Askwith Essentials: Promoting Healthy Relationships

On Tuesday, April 4, the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Making Caring Common (MCC) Project and Game Change: The Patriots Anti-Violence Partnership will hold an Askwith Forums panel to examine the state of sexual violence in schools and explore how both public and private actors are working to encourage a freer and safer educational sphere. This forum comes in advance of the forthcoming spring release of MCC’s report on sexual harassment and misogyny.

Sexual Misconduct is Common in Schools

• An American Association of University Women study found that nearly half of all students — 52 percent of girls and 35 percent of boys — say they have experienced sexual harassment at school
• Educators must also support students who experience sexual violence outside school:
  • 30 percent of female rape victims are first raped between the ages of 11–17
  • At least 1 in 5 high school women and 1 in 10 high school men experience dating violence
• While at least 1 in 5 women in college report experiencing some form of sexual assault, campuses often underreport these incidents

Game Change: The Patriots Anti-Violence Partnership

• Game Change is a partnership between the Massachusetts Attorney General and the New England Patriots that has trained students and faculty at 90 Massachusetts high schools in strategies to prevent sexual violence
• The partnership’s upcoming phase will focus on training students to become peer educators in anti-violence strategies

Panelists:

• Nicole Daley, program director, Start Strong Boston, Division of Violence Prevention, Boston Public Health Commission
• Mynaja Ferguson, senior, Boston Latin Academy
• Justine Fonte, director of health and wellness, The Dalton School, New York
• Robert Kraft, founder, chairman and CEO, the Kraft Group; owner, New England Patriots
• Josh Kraft, Ed.M.’93, president, New England Patriots Charitable Foundation; Nicholas President and CEO, Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston

Opening remarks: Robert Kraft

Moderator: Richard Weissbourd, Ed.D.’87, senior lecturer on education and director of the Making Caring Common project, HGSE

Introduction: James Ryan, dean and Charles William Eliot Professor, HGSE