“The training we received was clear, engaging and sensitive”
In January/February 2018, we toured Charlene James’ play “Cuttin’ it” to secondary schools across London and Birmingham. The aim of this tour was not only to raise awareness of female genital mutilation (FGM), but it also encouraged young people to be advocates against violence towards women and girls and to explore the pressures around sex and relationships that teenagers experience.
Having previously had links with Solace, I wanted to work with them to support and educate our team with all of the facts and figures around FGM. They also supported us in writing the workshop material, as I knew they had run workshops around FGM with children and young people before.
I learned a great deal from the training. We felt completely supported, comfortable and that we could ask any questions. We took away several useful exercises to use in our workshops – it was a real surprise when we discovered that there is often very little sex education in schools.
Since the training, and the brilliant support from Solace, we felt very confident delivering workshops on the topic of FGM. We felt well equipped to deal with any questions, difficult situations or disclosures in the room.
We gained the confidence to share information and pathways to further research. This training meant we could reach almost 2000 students in London and Birmingham with thorough knowledge that supported their experience of the arts.
Solace’s training is extremely important and very useful for those working in youth and community settings. Although we felt we already had good knowledge of the subject matter, the training ensured our understanding was more in depth and we felt confident to discuss topics that can sometimes be difficult to approach.
Romana Flello, Young Court Manager at the Royal Court Theatre