The Sexual Assault Crisis Center is committed to ending sexual violence through outreach efforts and public awareness activities. To that end, we provide community prevention and education programs, at no cost, to schools, professionals and the public. Our programs involve multidimensional presentations and are provided in both English and Spanish.

Our Community Educators will gladly work with your school or group to modify our curricula to meet the needs of your targeted population. We encourage you to contact us for additional information regarding our programs.

Programs For Children

It's Okay To Say No! Safe Touch Program
As part of the Personal Safety curriculum, preschool and elementary students are made aware of "body ownership" and provided with the tools necessary to enable them to follow the "say 'no' - run - tell" rule. The format includes visual aids, questions and answers, and encourages the students to share their existing knowledge.

Bullying Prevention Program
Students are taught the 'who', 'what', 'when', 'where', and 'why' of bullying. The elementary school curriculum employs a variety of visual aids. The middle and high school curricula utilize peer interaction through brainstorming sessions among the students, encouraging students to create solutions to bullying situations and safe ways in which to report bullying. Both curricula stress victim empathy and prevention.

Dating And Acquaintance Violence Prevention
This program is designed for middle school, high school and college age students. Definitions of the topic are presented, along with the common myths, misconceptions and facts surrounding this type of violence. Students are provided with information regarding date rape drugs, laws regarding statutory rape, personal responsibility, and their own vulnerabilities. This program encourages discussion and brainstorming about prevention and self-protection, and raises awareness of risk- taking behavior. The program often elicits energetic debate among the students, which is an effective learning tool for this population.

Stopping Sexual Harassment
Designed for Middle, high school and college students, this program provides specific and current information regarding federal and state sexual harassment laws, and teaches students how to identify harassing behavior. Students are made aware of their own potentially inappropriate behavior and the potential consequences and creates awareness solution for victims. Emphasis is placed on individual perception and sensitivity, and how that translates to 'flirting' and 'joking' behaviors.

Self Esteem And Body Image
This program targets middle and high school students. Multimedia and real life examples are put to use to demonstrate to students how self-esteem and body image direct the lives of young people. Highlights include discussions of the influence of media, plastic surgery and eating disorders. This is a discussion driven program.

Self Esteem and Healthy Relationships
Through a grant awarded by the Women and Girls Fund of the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut, the aforementioned program is offered with the added component of healthy relationships. This program is offered to small groups (ten to fifteen participants) of high risk female students, and is designed to assist girls in positive decision making, and the avoidance of high risk choices with harmful consequences.

Healthy Relationships
This program is offered to middle, high school and college students. Students learn about and explore the dynamics of healthy relationships, including dating relationships. Also addressed are the symptoms and subtle warning signs of unhealthy and harmful relationships. Highlights of the program include discussions of power and control, 'fighting' fairly, and healthy breakups.

Statutory Rape: What You Should Know
The goal of this program, designed for high school students, is to inform students (and community residents) about the laws regarding statutory rape and the age of consent in Connecticut. The program also acquaints participants with Connecticut's version of Megan's Law, and the sex offender registry.

Programs For Parents And Professionals

Talking To Children About Safe Touch
This program provides parents and professionals with tools to assist them in engaging children in conversations about topics which many adults find uncomfortable. The program provides participants with information regarding child sexual assault and abuse, the 'red flag' warning signs of abuse, and guidelines regarding how best to respond to a child's disclosure of sexual abuse.

Bullying Prevention
This multimedia program provides participants with general information regarding the dynamics of bullying and bullying situations. The program instructs participants in the identification of warning signs and symptoms of both victimization and perpetration, and offers suggestions regarding communicating with children about these issues.

Sexual Harassment
This program is designed to provide participants with the legal definitions of sexual harassment and the identification of harassing behavior. The program also provides information regarding recourse for victims. This program is typically tailored to a specific audience, as requested, such as management, employees or concerned parents.