Youth Groups Program

We run workshops in youth-based community organisations, youth services and residential care services focused on a variety of topics exploring respectful relationships, gender, sex and sexuality, family and intimate partner violence, supporting people, as well as strategies and healing for people who have experienced harm. Workshops empower participants to think critically, challenge violence-enabling attitudes and develop skills for respectful and supportive relationships. Our workshops are available for young people between the ages of 15 and 25, with workshop content that can be catered to participants outside of this age range. 

Research shows that education programs are more effective in changing attitudes, beliefs and behaviours when they run for multiple sessions. Our facilitators also prefer multiple session workshops as this gives space for participants to develop deeper critical thinking skills, and we have found that young people enjoy the opportunity to talk in depth about the topic areas. Multi-session workshops are designed to cover topics from both our respectful relationships and our specific sex education workshops (more information below). We recognise that it can be hard to find time to incorporate multiple workshops into an existing program and we are able to adapt our workshops to fit into the time you have available. At minimum our workshops run for 90 minutes. 

We design workshops to respond to the needs of individual organisations, services and participants. We will work with your organisation to determine which topics we will cover to respond to your specific aims. We take into account the length of the workshops and the age of participants and will build on related content that programs may have already explored. We recognise organisations often provide a variety of programs for young people, that involve different teams, across multiple sites and we will work with your organisation to determine specific requirements for each workshop. 

Facilitators present information for discussion and run a series of interactive activities with the aim of enabling young people to use their own experiences and knowledge to explore the complexities surrounding violence, sex and relationships. Undercurrent workshops can be useful in introducing ideas that participants often appreciate discussing with people from outside the context of the services they currently access.

We generally run mixed gender workshops for young people aged 15-25. Where gendered workshops are arranged we can also offer specific workshops for young people who are LGBTIQ+, which we can run at the same time or at another venue and date. We acknowledge that many young people are transgender or non-binary, and may not feel that workshops which are separated into young women and young men are appropriate for them. We are happy to discuss with you the most appropriate structure for your service. Please also see the LGBTIQ+ program that we offer.

We acknowledge that many young people have experienced violence, including sexual violence, and that many young people grow up with violence in the home. We are skilled and caring in our approach to supporting participants who have experienced violence, including when experiences are shared in a workshop.

Feedback is collected from participants and workers after each workshop to allow us to continue developing and updating workshop activities. We send a copy of the feedback to the organisation after all the workshops are completed.

We also offer professional development for youth workers.

Some of the topics that we can cover include:

  • Respectful relationships

  • Relationship skills: negotiating boundaries, communication strategies, expectations and assumptions

  • Mapping an understanding of family violence and sexual assault

  • Violence in LGBTIQ+ relationships

  • Causes of family violence and challenging violence-enabling attitudes

  • Myths about relationship violence and sexual assault

  • Power and control in both friendships and intimate partner relationships

  • Recognising and responding to situations of violence or intimidation

  • Where to seek help: resources for those who have experienced or are experiencing violence

  • Healing and supporting people who have experienced harm

  • Exploring myths and assumptions about gender, relationships and sex and their impact

  • Exploring gender and challenging rigid gender binaries

  • Exploring what young women think it means to be a woman: limitations and possibilities, challenging gendered stereotypes

  • Exploring what young men think it means to be a man: limitations, possibilities, challenging gendered stereotypes and discussing positive masculinities

  • Sexual harassment and attitudes towards women in the community, at school and in the media

  • Bullying and social violence, including racism and homophobia

  • Empowerment and self-respect

  • Body image

  • Sexual respect, consent and communication

Sex Education Workshops

Undercurrent facilitates sex education workshops that aim to fill the gaps in contemporary sex education. The workshops feature interactive activities to engage young people and get them thinking critically about where their pre-existing knowledge about sex comes from. The workshops seek not only to provide accurate information about sexual health, but also to nurture positive and self-affirming attitudes toward sex. Crucially, these workshops stress young peoples sexual autonomy, challenge rigid gender expectations and operate within an intersectional feminist framework.

Our workshops are run by facilitators with a variety of different life experiences who young people can often relate to. Participants often acknowledge feeling more able to have honest and open discussions around sex, consent and sexual health and to ask questions they may not always feel comfortable asking. We aim to give young people the tools to explore their own ideas in a positive and non-judgemental space. The workshops aim to demystify sex and empower participants to approach their sex lives with knowledge and agency.

Content around sex education can be covered in a dedicated workshop or incorporated into our respectful relationships workshops. Get in touch if you would like us to tailor a workshop to the needs of your organisation and participants. 


Some of the topics that we can cover include:

  • What is sex? Where do we learn about sex? Attitudes around sex and sexuality

  • Relationships with sex, body image and popular culture

  • An expansive discussion of pornography

  • Positive sexual relationships and boundaries

  • Sex and communication

  • Sexual respect and consent: realities, challenges, and empowerment in sexual decision making and respectful sexual choices

  • Sexual coercion

  • Deconstructing gender

  • Sexual health and contraception

  • Resources and support services

  • Sexuality: queer, lesbian, gay, bi and other sexualities

  • Body image, sex and sexuality

Feedback we received from our workshops:

This workshop…

  • “Helped me feel less ashamed about wanting to talk openly about these topics”

  • “Gave a proper insight to the real world e.g. cons, services, seeking help services”

  • “Allowed me to reflect and think about relationships and what I want”

  • “Helps with how to approach situations and makes things easier to talk about”

In the workshop I found useful…

  • “I feel like I have learnt more about supporting survivors and helping me break down ideas around relationships”

  • “I learnt a lot about respectful relationships”

  • “I got to learn how to see things from different perspectives”

  • “We all learnt new things about how to help people who experience violence”

  • “Small group discussion. It allowed for everyone to express their own ideas”

  • “I think you are an amazing group and I wasn’t shy to share everything with you. You engaged with us”

  • “Gave me a better understanding of how to be there for a friend in need/talk to”

  • “There was no judgement with anything talked about”

Cost:

Free or by donation.