Mayo Children's Initiative

Mayo Children's Initiative has adopted a programme for children and young people called Protective Behaviours (PB).

Protective Behaviours originated in the USA in 1978 as a means of preventing abuse of children. The value of Protective Behaviours was recognised in Australia and is now widely practised. In the UK it was first seen as the real alternative to 'stranger danger' and is now implemented by Children and Adult Services, charities such as Barnardos and other organisations throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Protective Behaviours Process

• Is a practical and down to earth approach to personal safety.
• Encourages self-empowerment and brings with it the skills to avoid being victimised by

- helping to raise self esteem and personal confidence.
- improving communication skills.
- developing problem solving skills.
- empowering people to make appropriate behavioural choices.
- enabling people to feel and keep themselves safe.

Protective Behaviours is built on two core themes -

Everyone has the right to feel safe all the time

and

There is nothing so awful or so small that we cannot talk about it with someone

PB's helps us to:-
Understand what safety feels like
Explore times when it is fun to feel scared
Recognise our early warning signs which tell us when we are not feeling safe
Understand the difference between safe, adventurous and unsafe situations
Develop support networks

Protective Behaviours has many uses :-
PB is useful in addressing issues such as bullying, racism, sexism, ageism, harassment, conflict resolution, abuse of all kinds, helping people realise they have choices, restorative justice, mentoring and healthy schools.

For more information on Protective Behaviours click on www.protectivebehaviours.co.uk

'Schools and youth settings are perfect places to work with children and young people while they form their ideas about relationships. The aim should be to prevent violence from being a feature in their lives, rather than to intervene after the event'
(Silence is not always golden. Tackling Domestic Violence, NUT, 2005)