Helping Kids Help Themselves (Pre-Kindergarten – 2^nd Grade)

HAVEN’s unique curriculum Helping Kids Help Themselves is a sexual abuse prevention program designed to teach children aged approximately 3 to 7 years old about body safety without introducing fear or shame. Helping Kids Help Themselves centers on the video Daisy Tells a Secret, the story of a brave raven named Daisy who discloses a bad touch to her parents. Educators lead guided conversations with kids before and after the video to provide context and takeaway lessons, ensuring that children leave the session feeling empowered and in charge of their own bodies

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Why is it important to teach young children about "unsafe touches?"

• Child sexual abuse remains alarmingly prevalent in the United States, with 1 in 9 girls and 1 in 20 boys experiencing sexual abuse or assault before age 18 (RAINN, 2024).
• Disturbingly, many children never disclose sexual abuse and carry the secret well into adulthood – the mean age of adults disclosing child sexual abuse is between 40 and 50 years old (Alaggia et al., 2019).
• Sexual abuse in childhood is linked to higher risks of PTSD, depression, and substance abuse (RAINN, 2024), highlighting the urgent need to stop abuse before it starts and to interrupt ongoing abuse by encouraging children to disclose.

Gender Respect (3^rd – 5^th Grade)

Gender Respect is a lesson designed for elementary students (approximately 7 to 10 years old) on early sexual harassment and intimate partner violence prevention. The program centers upon the concept of “gender disrespect,” which is used as an age-appropriate placeholder term for “sexual harassment.” The lesson explores how students can practice “gender respect” by being kind to all their classmates and never making fun of someone else’s body, appearance, or interests. The program explores early ideas of gender-based stereotypes and ends with an affirming message that we all want to feel accepted for who we are.

Why is sexual harassment prevention important as early as elementary school?

• Although the vast majority of elementary students are not practicing sexual harassment or intimate partner violence, prevention efforts aim to address some key risk factors of violence before they begin.
• Decades of developmental research show that children understand stereotypes about gender by three years old, and the rigidity of those stereotypes peaks around age 5 (Signorella et al., 1993; Trautner et al. 2005). This often appears in the form of bullying or discrimination based on gender (e.g. “you throw like a girl,” “Boys can’t do gymnastics,” or “you can’t play with us because you’re a girl/boy.”
• Children make sense of the world through categories. This is typical, however research has identified that children who continue to hold rigid beliefs about gender into adolescence are at heightened risk of perpetrating sexual harassment and/or intimate partner violence (Heise 2011; Moore and Stuart 2005; Levtov et al. 2014).
• Teaching lessons that interrupt strict stereotypes and emphasize including everyone allow children to introduce nuance and compassion into their understanding of others.

Skills for Violence Free Relationships (6^th – 12^th Grade)

Beginning in middle school, many adolescents begin showing curiosity about dating and relationships, or may even begin dating. Skills for Violence Free Relationships aims to provide age-appropriate, clear, and evidence-based education to middle and high school students on the prevention of violence as well as how to begin creating healthy, fulfilling relationships. Skills for Violence Free Relationships includes three customizable sections: Dating Violence Prevention, Sexual Harassment Prevention, and Sexual Assault Prevention. Each section has a middle school edition and a high school edition, to ensure age-appropriate content. Every lesson ends with strategies to find help and tips on supporting a friend who might be experiencing harassment, violence, or abuse.

Why talk about intimate partner and sexual violence before teenagers are actually dating?

Prevention research has identified a range of risk factors (aspects of a child’s environment or belief systems linked to risk of perpetration or victimization of violence)

Core Skills & Values is HAVEN's proprietary 24-hour training required of all new staff, volunteers, and interns. Split across three days, Core Skills & Values provides in-depth education on intimate partner violence and sexual assault dynamics, and their respective prevalence and impact on survivors. Participants explore cultural narratives and norms that perpetuate gender-based violence, and skill-build around working with survivors through dynamic and interactive discussions, activities, and role plays.