Alternatives to Violence Project Queensland

AVPQ is a growing community of people who support those actively seeking nonviolent solutions to conflict. Members share experiences, skills, information and their time. It is a multicultural, independent, non-profit association. Am I violent? Are you violent? These are very confronting questions and the most common answer is NO! Everyone thinks that they are not violent, including many convicted 'violent' criminals. Many criminals labelled as 'violent' believe they were only violent because they were forced to be. Many of us can act in ways that others consider violent, although it may not be an overt violence. We may not go about beating people up, or fighting all the time, but some of us have an anger inside and we occasionally feel we are about to 'lose it'. Or maybe the violence is more psychological, we threaten people with the thought of violence, or impending dire consequences, if others refuse to bend to our will. Some people act like a doormat, allowing people to walk all over them. Why is this violent? Because they are turning their violence inward. Sometimes, the role of 'doormat' becomes so unbearable that eventually they explode! There are a few of these people behind bars for releasing years of oppression into one violent lethal act. Now they are spending many years of their lives regretting that one single violent act. Then there is the violence of "emotional blackmail", using someone's weakness or love to control them. Is this violence? AVP believes it is. AVP understands that violence appears in many forms. If you believe that you are not violent, then perhaps you might come along to a workshop and find out how others are affected by your behaviour. Quite often the answers to violence are very simple. Finding Alternatives to Violence requires seeing, and understanding, how your actions can affect others, then communicating with each other in a meaningful and reasonable way to find a "win-win" solution. At AVPQ we believe in facilitating people's search to find some of those solutions. Do I need any experience to take part in a workshop? NO. All that you need to bring to a Level 1 workshop is the desire to take part in the experience and to gain from it. You should wear comfortable, casual clothing. We usually bring some food to share for lunch and an evening snack. Tea, coffee, juice and nibbles are always provided by the facilitation team. Are AVPQ Workshops fun? The answer is generally YES. Obviously there are times when the workshop grinds a bit but, overall, most people find the workshops very rewarding, fun to be involved in, and are keen to go on to participate in further workshops. Why? Because often an AVP workshop is a reflection of life. Being in a workshop could be like watching a very good movie. During the movie you will laugh, cry, empathise, be amazed, be shocked - experiencing a roller coaster of emotions. When you come out of the cinema you say WOW, what a show! That is the sort of reaction we get from workshop participants, because they have shared a wonderful time with a wonderful group of people. Is this Therapy? No! While AVPQ workshops can be a healing experience, they should not be undertaken in place of therapy. The workshops provide a forum for you to look at issues involving the violence and conflict around us. Anyone who is seeking or receiving therapy or counselling will not be excluded from participating in an AVPQ workshop. Can I become a Workshop Facilitator? YES. Once you have completed the 3 levels of AVPQ workshop, and by mutual agreement, you may be invited to begin an 'apprenticeship' alongside more experienced facilitators, either in the community or in a prison. Can prison inmates become Workshop Facilitators? YES! Many former inmates have become workshop facilitators. Sometimes serving inmates are allowed leave of absence to attend workshops as facilitators. Also AVPQ encourages inmates to become Inmate Facilitators within a correctional centre. AVPQ acknowledges that many inmates have a profound insight into violence that most of us have not experienced. AVPQ also acknowledges that inmate facilitators can often assist other inmates in dealing with the violence and conflict in their lives. Does AVP Work? AVP has run workshops in some of the most notorious and violent prisons around the world and we have found that, contrary to popular opinion, the average inmate wants what everyone else wants. They want love and respect. They want to live in peace with their families. Often they do not want to be violent, but they believe it is the only way to get what they want and to stop others taking what is theirs. They are not very different to anyone else because, until incarceration, they were your neighbour, or family member. AVP has conducted thousands of workshops around the world, giving inmates and community members insight into nonviolent ways. It was through the success of the prison programme that the community workshop programme was born. In 2003, a NZ survey of over 200 respondents found that 94% reported their AVP workshop experiences to be helpful. A 2005 a report from a 3 year recidivism study found that AVP is effective in reducing the liklihood of recidivism. Have a look at the AVPQ Links Research Page for more about the effectiveness of AVP. We believe that AVP has made the world a little less violent, but of course we cannot guarantee anyone will never be violent again! AVP does give people the tools and knowledge to become nonviolent and we believe this has a positive effect on society. The following comments come from people who have participated in AVPQ workshops, both in prisons and in the community: "I now have a better understanding that there are more ways than violence to solving a conflict". "Personally I confronted some stuff which I consider very stressful, but I looked at them with the help of the group, so it wasn't as I expected it to be. I feel relaxed and somehow stronger and confident about my future". "If there is one thing that I picked up from AVP that I value the most, it would have to be respect for self. If you have no respect for self then you cannot have respect for others". "For anyone who enjoys being with other people, who takes life both seriously and joyously, who would like to make their life richer, more complete and more meaningful, who would like to deepen their insights, who wishes to grow in wisdom and understanding and who would also like to have a good time, I recommend AVP". Where did AVP start? In 1975 a group of inmates in Greenhaven Penitentiary in New York State, USA, were worried about the level of violence in the prison. They approached the local Quaker group to help, as the Quakers had been used as marshalls in the Anti-Vietnam marches and had helped to minimise police/protester confrontation during the marches. The Quaker group, along with other interested parties, designed a workshop based on many exercises and games available from the public domain. In 1975, the exercises were gathered into a Basic Manual. All 3 levels of AVP manuals were published by 1985. The manual's disposition, themes and workshop activities emerge out of a spiritual concept, Transforming Power. This term was coined in 1960 by Larry Apsey who was influenced by Gandhi's Satyagraha and Martin Luther King's Beloved Community. The Philosophy Page expands upon these themes. How did AVP come to Australia? AVP came to Queensland in 1990, when Steve Angell from Pennsylvania (who developed the AVP Mandala, and toured USA and the world) conducted a series of AVP workshops in Queensland and NSW. Steve Angell was brought to Australia by Relaxed Ron and Louise Hunter, who thought AVP could bring a positive energy into Australian Correctional Centres. Ron still works with AVPQ and Louise is actively involved in AVP Victoria. The first AVP Prison Workshop in Australia was run in Moreton Correctional Centre in Wacol, Brisbane in April 1991. The workshop was very successful and since then AVPQ workshops have been held in Queensland at Moreton B, Borallon, Sir David Longlands, the Brisbane Women's Prison, Woodford, and Toowoomba jails. The organisation, Alternatives to Violence Queensland Inc. (AVPQ), was incorporated in 1992. Since that time, AVPQ has continued to be active, conducting workshops in prisons throughout Queensland and establishing community workshops in and around Brisbane.