Preventing peer violence through participation and training

ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN - 29 April 2026

Applying Safe Behaviours II

Preventing peer violence through participation and training

Part of a series on the Applying Safe Behaviours II project

For many children, particularly those growing up in vulnerable situations, peer on peer violence is an ongoing and often normalized part of everyday life. With the Applying Safe Behaviours II project, SOS Children's Villages International and partners are working to strengthen prevention, build the skills of professionals, and empower children and young people to shape safer environments for themselves and their peers.

Now at the mid-point of implementation, the project is preparing to rollout the various capacity-building and awareness-raising activities, following an intensive first year focused on scoping, training development and child and youth engagement.

Responding to peer violence: a collaboration building on experience

"Applying Safe Behaviours II: Preventing and Responding to Peer Violence and Gender-Based Violence Amongst Vulnerable Children and Young People" (2025-2027) is co-funded by the European Union under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme. It builds upon the successful methodology that was developed, piloted and evaluated within the previous EU co-funded Applying Safe Behaviours project (2021-2023).

The project is coordinated by SOS Children's Villages International, working with SOS Children's Villages member associations in Bulgaria, Italy, Romania and Sweden, and with Terre des hommes in Hungary and Kosovo. It is supported by associated partners SOS Children's Villages in Kosovo, SOS Kinderdörfer weltweit, the European Social Network (ESN) and the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN).

Activities are implemented across Bulgaria, Italy, Kosovo, Romania and Sweden, alongside EU-level advocacy and exchange.

What we aim to achieve with Applying Safe Behaviours II

Applying Safe Behaviours II has a clear focus on prevention, response and system change. It seeks to empower children and young people to recognise peer violence, speak about it safely, and apply positive behaviours in their everyday lives. At the same time, it aims to strengthen the capacity of adults and professionals to prevent, identify and respond to peer violence in ways that are child-centred, inclusive and grounded in children's rights.

Beyond individual skills, the project also works to raise awareness within communities and institutions, and to contribute to longer-term change through policy recommendations and practice-based guidance.

Peer-to-peer training: children and young people as agents of change

A defining feature of the project is its peer-to-peer training methodology, which positions children and young people not just as beneficiaries, but as active agents of change in creating safe environments.

Young people aged 17-24 are trained as Peer Trainers who deliver structured peer-to-peer workshops for children aged 11-15, supported by experienced Master Trainers and safeguarding focal points. These workshops create safe spaces where children can explore what peer violence is, how gender norms influence behaviour, and how they can protect themselves and support their peers.

Learning does not stop with the workshops. Each group of children is supported to design and implement a child-led change project, allowing them to turn reflection into action within their schools or communities.

This training methodology is complemented by trainings for professionals who work with children and young people and awareness-raising workshops for all adults who care for and work with children, recognising that children's ability to apply safe behaviours depends on consistent, informed and supportive responses from the adults around them.

Mid-term progress: building capacity to prevent peer violence

During the first year of implementation, the partnership focused on preparing for rollout of the various capacity-building and awareness-raising activities that will take place throughout 2026.

Child and youth participation has been embedded from the outset: 84 children are engaged through National Child and Young Expert Groups, and 7 young people are active at EU level through the International Young Expert Group, contributing to various advocacy and awareness-raising activities.

The project completed a scoping phase in which more than 500 children and young people across the 5 implementing project countries took part in a questionnaire, and 120 children and young people participated in focus group discussions. These inputs informed the Applying Safe Behaviours II Scoping Report, which now provides the evidence base for training, advocacy and awareness-raising activities.

Alongside this, the project has focused on building strong training capacity: 18 Master Trainers, 6 Young Master Trainers and 45 Peer Trainers have been recruited and prepared to deliver the various trainings and awareness-raising workshops. Training tools have been updated, including the development of a new module of the peer-to-peer workshops focusing specifically on gender-based peer violence.

Advocacy and dissemination actions have also begun. National promotional events have brought together professionals and stakeholders, while a key messages video and social media takeover by the International Young Expert Group has amplified young people's perspectives. At EU-level, a Regional Working Group was launched to begin the development of practice-based guidelines for social and educational services.

The next phase: scaling action and deepening impact

As Applying Safe Behaviours II enters its second year of implementation, the focus shifts to the roll-out of capacity-building, awareness-raising and advocacy activities across all implementing countries.

Peer-to-peer workshops for children and child-led change projects will be implemented at national level, alongside trainings for professionals working with children and young people across different sectors. Awareness-raising workshops for both children and adults will further extend the reach of the project's key messages, supporting shared understanding of peer-on-peer violence and safe behaviours in everyday contexts.

National Steering Groups will continue to play a central role, bringing together professionals, decision-makers and young people to reflect on learning from practice and translate it into concrete national policy recommendations and sustainability roadmaps. At regional level, collaboration through the Regional Working Group will advance the development of practice-based guidelines for social and educational services, supporting more coherent and effective approaches to preventing and responding to peer on peer violence.

Together, these next steps aim to create safer environments for children and young people, by strengthening how peer on peer violence is prevented, recognised and responded to across the systems and settings that shape children's daily lives.

More information and resources from Applying Safe Behaviours II

This project is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.