The Child Assault Prevention (CAP) Project

The Child Assault Prevention (CAP) Project (COPA’s core violence prevention program) is known as Le Projet ESPACE in French. CAP is a school-based violence prevention education program for Grades 1-6 at elementary schools.

The program entails workshops for students, parents and staff using role play and skill development. The focus is on developing awareness and self-esteem. Strategies include self-assertion, physical self-defense, peer support and adult resource support.

Developmentally-appropriate programs using similar pedagogical methods and strategies that help ‘empower’ participants are also available through COPA for JK and SK, and senior elementary and secondary school students.

The CAP Project addresses a number of issues that are of concern for children and their communities:

• bullying (peer aggression)
• stranger assault
• sexual aggression by a known adult


The program begins with a workshop for parents, a workshop for school staff, followed by workshops for children which are offered in each classroom:

• Adult Workshops: 2 hours (1 workshop for parents, 1 workshop for school staff) offered prior to workshops with students
• Student Workshops: ½ school day (ideally, consecutively, beginning with younger children), offered class-by-class
  

The CAP Project was created by Women Against Rape in 1978. It is offered all over the world, in association with the International Center for Assault Prevention, with whom COPA's leaders have been affiliated since 1982.

 

For more information about the Courage Program for Grades 7+8 students.

 

Our approach

The CAP Project is engaging and fun for children. Because our approach is designed to build their skill base and self-confidence, children leave workshops feeling better — not more afraid. The program is designed to engage the interest of participants and facilitate learning.

 

The CAP Project - Core Program

The CAP Project (and all of COPA’s programs) are offered by a trained and certified team that works in each school for the duration of the program.

Role play and discussion are the key pedagogical tools utilized. Following each class session the team meets with children individually (voluntarily) to review techniques and offer a chance to problem-solve. This is called “Review Time”. Teachers are asked to allow time for students to draw pictures or write letters at this time. The school is asked to ensure that there is a quiet space outside the classroom for Review Time.

Each uses role play and skill development focusing on self-assertiveness and physical self-defense, as well as peer support and adult resource support, and has been offered to millions of children worldwide (and translated into many languages).

Read success stories from School Principals about what happens after class sessions!

Read the story about the impact of our programm on boys!

Developmentally appropriate programs using similar pedagogical methods and strategies that help “empower” participants are also available through COPA for preschool, junior high and high school students.

 

CAP’s roots

The CAP Project was created by a sexual assault centre in Columbus (Women Against Rape) in 1978, and brought to Montréal by founders of the Montreal Assault Prevention Centre in 1984 and subsequently launched in various communities throughout Quebec. A provincial association of CAP Projects works together to promote the program in Quebec. They receive regular funding from the provincial government to offer the program. COPA continues to collaborate closely with the Montreal Assault Prevention Centre. (Recently, the CAP Project was brought to Nova Scotia.)

 

Roots in Ontario

In Ontario, the CAP Project was first offered in French-language schools under the auspices of the Francophone Community Health Centre (Centre de santé communautaire (CSC)) Hamilton/Niagara.

The CHC began offering violence prevention education programming using CAP (Le Projet ESPACE) in its catchment area, and helped launch and then sponsor COPA in response to requests for the program from communities throughout the province. (The CHC is still actively offering programming in its region, and working closely with COPA which became an autonomous non-profit organization in 2002..)

The CAP Project is a prerequisite to COPA's bullying prevention program called ACT.

 

More programs

The CAP Project is but one of COPA’s five school-based programs, each one addressing different age groups, or different issues.

COPA also offers a number of workshops for teachers and schools staff (Power to Change, Let's Talk About it, and Allies in Action).