The Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) is a volunteer-run conflict transformation program. Teams of trained AVP facilitators conduct experiential workshops to develop participants' abilities to resolve conflicts without resorting to

manipulation Manipulation may refer to: * Manipulation (psychology) - the action of manipulating someone in a clever or unscrupulous way * Crowd manipulation - use of crowd psychology to direct the behavior of a crowd toward a specific action ::*Internet mani ...

coercion Coercion () is compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner by the use of threats, including threats to use force against a party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to induce a desi ...

, or violence. Typically, each workshop lasts 18–20 hours over a two or three-day period. The workshop events place a strong emphasis on the experiences of the participants, building confidence that everyone contributes something of value to violence prevention. AVP groups and facilitators are active in

communities A community is a Level of analysis, social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place (geography), place, Norm (social), norms, religion, values, Convention (norm), customs, or Identity (social science), identity. Communiti ...

and prisons across the United States and in many other countries.

History

The project began in 1975 when inmates at

Green Haven Prison Green Haven Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison in New York. The prison is located in the Town of Beekman in Dutchess County. The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision lists the address as Route 216, ...

in New York State asked local Quakers to help them teach incarcerated youth how to resolve conflicts nonviolently. The success of the workshops quickly spread by word of mouth, and the program took root in many State and Federal prisons throughout the country. Workshops are now offered in communities, businesses, churches, neighborhood centers, community associations, women's shelters and other locales. While particular workshops can be modified to meet the needs of a specific group, the fundamental objectives are: to encourage individuals to take responsibility for themselves and the consequences of their behavior, to serve as one another's community, and to find options other than fight or flight when faced with conflict. AVP asks participants to voluntarily participate in its workshops, and avoids situations where attendance is mandatory. Anyone, including a person in prison, who is willing to apply AVP principles in his or her own life, can be trained as a facilitator.

Organization

Throughout the world, AVP is predominantly a

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...

, voluntary organization. While there are a few paid state coordinators, the bulk of the organizing and training is done by volunteers. Although the original workshops were designed and facilitated with Quaker oversight, the project is a non-profit, non-denominational organization. Other programs that rely on certain AVP principles have been developed for use in schools, such as the Help Increase the Peace Program for youth, and a Creative Conflict Resolution program that used full-time staff in some California prisons as facilitators. The reasons why transformations are regularly experienced in these two or three-day periods of time may include satisfaction of psychological needs for connection with others, discoveries that one can influence a conflict, and a combination of other factors.

Organizations

International

AVP International

Africa

AVP Gauteng, South Africa

{Dead link, date=September 2019 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes AVP Eastern Cape (Port Elizabeth), South Africa
Quaker Peace Centre
– Cape Town, South Africa. * AVP Kwa Zulu Natal * AVP Namibia
AVP Rwanda