News

Young voices preventing sexual violence at the Scottish Parliament – 4th December 2015

This Friday young people from Lanarkshire, Highland and Edinburgh will be coming to the Scottish Parliament to talk about their involvement in helping to tackle sexual violence.

Hosted by MSPs Malcolm Chisholm and Christina McKelvie, and supported by prevention workers Hannah Brown, Melody McIndoe and Nadine Jassat, they’ll address an audience of young people, friends, parents and professionals to speak about why they care about these issues, what they’ve been doing about them and why it’s important for the whole community to work together to prevent sexual violence.

This event is part of the Rape Crisis Scotland national prevention programme.

See this article in the Daily Record about 4 fantastic films made by young people for young people.

You can see trailers for the films here and here.

In their own words…
'I used to think sexual violence was just something that was physical. I’ve learned more about it now. It isn’t always something you can see with your eyes.' Angel, 17, Edinburgh

'We wanted to send a message and raise awareness about the damaging impacts of porn and the false message it sends to young people. And we wanted to raise awareness about the pressure and expectations put on young men and women, and maybe help take some of that pressure off young people.' Shashwat, 18, Edinburgh

‘Sexual violence is practically an invisible crime as so little people are prosecuted and punished for commuting an act of sexual violence. Due to this services like Rape and Sexual Abuse Service Highland are invaluable for survivors as they can receive reliable, non-judgmental and confident support. I love being granted the opportunity to be involved in a team that selflessly help these survivors which is why I volunteered for RASASH.’ – Liam, 16, Maryburgh

‘Ever since last year’s referendum I have become extremely interested in politics and current affairs and I began looking for ways in which I could become involved in my local community to make a positive difference. As a young woman, I also feel passionately about my rights and realise the need for charities such as RASASH and the excellent work they do’. Mary Ellen, 16, Strontian

'STAMP is important because it gives our generation a voice to highlight what's wrong in today's media and gives us the power to do something about it.' Joseph, 18, North Lanarkshire

'Stamp is important because the media is now the worlds primary source of information - we're surrounded. Its influence is bigger than ever, and it’s hard for young people to find positivity in such a big body' – Erin, Lanarkshire

You can find out more about each of the local projects by clicking on the links below.

Lanarkshire Rape Crisis Centre
STAMP is a project run by young people for young people which challenges gender stereotyping and promotes more positive use of the media. Group members recently interviewed the First Minister on challenging gender inequality in the media. Match-funded by Big Lottery Young Start.

Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre
Four short films were produced by a young people from Leith Academy with Media Coop They are being incorporated into our programmes so we can bring them to thousands more young people around Scotland.

Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Highland
Stand Up! RASASH is young person led and community focused, asking young people what they think the biggest issues in their local communities are and working.