Preventing Sexual Violence through Health Skill Development

Important Note

This module is for teacher professional learning. Classroom resources in this module may need the approval of local school system supervisors of health education before they are implemented in the classroom.

Course Overview

Welcome to Preventing Sexual Violence through Health Skill Development - A Secondary Educator Module, a professional development course for secondary school educators developed by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), The Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MCASA), and Maryland Public Television (MPT).

The purpose of this one-hour, self-paced course is to provide consistent and equal access to quality teacher training to all Maryland educators who teach sexual assault prevention education. COMAR 13A.04.18 Comprehensive Health Education Instructional Programs for Grade Prekindergarten to Grade 12 and state statutes require specialized training for individuals teaching abuse and assault prevention education in Maryland public and select non-public schools. This course will provide specific training for middle and high school health educators.

Course Topics

Preventing Sexual Violence through Health Skill Development - A Secondary Educator Module contains 7 topics and a final quiz that must be successfully completed to receive your course certificate. At the end of the course, the certificate is available as a PDF document to print or download to your computer. Course topics:

Topic 1: Introduction to Sexual Abuse and Assault Prevention
Topic 2: Defining Sexual Violence
Topic 3: Maryland’s Health Education Standards and Instructional Framework
Topic 4: Examining Risk and Protective Factors
Topic 5: Consent Education, Recognizing Healthy, Unhealthy, and Abusive Relationships, and Bystander Intervention
Topic 6: The Health Educator’s Role in Building Protective and Supportive Classroom Environments
Topic 7: Managing Student Disclosures, Reporting, and Resources
Final Quiz

This course aims to build the capacity of educators to teach skill-based approaches to sexual abuse and assault prevention education. Through a series of readings and interactive practice activities, educators will gain a deeper understanding of how to reinforce knowledge related to sexual violence prevention while increasing student proficiency in the skills of analyzing influences, accessing valid and reliable information, interpersonal communication, decision-making, self-management, and advocacy. This course aims to help educators recognize their unique role as trusted adults and feel confident in their ability to share and discuss difficult content such as rape culture, victim blaming, and harmful social norms with students.

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Maryland State Department of Education Equity and Excellence