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Summary

This exercise evaluates the participants’ larger ‘family network’ to assess risks, threats, support systems and protection strategies in a family context. It is a follow-on from the ‘family handout’ exercise.

Format

Individual exercise and group discussion

Required materials

'Family challenges and strategies' exercise.

Key explanation points

  • Ask participants to read through the family handout (see above) before engaging in this exercise to explore their relationships with their family members, the challenges and risks to their family as a result of participants’ activism, and the challenges and risks participants face from their family members. Then they can develop strategies to strengthen protection mechanisms for their family members and for themselves.
  • Participants can work individually on this exercise for 20 minutes, and then work in pairs or triads to develop strategies further for 20 minutes.
  • In a follow-on plenary session (20 minutes), it is not necessary to present details of the exercise. Instead, participants can reflect on how they felt about the exercise, what may have surprised them, and some of the strategies that emerged.