Peace Over Violence is in the midst of holding our third annual Summer Youth Leadership Institute on Violence Prevention. Twenty-five youth are participating in a month-long training learning about the dynamics of relationship and sexual violence and about healthy relationships. These youth are prioritizing violence prevention and learning skills and tools to take with them as they become leaders in their own lives and in their communities.

These middle and high school youth, male and female are devoting their summer free time to collaborating on learning about healthy relationships and violence prevention strategies and connecting the dots to social change and social justice.

A segment of the Youth Leadership Institute this year includes three internship tracks: creating a violence prevention application for smartphones; writing, performing and recording songs about healthy relationships; and developing community and online organizing campaigns focused around healthy relationships.

Last week, these engaged and engaging young people participated in the Start Strong Virtual Conference, a national initiative supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Blue Shield of California Foundation. Eleven Start Strong sites from around the country connected virtually around the theme of what it means to be an "upstander" as opposed to a "bystander."

Upstander is the opposite of bystander. A bystander is someone that does not speak up or act when they witness acts of intolerance, disrespect, bullying or violence taking place. They just go about their business. The attitude is, "it’s none of my business." An upstander is someone who takes action when faced with these acts. It’s not just about an individual standing up, it’s about institutions also. The Penn State child sexual abuse tragedy is an example of an institution led by people that stood by and did nothing to protect children. One of the young men in the youth institute said, "Everybody should learn about how harmful sexual and domestic violence can be." Another young man talked about how he had heard the phrase "be the change" a few times and really didn’t understand it until he joined the Leadership Institute.  This young football player now says "I really get it now and now I am the change. Change starts and continues with me."

Unfortunately, we live in a world with way too many bystanders and not enough UPSTANDERS! But while observing these youth leaders in action here in Los Angeles and across the country, I have a strong and hopeful feeling that this is about to change and youth will be leading the way!

–By Patti Giggans

Patti Giggans is the Executive Director of Peace Over Violence. Peace Over Violence is dedicated to building healthy relationships, families and communities free from sexual, domestic and interpersonal violence. She is also the Vice-President of the Board of Directors for 1in6.

The mission of 1in6 is to help men who have had unwanted or abusive sexual experiences in childhood live healthier, happier lives.

1in6's mission also includes serving family members, friends and partners by providing information and support resources on the web and in the community.

Joyful Heart and 1in6 invite you to visit 1in6.org for info, options and hope, and to learn more about our partnership and Engaging Men initiative at men.joyfulheartfoundation.org.

The views expressed above are not necessarily those of the Joyful Heart Foundation or 1in6.