.  March 31 – April 4, 2008 is Green Ribbon Week, an opportunity to focus awareness and prevention efforts on school campuses across Texas.  The Texas Association Against Sexual Assault (TAASA), a TxSSC partner agency, provides a Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Month Packet and Green Ribbon Week Guidebook.  Both are filled with information about sexual violence, and suggested activities that individuals can organize to raise awareness and promote prevention in their own schools and communities. 

Both the 2008 Green Ribbon Week Guidebook and the 2008 Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Month Packet will be available early in 2008.  Below are listed links for the 2007 Guidebook and Packet.

Click here for the 2007 Green Ribbon Week Guidebook:
www.taasa.org/star/pdfs/grw_guidebook07.pdf

To download the 2007 Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Month Packet, click on the following link: www.taasa.org./publications/saapm.php

Teen dating violence effects many Texas youth.  Three out of four 16 to 24 year-olds in Texas have experienced it or know someone who has.  The abuse and violence permeate school halls and the effects of the abuse include risk of serious injury or death, an increase in high-risk behaviors, and declining school performance. 

In acknowledgement of the seriousness of this issue, Governor Perry signed House Bill 121 into law on May 18, 2007. HB 121, effective immediately, mandates that all school districts in Texas adopt and implement a dating violence policy. The Texas Dating Violence Prevention Team, a group of non-profits and government agencies, developed the document linked below by pulling from several national model programs. We hope it will help you to supplement your school district’s new policies by creating a comprehensive dating violence program. A program created using this document would fulfill the requirements of the law by tracking the language of HB 121: including (1) a definition of dating violence, (2) sections on safety planning, (3) enforcement of protective orders, (4) school-based alternatives to protective orders, (5) training for teachers and administrators, (6) counseling for affected students, and (7) awareness education for students and parents/guardians. 

There will be an opportunity for training on developing and implementing a dating violence response at the Texas School Administrators Safety Conference November 12-14, 2007 in Kerrville, Texas and at the Texas Association of School Administrators’ (TASA) Midwinter Conference, January 27-30, 2008 at the Austin Convention Center.

Click here to link to A Guide to Addressing Teen Dating Violence in Texas Schools.

For the third year in a row, the Texas Team is distributing a toolkit containing posters, warning signs, fact sheets, suggestions for classroom activities, videos, brochures and wallet cards as a resource for schools and communities to help them observe National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week February 4-8, 2008.  The kit includes materials from the ABA, CDC, and Liz Claiborne along with some Texas specific materials. We are offering free trainings on how to use the toolkits in Dallas on November 9th or through all 20 Educational Service Centers on November 12th, 2007.

For more information about the guide and the toolkit listed above, please contact Bronwyn Blake with the Texas Advocacy Project at bblake@women-law.org, or 512-225-9579.  To register your school team to attend the above mentioned training and to receive a toolkit, please visit the following website - which is currently under construction, but should be accessible by October 12, 2008:  www.healthyteendating.org

Click here for a downloadable version of the 2007 Teen Dating Violence Prevention Toolkit:
www.governor.state.tx.us/divisions/women/work/violence

Click here for access to the Red Flags Website, a website dedicated to helping young adults develop healthy relationships and recognize the warning signs of relationship abuse:
www.knowtheredflags.com

Click here for information about the legal rights of youth when it comes to issues of dating and sexual violence:
www.myspace.com/teenjusticeinitiative

Choose Respect

Click here for information on Choose Respect, an initiative to help teens form healthy relationships to prevent dating abuse before it happens.   Website allows viewers to download a video and teachers discussion guide for the video.

Students Taking Action for Respect (STAR), a project of the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault (TAASA), is a peer education program designed to empower youth to speak to their peers about sexual violence, dating violence, and other forms of related violence.  Middle and high school students are given the knowledge and leadership training to raise awareness about these forms of violence as they work to change the attitudes and beliefs that lead to violence.  TAASA provides local STAR teams with materials, training, and technical assistance as they work within their communities to increase safety and promote respect and healthy relationships.  The Texas School Safety Center is a long time collaborator with TAASA and the STAR program.  For more information about the STAR program, please visit the website at www.taasa.org/star. 
Each summer TAASA and its partners host a Students Taking Action for Respect Conference to provide training to youth leaders and their sponsors on issues of sexual and dating violence.  Keep your eyes open for the dates for the 2008 Students Taking Action for Respect Conference.