Developed, refined, and evaluated over more than a decade across schools and youth clubs on multiple continents, No Means No is the foundation that every initiative we run builds on.
What It Is
No Means No is a measurable, proven model to prevent sexual harassment, assault, and rape. Through a series of practical, interactive activities, youth ages 10–20 build essential knowledge, develop empowering attitudes and beliefs, and master a set of self-defense skills. Participants practice these skills through extensive role play, so they're ready when they need them for real.
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Mental Skillsawareness, boundary-setting, trusting intuition, gender-equitable beliefs
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Verbal Skillsassertiveness, consent, negotiation, bystander intervention
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Physical Skillssimple, effective self-defense as a last resort to escape
The traditional 10-hour No Means No curriculum is delivered to youth during or after school by local certified Instructors or trained teachers. In response to the high demand for the program and varied needs of communities and youth around the world, NMNW is actively developing new intervention models, including digital delivery and a shortened open-source version of the program.
Creating Lasting Change One Participant At A Time
When young people learn these skills, they're able to recognize danger, set and respect boundaries, advocate for themselves and their peers, and practice bystander intervention. Youth participants also understand ways to safely disclose abuse and access the support they need to begin their healing journey. This comprehensive approach makes adolescents immediately safer, while building long-term mental resilience and the kind of cultural change that breaks cycles of violence for good.
Building Digital Delivery
We're currently building ways to deliver No Means No content digitally, so that more young people can access these skills without requiring an instructor to be physically present in every classroom. This work is still in progress, and any digital format we build will stay rooted in the same values of putting the needs and safety of youth first.
Worth Defending: No Means No Basics
“Worth Defending: No Means No Basics” is our 90-minute adaptation of the comprehensive No Means No program. It is a single, focused session that introduces the same core mental and verbal skills of recognizing danger, setting boundaries, and responding, in a format built for schools, clubs, and partners working with tighter windows of time or funding.
If you’re interested in delivering Worth Defending in your community, please reach out to us at partnerships@nmnw.org.
Explore More of Our Work
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The No Means No program has been tested by independent researchers, adapted across cultures and continents, and proven to reduce sexual violence.
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Teaching youth how to protect themselves online from tech-facilitated violence.
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A game-changing initiative to empower young athletes to boost performance, prevent abuse, and improve their mental health.
