CAP
Children Assault Prevention
We all have the right to be safe
The Child Assault Prevention (CAP) project for children teaches that we all have the right to be safe, strong and free and that assault need not be part of everyday life. CAP prepares children to recognize potentially dangerous situations, while teaching practical skills and strategies to face all situations of abuse: verbal, emotional, physical and sexual.
A young girl told us that she was walking on the street with a friend when a man ran out of his house, yelling at them. When he grabbed the little girl by the arm, she knew that she could hit him in the shin with her foot and when he let her go, she ran all the way home to tell her mother.
CAP also teaches whole communities how to support the safety of children.
One teacher, after having seen the CAP workshop in her classroom, realized that she often resorted to yelling at the children. Her experience with CAP made her question this behaviour and look for alternative ways to maintain discipline.
CAP in school
CAP works with pre-school and elementary school age children as well as adults to create a safer community for all. There are three components to the CAP project:
- Parent program (3 hours)
- School staff workshop (2 hours)
- Children’s workshop (2 hours)
Since 1984 over 98,000 children and 17,500 parents and teachers have received the CAP program.
CAP Publication
A new resource for parents and educators (available only in French):
“How To Prevent the Sexual Abuse of children”.
Confiance, Solidarité, Respect
The Confidence, Solidarity and Respect program was developed for children in grades 5 and 6 who have already received the CAP workshop. It is based on the same philosophy of “empowerment” used in all programs at the Centre. Working from the ideas initiated in CAP – ESPACE, the workshop focuses on other social situations and other places where children may suffer or commit certain types of assault. We try to motivate the children to help in the prevention of assault by raising awareness of the power they can exercise to counter aggression in their communities and instil them with values that will guide their actions to reduce aggression.
After one such workshop, a teacher told us that one of the girls came to class wearing a new hearing aid and that one boy started teasing her. She was surprised and very pleased when the other children banded together to tell the boy to stop hurting the girl, that this was not okay. The boy stopped. This was a direct result of the discussion earlier around the importance of solidarity.
Since its inception in 2002 Confidence, Solidarity and Respect has been offered to over 2,500 students.
Workshop on Positive Discipline
With our Workshop on Positive Discipline the MAPC asks parents and those responsible for children to reflect on how and why we apply discipline in our families, schools and other places. The goal of the workshop is to develop practical tools for the use of discipline and to prevent situations where its application may prove ineffective or harmful for the development of the child. The workshop guides adults in the acquisition of skills to aid in the development of a positive and harmonious relationship between them and children.
- WHAT is discipline?
- WHY and WHEN do we use discipline?
- WHAT KIND of discipline do we use?
- What are the Consequences of discipline on the development of the child?
- What are the Consequences on the relationships between adults and Children?
The workshop lasts 2 hours and is open to: parents, caregivers, teachers, coaches and all those responsible for children.