Girls – Flip the Script with EAAA®

What We Know - The Challenge:

Teen girls are at a higher-than-average risk of sexual violence.

50% of young women who experience attempted or completed rape are 18 or under at the time of the assault
1 in 7 teen girls experience sexual violence on dates
In most cases the perpetrator is known to the victim

Sexual assault is a form of gender-based violence. While anyone can be a victim, research consistently finds that victims are most often girls and women (~85%) and 90% of perpetrators are boys and men. Research also shows girls and young women between 14 - 24 years are at the highest risk for sexual assault, which has lasting impacts on mental and physical health.

Despite over 50 years of high-quality research on sexual assault and widespread attention to the issue through movements like #MeToo, we have seen little progress in reducing sexual assault on a broad scale.

Girls and women deserve education that empowers them with effective tools to defend themselves.

Girls – Flip the Script with EAAA® Is Effective:

Girls – Flip the Script with EAAA® addresses this need. It has been rigorously evaluated in a World Health Organization registered randomized controlled trial (RCT) and proven to work. For the diverse 14 - 18-year old girls in Ontario in the RCT, six months after the training, those who took the program compared with girls in the control group experienced:

76% fewer attempted rapes and
25% fewer completed rapes
Results were particularly strong for 14 - and 15-year old girls.

We know from our other research, that the program works for young women of all ethnicities and for both those who have never experienced a sexual assault and for those who are survivors of assault.

Girls – Flip the Script with EAAA® equips girls with the confidence, knowledge, and skills to leave escalating situations quickly and safely or with fewer negative consequences.

The program helps girls resist sexual coercion and assault by boys and men they know and/or may like - situations where girls are especially vulnerable and rates of sexual violence are high.

Importantly, the program does not tell girls to restrict their lives or blame them in any way for assaults. It does not prescribe what girls "should" do or hold them responsible for boys' and men's behaviour. In fact, our research shows that young women who take the program blame themselves less if an assault does occur. Girls find the program enjoyable, as well as empowering and informative. Indeed, when asked whether they would recommend it to other girls their age, 90% say yes.

Why Girls – Flip the Script with EAAA® Works!

Girls – Flip the Script with EAAA® is a 12-hour program delivered by two highly trained young women facilitators. It works by helping girls:

Identify a situation or someone's behaviour as dangerous;
Prioritize her own safety and wellbeing over the feelings of others; and
Use efffective defensive strategies.

At every step the program has been designed, tested and redeveloped to ensure that it is:

Based on the best research evidence to address the social and emotional obstacles that girls face when confronting the realities of sexual assault;
Inclusive and applicable for girls across differences in race, ethnicity, religion, sexual identity, gender identity, physical ability, and levels of sexual experience;
Designed with the knowledge that survivors of sexual assault would be present in every workshop;
Engaging and enjoyable

Girls – Flip the Script with EAAA® is also informed by focus groups to learn about teen girls' relationships with boys and gather information about common social and dating situations.

The scenarios, videos, and audio recordings reflect common social settings and experiences of teens;
The program script and activity instructions are written in clear language that is developmentally appropriate for teen girls;
Uses a variety of teaching approaches, and connects girls to high-quality resources and information, and local community supports.

The 4 Units of Girls – Flip the Script with EAAA®:

Girls – Flip the Script with EAAA® is divided into four 3-hour units that may be delivered in a variety of ways: two 6-hour sessions plus a lunch break over two days or four 3-hour sessions during a 4-week period. All sessions are led by two well prepared young women with backup support from supervisors. All units use interactive and skill-building activities, group work, discussions, video and audio clips, and demonstrations. Participants are also directed to high-quality resource materials and local community supports.

The program gives all girls a physically and emotionally safe, supportive space to practice resistance skills and talk about healthy relationships and sexuality. Facilitators are equipped with troubleshooting strategies to help participants navigate emotional responses to the material.

Learn more about each unit below.

1. Assess 2. Acknowledge 3. Act 4. Relationships & Sexuality

Girls – Flip the Script with EAAA® Is Now Available!

Girls – Flip the Script with EAAA® is currently being delivered in community settings in Ontario and British Columbia as part of a research study to test different implementation models as well as the program's effectiveness when delivered by community organizations.

If you are interested in becoming an implementation organization, please contact Teshyla Bailey, Project Manager of Girls – Flip the Script with EAAA® across Canada at Teshyla.Bailey@uwindsor.ca

If you know a girl age 14 - 18 who has not graduated from high school who would be interested in participating in Girls – Flip the Script with EAAA® please contact one of the organizations currently implementing the program:

North Shore Women's Centre - Vancouver, British Columbia

Contact: Oreofeoluwa Adeyonu at oreofeoluwa@northshorewomen.ca

Sexual Assault Centre Kingston - Kingston, Ontario

Contact: Stephanie Globus-Hoenich at stephanie@sackingston.com

Windsor Essex County Health Unit - Windsor, Ontario

Contact: Jessica Glazewski at FliptheScriptWECHU@uwindsor.ca

Research

A-EAAA Train-the Trainer Workshop

A EAAA 2024 Train-the Trainer participants

In November 2024 our very first A-EAAA Train-the Trainer workshop was held in Windsor Ontario as part of the newest PHAC funded project. This workshop is an adaptation specifically designed for staff from organizations who want to implement the Girls - Flip the Script with EAAA® program. We anticipate another of these workshops will be held within a year. These workshops are currently only open to staff from organizations who are part of the Girls Scale Up project, however, if there are spaces available, requests will be considered from existing EAAA Campus Trainers who want to expand their reach to younger girls in their communities. The Girls - Flip the Script with EAAA® is specifically designed for 14 - 18 year old girls who have not graduated from high school and will need a unique implementation plan.

Girls – Flip the Script with EAAA® - In the News...

YouTube: Karin Kirkpatrick’s (Shadow Minister and MLA for West Vancouver, BC) statement on Girls-Flip the Script with EAAA

CTV News: A call to young girls for help in important UWindsor study (25-09-2023)

CTV News: University-level sexual assault resistance program now open to high school students

CBC News: Sexual assault prevention program teaches teens to ‘flip the script’

Globe and Mail: The pleasure gap: How a new program is revolutionizing sexual health education for young women

Globe and Mail: Sex assault doesn’t wait till graduation: The case for even earlier prevention programs

Flip the Script with EAAA® program NEWS