Principled action by young people: R4Respect

Abstract

There is an international movement promoting youth participation models and principles to empower more young people to be active in positive social change. To counter the prevalence of domestic violence, young people are more often targets of change rather than the instigators. Primary prevention of domestic violence is being pursued through gender-based respectful relationships education with young people. Generally, these programs are delivered using conventional adult educator models. In this study, the first year of activity of an emerging youth-led program for delivering respectful relationships education (R4Respect) is evaluated through the views of the young participants, aged from sixteen to twenty-four years, and non-participant adult stakeholders. The development of the model was guided by Good Practice Principles for Youth Development (Seymour 2012). The program is assessed using the Tiffany–Eckenrode Program Participation Scale (TEPPS) (Tiffany et al. 2012). For this article, the major themes of the study were reviewed to identify those most relevant to the Good Practice Principles. The study affirms the importance of these principles to building a participatory model in which young people feel valued and supported. Increased funding, capacity, and greater clarity and fairness in roles and responsibilities among the youth participants are suggested as program improvements.