AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION
- Vernice Shostal
- Jan 13
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 13
Recognizing that globally, gender-based violence is the most pervasive and least recognized human rights violation, Zonta International Strategies to End Violence Against Women (ZISVAW) works in partnership with UN agencies and regional and local organizations toward ending this injustice.
Locally, the Zonta Club of Victoria collaborates with several community groups to achieve this goal.
One such group is the Rock Solid WITS Foundation.
Rock Solid WITS, initiated by school police liaison Corporal Tom Woods and a group of local athletes and law enforcement officers, teaches nonviolent conflict resolution to children from kindergarten to Grade 3. Whether dealing with physical, verbal or cyber bullying, teaching young children strategies in nonviolent conflict resolutions is a good place to start.
In 1997, Corporal Woods partnered with Lampson Street Elementary School principal Judi Stevenson to develop WITS, four simple conflict-resolution strategies:
WALK AWAY . IGNORE . TALK IT OUT . SEEK HELP .
In 1998, Zonta Club of Victoria president Carole Didier, a local retail business owner, together with Zonta International public relations representative Leta Best, a notary public in Victoria, applied for a Rock Solid grant from Zonta International.
The grant from the international foundation was allocated to fund conflict resolution training for children to create violence-free relationships. The Zonta Club of Victoria was the only Canadian club and one of 11 in the world to receive the one-time, $26,000 grant from the international organization.
Financially supported by several agencies, including Zonta, the Rock Solid WITS program, designed to address violence and bullying in school, was launched.
Rock Solid teaches a simple way to deal with peer conflict. Police in uniform “deputize” students as “special constables” who promise to use their WITS at school and at home. The police visit the school regularly to reinforce the message. After the formal swearing in, the officers visit the school every couple of weeks to touch base with the students and to leave them with little gifts: pencils, decals or transfers, all with the WITS logo and image of WITS UP, the walrus mascot.
In school, teachers read stories to students and ask them how they would apply the WITS formula to help the hero or heroine avoid a confrontational situation.
Originally introduced in Victoria in 1997, the Rock Solid WITS program, teaching children to “use their WITS” because it is not cool to be a bully, is now established in over 150 schools across Canada and the U.S.
By Vernice Shostal . First Published in Island Gals Magazine . 2011 . Volume 1 . Issue 4
