What could 'Our Voices' do to overcome the challenges of involving young people in prevention? Feedback from the International Centre's Conference

The 'Our Voices' workshop asked participants to work in groups to discuss a number of barriers and challenges to involving young people affected by sexual violence in prevention work. A number of suggestions were shared.
On 3 July the International Centre: Researching Child Sexual Exploitation, Violence and Trafficking hosted a one day conference in central London to celebrate receiving the prestigious Queen's Anniversary Prize for its pioneering research into child sexual exploitation.
The conference showcased a range of research being undertaken at the International Centre and included a workshop on 'Our Voices.' In the workshop examples were shared of how young people can get involved in prevention efforts along with learning around what's important when involving young people.
The workshop also asked participants to work in groups to rank a number of barriers and challenges to involving young people affected by sexual violence in prevention work. Following this, the groups were asked to consider the question - How could the 'Our Voices' project potentially help to overcome these barriers/challenges?
The groups came up with some practical suggestions including:

• Creating a resources directory
• Integrating voices of young people into training materials
• Developing guidance on how to coordinate activities
• Generating evidence that can be used to secure more funding and justify the time spent by staff to facilitate such work
• Generating practical information and tools based on what young people say and what the research tells us
• Influencing national guidelines and policy around listening to young people and involving them in actions
• Sharing learning so it doesn't just sit with one person in one agency but transcends geographical boundaries