Museums, Non-Formal Education and Gender Based Violence

So my blogging has been lacking for a while - mostly because I returned from Rio to face the reality of just over 2 months in which to write my Master's dissertation. But my work in Rio, and at previous UN events for WAGGGS has come in really handy as I have been writing about museums as a form of non-formal education and how they can work on the social justice issue of gender based violence.

I hope to publish the dissertation in it's entirety on this site once it's been marked - so look forward to that - but it has got me thinking about the relationship between formal, non-formal and informal education and why the latter two might be better mediums for tackling the issue of gender based violence.

Within my dissertation I've included a chapter on what non-formal education providers beyond the museum sector are doing on the issue - citing WAGGGS, AVA and UN Women as examples. And, actually, it was easier to find examples of non-formal projects than where it's tackled within the formal curriculum.

Comprehensive sex and relationship education is not compulsory in England beyond the biological facts which form part of the science curriculum. The government itself approached the issue of teenage relationship abuse through non-formal and informal methods rather than using schools to transmit the messages. You can see this powerful campaign at http://thisisabuse.direct.gov.uk
 
I figure it's because the causes of violence are rooted in social values - and these are more directly worked on with the population at large when you use non-formal and informal methods. Formal education only reaches those currently aged under 18, and gender based violence is most prevalent in the 18-24 age group.

Anyway, the main conclusion that I reach is that non-formal education providers, including museums can have a significat impact when working on social justice issues and the imperative is there for them to engage.