How to educate in equality to prevent gender violence

My daughter is in the middle of adolescence and one of these days I heard her talking to a friend on the phone, lamenting about something that had happened to her friend. When they finished their conversation, she came to me scared, she hugged me and said: 'Mom, Maria's mother has died and it was he

My daughter is in the middle of adolescence and one of these days I heard her talking to a friend on the phone, lamenting about something that had happened to her friend. When they finished their conversation, she came to me scared, she hugged me and said: 'Mom, Maria's mother has died and it was her boyfriend who killed her'. Ufffff ... at this moment I thought 'why, in the times we live, do I have to talk to my little girl about that?' On the other hand, I was overwhelmed by the pain of what happened.

Project to educate in the equality of sexes

After the bad drink, I took advantage of the situation to talk with my girl, make her understand that this is not right and that there are ways to prevent violence. And it turns out that there is a project ('School of Philosophers') developed by the BrainsCollege, in collaboration with the Women's Institute, to educate on gender equality, as a way to prevent violence. The project is aimed at students of different ages, from 5 to 12 years old.

The project suggests a decalogue of practices that can be used to educate the youngest in equivalence and avoid violence:

1. Observe and listen to children. Stop to listen to what concepts they handle regarding genres and what attitudes they have when they relate to their peers, to know what we are facing.

2.Destroying prejudices among children. When they say something categorically, they have to answer with a question: why? When trying to reason prejudice, it ends up self-destructing.

3.Polish the valid ideas held by the children. We must adjust their affirmations and their behaviors. Furthermore, we must make them understand that generalizations are misleading.

4.Involve children in household chores. Assign responsibilities or daily activities that have traditionally been considered "women's things" or "men's things".

5.Share the information (of the school, the work environment, the media ...). Put in common the information that reaches our homes. This generates, first, a habit of conversation, a daily meeting point for the members of the family. In addition, contrasting the opinions of all invites attentive listening and nourishes the critical capacity. It helps us understand how they are, what they see, what they think and how they feel.

6.Be brave and understand our own limitations in terms of gender. We have been educated in a society that, just like today, intended to assign a role to each sex. We have to relearn some macho habits, and for that we have to look at ourselves with a critical eye.

7.Limit children's access to harmful stimuli. Design a sensible access to television content and tutor it. We must ensure that the moment of television is shared with us, and we have to answer any questions that may arise regarding what they are seeing, including the "uncomfortable" questions about sexuality or relationships between men and women.

8.Play with the children the universal games. The traditional games shared by boys and girls, games that do not need tools or defined roles. We think, for example, in the handkerchief, the blind hen, the rescue ..., basically fun encounters that do not understand genres or go out of style.

9.Setting an example for children is essential. They observe us as avid spectators, repeat our words and imitate our behaviors. See how we relate to them, to our partner, to ourselves, to the family environment and to society. Behavioral patterns are inherited, and it is not easy to get away from this family influence. Avoid roles, topics, common places regarding gender, and let them create their own opinions with respect and empathy for the different.

10.Monitor and keep in mind that the path of learning is not over. We do not settle, or fall into the "great" To teach habits, we must learn to be, as Aristotle said, our best possible version. That is happiness. And to achieve it we have to unlearn, criticize, see and understand the reality of our environment and change what does not work. And today, the role that has been assigned to women does not work, and it is up to us to amend it. This is a unique opportunity to definitely change things.