points on sensitive questions.
Read out loud the first statement and ask the participants to take a decision and move to the wall with the sign “Agree” or ”Disagree”. You can also leave the middle for those who cannot decide.
Depending on the group size and other factors, ask all participants or only a few from each group to explain why they have chosen this opinion and to justify it. Acknowledge that some participants might have strong feelings and attitudes about sexual orientation. Emphasize that it is important to be aware of personal attitudes because these can influence our attitude and behaviour towards prisoners. If participants make very discriminative or aggressive statements, acknowledge that everyone can have their own opinions, but expressing them this way can be offensive to others and even unprofes- sional. If this occurs, the facilitator needs to be ready to respond sensitively with explanations of why such views are problematic.
After having discussed the chosen statements, participants can return to their seats and the facilitator can close the exercise with a group discussion on the most controversial points, how to explain one‘s own opinions, how acceptable the arguments of others are and how personal beliefs influence profes- sional roles.
Activity: Vocabulary on sexuality
25 minutes
Materials needed:
Flipchart, marker, “Vocabulary on sexuality” (Annex 18), small cards with sexuality terms
Method:
Prepare small cards with the specific vocabulary and distribute them among the participants. Add fur- ther terms if needed.
Allow a few minutes for the participants to prepare their own definition of the term.
Read the terms out loud one after the other, and ask participants about their definitions. Add informa- tion or explain where necessary to fill gaps in understanding. Respond to discriminative comments appropriately.
Activity: Condoms in prison
30 minutes
Materials needed: Flipchart, marker Method:
Ask the participants to think about the term ”safer sex“ and encourage a group discussion. Write down on a flipchart the main points. You need to keep in mind that the main idea is to encourage condom distribution in prison – so emphasize participants’ points that focus on the idea that safer sex protects from the spread of infectious diseases. Also emphasise where participants mention protection from unwanted pregnancy, safety from violence or other associations with safer sex. All of these can be used for further discussion regarding sex in prisons.
Next, divide the participants into two groups. Provide each group with a flipchart and markers. Ask the first group to brainstorm on the question:
“Why do people use condoms – positive aspects“ the second group should do the same with the question: ”Why do people not use condoms – negative aspects“. Ask the groups to present their results.
After having presented the results, ask the first group to brainstorm on the question ”Why should con- doms be distributed in prison? What could be the benefits? In which way could condoms be distrib- uted?“
and ask the second group:
”Why should condoms not be distributed in prisons? What could be the threats?“
A concluding discussion can help participants to understand personal and professional attitudes about condoms and the possibilities of introducing them in harm reduction measures in their workplaces.
Conclusion (questions and comments)
Total time required: 10 minutesEvaluation
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3.9
3.9
COOPERATION WITH NGOs
Target audience:
10-12 prison staff (multidisciplinary team: treatment staff and key security staff) Total time required:
100 minutes
Materials needed: x Flipchart
x Markers in various colours
x List of local NGOs (or local branches of national or international NGOs) working in the areas: HIV/AIDS, drugs, human rights, probation etc.
For this module, no PowerPoint presentation is needed.
Objectives:
x To raise awareness of prison staff on civil society, its organization and benefits of cooperation with them.
x To develop cooperation skills to allow prison staff to involve civil society organizations in harm reduction work.
x To identify areas of common interest for prison staff and NGOs. Learning outcomes:
By the end of this session, participants will x recognize non-governmental organisations,
x be able to identify areas of possible cooperation with NGOs in reaching common goals, x be aware of benefits and challenges of this cooperation.
Participants will be aware that cooperation with NGOs is possible and can contribute to harm re- duction related to drug use in prison.
Activities:
Icebreaker (20 minutes)
Structured discussion on cooperation with NGOs (60 minutes) Conclusion (questions and comments) (10 minutes)
Evaluation (10 minutes)
Resources:
Hoover, J. & Jurgens R. (2009). Harm reduction in prison: the Moldova Model. New York: Open Soci- ety Institute. Retrieved September 9, 2009, from
http://www.soros.org/initiatives/health/focus/ihrd/articles_publications/publications/moldova_20090720
WHO (2006). Report of the WHO European Region Planning and Technical Consultation on working with civil society to scale up access to HIV prevention, treatment and care. Report on meeting held in Berlin, Germany, 5-7 October 2005. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe. Retrieved Sep- tember 1, 2009, from
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3.9
Introduction
)
The following introduction to the module is meant for the trainer, giving a short overview on general background information on the topic.Non-governmental organisations play an important role in harm reduction work in prison. NGOs iden- tify problems, raise the issue on the political agenda and provide services and advocate, facilitate, initiate and implement many different changes. In most cases, NGOs work in rather narrow, focussed areas. This facilitates reaching individuals at a grass-roots level.
Cooperation with NGOs in the prison setting is challenging as it combines two totally different sys- tems: the prison – a closed, restrictive system and NGOs - with a rather flexible, open, informal type of organisational structure.
Due to legal and cultural differences, current cooperation between NGOs and prisons differs from country to country. In each country the extent and kind of cooperation possible needs to be assessed. The NGOs vary in terms of their mission, strategies of reaching their goals, their size, area of work, number of employees, professional experience etc. Therefore, each prison should establish a frame- work for cooperation, which can take advantage of the opportunities provided by NGOs in tackling problems.
During the session, the main topics to be discussed are: x The nature of an NGO
x What NGOs should know about the prison system to cooperate successfully x How the prison system can develop cooperation with NGOs
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3.9
Icebreaker
Total time required: 20 minutes