Workshop on Trauma and Violence Informed Care (TVIC) in Education

The Rwanda Psychological Society (RPS), in collaboration with the Western University, Canada, through the Health Equity Interdisciplinary Development Initiative (HEIDI) programme, held a one-day workshop on Trauma and Violence Informed Care (TVIC) in Education. The workshop aim is to develop a TVIC manual that will be used in training teachers and headteachers on the issue of violence and trauma, and their effect on child behaviours and academic performance. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 40 million children aged below 15 years fall victim to violence each year. The ensuing traumas vary according to the gravity of the violence and the child's personal experience and can, in the long run, have medical and psychosocial consequences.

In Rwanda, a recent study by the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) finds that over 50% of children in Rwanda are victims of sexual, physical, or emotional violence committed in a family setting. https://rwanda.thecompassforsbc.org/sites/default/files/twg_material/f_vcays_rwanda_summary.pdf

 

WHO defines violence to children as child maltreatment in all its forms i.e. physical and/or emotional maltreatment, sexual molestation, abandonment or neglect, commercial and other forms of exploitation, causing actual or potential harm to the health of the child, their survival, their development or their dignity in the context of a relation of responsibility, confidence or power.

It is important that teachers and headteachers are equipped with knowledge and skills that enable them to make the school setting a non-retraumatizing environment. It is also necessary to disseminate the growing literature on the negative effect of violence on child development, child mental health, child behaviours, and child school performance.