{"id":731,"date":"2014-10-28T14:39:23","date_gmt":"2014-10-28T12:39:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.womex.org\/?page_id=731"},"modified":"2015-02-23T10:21:14","modified_gmt":"2015-02-23T09:21:14","slug":"offene-jugendarbeit","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.womex.org\/en\/fields-of-work\/open-youth-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Open youth work"},"content":{"rendered":"
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> General Aspects<\/a>
\n> Gender Aspects<\/a>
\n> Gender recommendations<\/a>
\n> Examples<\/a><\/p>\n

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General Aspects<\/h2>\n

The purpose of open youth work is to support young people in their interests and skills, make them programme offers for social participation and provide them with a learning environment for democratic and social action. In Germany, open youth work is usually carried out by independent youth welfare organisations and takes place in youth clubs \/ youth centres. The equipment and facilities at the youth centres varies greatly and is usually dependent on allocations from municipal budgets.<\/p>\n

In recent years, the importance of youth work for primary and secondary prevention for right-wing extremism, militant Islamism and group-focused enmity has been frequently pointed out. Social workers in youth clubs are local people the youth know and trust and who spend time with adolescents over a longer period of time. Provided there is corresponding financial support, these people who instill trust locally are in a good position when vulnerable young people come under the influence of right-wing extremist or militant Islamist movements and show increasing signs of radicalisation. External professional consulting services (cf. Hako_reJu_recommendations) could effectively support them in this endeavour.<\/p>\n

In open youth work, it has also been frequently demonstrated how important it is to talk to vulnerable young men and women about gender roles and what is masculine and feminine. It is particularly important to elicit the extent to which these roles have contributed to the fascination which has developed for extremist groups and their activities and behaviours. It has proven to be extremely effective even for moderate young people, who at most seem prone to the most widely held forms of populism, to not only talk about gender roles, but also about different sexual orientations. What views and attitudes do they have towards homosexual people in everyday life?
\nLess stable youth are exactly those individuals who are not only prone to homophobic sentiments, but also to sexist attitudes. To that effect, the requirement of youth work is clearly regulated by law: “In the development of services and completion of tasks are (…) 3. taking into consideration the different life situations of girls and boys to reduce inequalities and promote equality between girls and boys.” (\u00a7 9 SGB VIII).\u00a0 Especially in rural areas there are usually too few programme offers for girls and young women that could encourage and appeal to their interests and abilities. Indirectly, this will also mean that it is exactly those ambitious and talented young women who predominantly leave rural areas. The remaining social environment may be even more affected by sexist attitudes which also makes it more susceptible to racism and right-wing extremism.<\/p>\n

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Gender aspects<\/h2>\n

The proportion of girls and boys in youth clubs varies depending on the facilities and amenities and also depends on the gender of the social workers engaged at the club. Particularly in rural areas, youth clubs are often boys clubs. The amenities \u2013 which may also only consist of a basketball hoop in the yard, a pool table and table football or possibly a band rehearsal room \u2013 do not appeal to girls. The boys club character is enhanced when exclusively male social workers are employed or male-dominated cliques spend time there.<\/p>\n

The often unappealing aesthetic design can also ensure that girls are more likely to seek out their own safe havens where they can spend time alone with friends. At most, they then visit youth clubs together with male friends and partners. Youth workers continually state that it is extremely difficult to get through to girls. Often, they are also not able to make a statement about how the girls react to the extremist attitude of their male peers, whether they share them or distance themselves from them. In order for open youth to appeal equally to boys and girls it is \u2013 among other things \u2013 important that the existing positions are filled with mixed gender groups.<\/p>\n

In more urban areas, one can observe that there are increasingly more girls-specific youth centres which pursue the goal of gender-specific empowerment, i.e., to promote strengthening the social and creative skills of girls and support them in family conflict situations. These centres are often visited by girls with migrant backgrounds whose cultures of origin are characterised by very wide-ranging disadvantages and restrictions of for women and girls. Contexts of forced marriage and honor-related crimes require a high level of consulting expertise and youth worker support as well as well-networked cooperation between various assistance agencies.<\/p>\n

General observations about working with girls\/women in mixed gender groups<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

(1)\u00a0 The following general gender roles and circumstances can be found for girls with links to right-wing extremist environment contexts:<\/p>\n