Peer-to-Peer Abuse Short Activity: Supervising Riskier Locations

To support you in making peer-to-peer abuse prevention a priority, we’ve prepared a short activity for you to use at your next staff meeting. This activity will ask staff to identify locations where this type of abuse may occur and how they can better supervise these locations.

Please feel free to download this above and print it off.


Supervising Riskier Locations

Time: 15+ minutes

Initial Talking Points:

  • Peer-to-peer abuse can happen anywhere—even with staff in the room, or on camera.
  • There are some common locations that tend to be riskier than others. These are typically where youth think there is less supervision.
  • Some general characteristics of risker locations include areas where there is privacy and/or obstructed views. For example in bathrooms, locker rooms, cabins, playground structures, closets, bus seats, or underwater.
  • During programming in any riskier location, it is critical that youth are supervised so that peer-to-peer abuse cannot occur.

Instructions:

  1. Discuss the initial talking points with your staff and then divide them into two groups.
  2. Have one group form a circle with their backs to each other—this will be the inner circle. Have the other group form a circle around them so that each person is standing facing someone from the inner circle—this will be the outer circle.
  3. Set the timer for 2 minutes. First, have the people in the inner circle identify a riskier location where peer-to-peer abuse may occur at your organization. Challenge them to pick a specific location—for example—not just a bathroom, but the bathroom in Cabin 8.
  4. Once the person in the inner circle has identified a location, have them share it with the person facing them in the outer circle. The person in the outer circle should then work to identify different strategies that they could utilize in that location to make sure all youth are supervised.
  5. Once the pair is done, have them switch roles—the person in the outer circle should identify a location, and the person in the inner circle should brainstorm supervision strategies specific to that location.
  6. After the timer is up, have the person in the outer circle rotate to their left. Reset the timer for 2 minutes and have them repeat the activity with a new partner. Continue having the outer circle rotate positions until they have returned to their original partner.
  7. Once done, facilitate a conversation with your staff. Some sample questions include:
    • What was your biggest takeaway after identifying riskier locations?
    • Why is it important for us to identify riskier locations ahead of programming in these areas?
    • What was your biggest takeaway after identifying supervision strategies?
    • What are some of the challenges/barriers that you face in supervising youth in these riskier locations? How can leadership help support you?