Culture, ethos and environment

Creating a safe and supportive environment

For participants

Creating a safe and supportive environment

For participants

Creating a safe and supportive environment for participants to meaningfully engage in discussions about sexual and reproductive health and FGM/C is important for the success of the program. Ways in which such an environment can be promoted include:

  • Establishing a group agreement at the start of the program and referring back to it at the beginning of each session
  • Discussing confidentiality and the importance of maintaining this throughout the program
  • Building trust with participants by being non-judgemental
  • Involving interpreters in interactive activities if participants are comfortable with this
  • Introducing the topic of FGM/C sensitively to assess participants’ interest in exploring the topic further. The choice to further discuss the topic of FGM/C should be prompted by the participants’

For the facilitator

The facilitator can undertake the following activities to support the creation of a safe and supportive learning environment:

  • Reflect on their own beliefs and potential biases around FGM/C
  • Become familiar with the project content
  • Have a non-judgemental approach
  • Consider co-facilitation if it is the first time facilitating the project
  • Factor in time for co-facilitators to debrief or identify a support person to debrief with if it is facilitated by one person

The question box

Throughout the program, an anonymous question box is made available to give participants an opportunity to ask questions that they might not feel comfortable asking in front of the whole group. To encourage discussion, the facilitator will read out questions from the previous day and then ask the group for their responses. After participants have had an opportunity to contribute to the discussion, it is important that the facilitator provides an answer to the question to ensure that information is accurately conveyed and any myths are dispelled.