Fridolin is a bit cheeky, and he has to be. Because the plush dragon in the hand of anni schuhmann-demetz or karin burkardt-zesewitz asks questions that children might not dare to ask and gives answers that adults would give differently or sometimes not at all. It is about "bad secrets", about unpleasant and funny feelings – in plain language: about sexual assault. For years, the women have been on the road in kindergartens, especially in the county. "So far, we have only come by request", tells karin burkardt-zesewitz. This should now change, they go on the offensive. For this purpose, the employees have developed a new, appealing flyer and had it designed by professionals.
The word abuse does not appear there. Under the heading "fridolin weib bescheid" (fridolin woman in the know) the project will be presented, in which the little dragon is the main character. "We have now sent the flyer to around 100 kindergartens in the city and county of coburg and in the counties of kronach and lichtenfels." the suggestion for it came from the facilities themselves. "They have repeatedly asked us if we have any material for them that they can pass on to their parents."
the prevention project is not just about sexual abuse, but also about feelings, self-assertion, showing strength, and getting help in difficult situations, adds anni schuhmann-demetz. Even young children should be encouraged to defend themselves against inappropriate behavior.
Parents’ evening in advance
"in addition, we have picture books with us." for example, the book "a dino shows feelings. Based on the drawings, the children are asked to express their feelings in to present certain situations mimically and gesturally. The staff of the emergency call and counseling center for women and children affected by violence always go to the facilities in pairs and work with the children there for two mornings, one to one and a half hours each. "We offer the prevention project in combination with a parents’ evening. In addition, we train the pedagogical staff beforehand with a kind of "mini-training", explains karin burkardt-zesewitz.
All this is a huge challenge for the two women who share two half positions. "We can do it only with volunteers." and it doesn’t just have to be women, men are also welcome, says anni schuhmann-demetz.