Participation
We believe that:
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Young women are experts of their own lives.
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Young women have innate resources, competence and resilience.
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People affected by a problem are best placed to find the solutions.
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We must shift traditional power hierarchies in service delivery in order to enable young women's participation in solution building.
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We must support young women to have their voices heard in order that they can influence the design and delivery of services.
We therefore adopt:
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Youth work principles
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Participation principles
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Solution focused brief therapy techniques
Youth work principles
In our approach we:
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Work ‘alongside’ young women
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Start from where they are and be led by their “felt needs”
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Respect their empirical knowledge of their own lives
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Encourage them to develop a “critical consciousness” of their worlds, their experiences, and how they are affected by these
Participation principles
In our approach we:
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Work in a non-hierarchical way
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Challenge unequal dynamics power & oppression
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Tip the balance of power in favour of young women
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Ensure young women inform future practice and services
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Recognise that young women are best placed to identify issues and solutions
Solution focused brief therapy techniques
In our approach we:
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Work to the young woman’s ‘best hopes’ or desired outcomes
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Engage with competence
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Look for alternative narratives of her and her life where she has previously demonstrated competence
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Obtain detailed descriptions of what life will be like when changes are made
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Trust the young woman’s ‘version of events’
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Are interested in the young woman and not the problem
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Develop techniques to understand and strategise around big and sometimes ‘unmanageable’ feelings