Our VAWG workshops
Violence Against Women and Girls disproportionately affects women and girls and includes domestic abuse, sexual assault, female genital mutilation (FGM), forced marriage, harassment, stalking, exploitation, trafficking, and online abuse.
During the Spring term of 2025 we have delivered a series of workshops to girls from the age of 12 upwards at Shirley High School in East Croydon to raise awareness, educate and advise of this important topic.
To see the IMPACT of this work click here.
Our objective will be to create a talking head or short drama from our workshop stories.
Participants specifically learn:
1 What violence against women and girls is, including bullying and online harassment.
- Understand how violence impacts the feelings, confidence, and school life of the victims.
- Learn how to understand and support other girls going through tough times.
- Understand the importance of treating everyone with kindness, both in person and online.
- Learn how to safely stand up for others and get help if you witness harm.
2 What is Consent, why it matters and Clare's Law:
- Understanding and respecting boundaries.
- Understanding how consent is affected by the Law
- The risks of sharing and receiving sexual images online
- Recognising healthy vs. unhealthy relationships
- Consent in friendships, relationships & social settings
With workshops additionally helping the girls to:
- Understand Violence: Learn what VAWG is and how it can happen, including the different forms like bullying and online harassment.
- Recognise the Impact: Discover how violence and bullying affects feelings of others, including confidence and school life.
- Build Empathy: Learn to understand and feel for women and girls who might be going through tough times because of violence or bullying.
- Promote Respect: Understand the importance of treating women and girls with kindness and respect - in person and online.
- Become an Upstander: Learn how to safely stand up for women and girls and seek help when you see anyone being hurt or bullied.
- Boost Self-Esteem: Gain tools to support with building yours and women and girls’ confidence and self-esteem, even when faced with challenges.
- Stay Safe Online: Learn how to protect yourself and women and girls from cyberbullying and ensure that all online interactions are positive.
- Know How to Get Help: Understand where and how to get support if you or someone you know is experiencing violence or bullying due to their gender.
VAWG is an important topic to cover to;
- Protect Well-Being: Understanding violence against women and girls is crucial for protecting the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of everyone within our community.
- Promote Respect: Learning about this topic helps us create a culture of respect and kindness, where women and girls feels safe and valued.
- Prevent Harm: By recognising and addressing violence early, we can prevent further harm, including the negative effects on self-esteem, school performance, and relationships.
- Empower people to Make a Difference: This knowledge empowers everyone to stand up for women and girls, making schools and communities a safer and more supportive place.
- Build a Supportive Environment: Awareness helps us all contribute to a positive, inclusive environment where violence against women and girls is not tolerated.
Our Knife Crime Campaigns
Our work against knife crime began in 2023 with our "Lives not Knives" campaign.
This saw the delivery of a series of Knife-Related Restorative workshops for young people in London and culminated in the production of Kofi's Story - a performative narrative whose trailer can be viewed here and full narrative viewed here.
Kofi's story can now be utilised by schools and other organisations with an informative talk by one of our team to raise awareness amongst the wider audience.
Knife crime remains a pressing issue and our 2025 campaign is "Bluntly Put".
With a belief that education is key to prevention, we will deliver fully funded Knife & Offensive Weapons Awareness workshops to secondary schools across Kent that are committed to tackling this issue and making a real difference in their communities.
Delivered by our experienced facilitator with a background in youth work and crime prevention, these engaging, interactive workshops sessions include real-life case studies and discussions with engaging activities to encourage critical thinking and will equip students with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to make positive choices, avoid risky situations, and understand the real-life consequences of knife crime.
We have limited funding but are inviting school leaders, safeguarding leads, or educators in Kent to contact us if they would like to secure a free workshop for their students.
Our Premiere Event
“Kofi’s Story”, Kent Opera's dramatic tale of a young person caught up in knife crime, premiered in December last year at The Prince’s Trust South London Headquarters, in front of an invited audience, which included Neve Conlan who had directed and produced the film.
Kent Opera’s chair, Robert Lacey, welcomed guests before the preview, after which he was joined on stage by David Williams, our Musical Director. David works directly with young people at risk to deliver our knife crime-related workshops, and he spoke passionately about his work and its positive impact.
Jack Rowlands, Superintendent in the Metropolitan Police, then gave his perspective into the scale and seriousness of knife crime in London — and the importance of early intervention such as ours.
Kate Ruby, a board member who herself is heavily involved in youth support and rehabilitation, closed the evening with an invitation for people to help fund our 2024 campaign “Bluntly Put”. This will engage with more young people who are at risk, through a number of planned workshops.
Carol singers added a festive feel to an insightful and very enjoyable evening. To find out more about our work and how you can support us, please contact info@kentopera.org
Kofi's story - an educational talk
Kofi’s Story — Kent Opera's real-life dramatisation of a young man caught up in knife crime — premiered at an event hosted by The Prince’s Trust just before Christmas 2023.
The enactment of the true story, which was directed and recorded by film student Neve Conlan, was the culmination of our 2023 campaign “Lives Not Knives” to fight weapons with words.
Our campaign objective was twofold – to work directly with young people who were at risk, and to utilise their experiences in a way that would inform others.
Holding regular knife crime-related workshops throughout the year, we worked one-to-one with young people who were involved — or in danger of being involved — in knife crime. Whilst supporting and helping them to find a positive way forward, Kent Opera captures their stories, which we craft into performative narratives.
Kofi’s Story (previewed here) is our first dramatisation of a true story. As we work to create more this year with our 2024 Campaign “Bluntly Put”, we are keen to share Kofi’s experience with a wider audience to educate others on the dangers of carrying a weapon.
Kofi's Story
Our short film is the culmination of our 2023 Campaign — 'Lives not Knives'.
The drama tells the real life story of a young man caught up in knife crime — and how two lives were lost in one day. Acted by William Barnor, ‘Kofi’s Story’ was directed by film student Neve Conlan, and edited by Danylo Borodai, a young Ukrainian recently arrived in London.
‘Kofi’s Story' was unveiled at a ceremony on Tuesday 19 December 2023 at the Prince’s Trust, London, before being distributed in schools and youth centres to educate young people on the dangers of carrying a knife.
You can view Kofi's story by clicking here
