AVP Britain
>what is AVP?

The Alternatives to Violence Project is a vibrant national charity run by a large group of volunteers.  Our trained volunteer facilitators offer workshops in the community, in prisons and in other settings.

Conflict is part of life and there are ways of handling it well.  In our workshops, participants draw on their own experiences to explore the conflicts in their own lives and find ways of dealing with them.

Many of our participants have histories of both using and suffering from physical violence.  Others come to AVP simply to build better relationships and to communicate well in heated situations.  Everyone is welcome.

Why AVP?

A United Nations survey found that about 1 in 50 people in Britain are the victim of a violent assault each year, which is approximately twice the average for the industrialised world.  Besides violent assaults, episodes of threatening behaviour described as ‘really frightening’ affect 1 in 25 people in Britain each year.* 

Despite this, there are very few organisations working with how adults handle conflict and violence, and most courses are expensive.  AVP is working with people from all backgrounds, including people with a history of using and/or suffering physical violence.

How AVP began

AVP began in 1975 in a New York prison when a workshop was held to support young men to handle conflict without violence.  This generated more interest and the programme quickly spread to many other prisons and then into the wider community.

AVP today

AVP has since spread to over 50 countries, including New Zealand, Costa Rica, Israel, Russia and South Africa.  A British branch was set up in 1989 and we now run around 50 low-cost workshops every year in every region of Britain.

In 2009 we became a Recognised Centre of the Open College Network, which has accredited our Level 1 workshop for prisons.

The future

The charity Pilotlight teams business professionals with developing charities.  In 2008 and 2009 Pilotlight helped us to prepare AVP Britain for the future.  Over the coming years, we plan to expand our workshop programme, reach new social groups, build on the quality of our work, improve support for our volunteers and work in new, imaginative ways.

the original version of our logo was designed by a prisoner
and shows a closed fist changing into the dove of peace

* Van Dijk et al (2007): Criminal Victimisation in International Perspective: Key Findings from the 2004-2005 ICVS and EU ICS. The Hague, Ministry of Justice, WODC, 78-82

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