Charity calls for change at Scottish Parliament event
- 24% of adults in Scotland believe that current Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenting (RSHP) education does not help children to understand online abuse
- 95% believed it was important to include content about online safety risks and staying safe online in relationships and sex education in schools
- Provision of this education in Scotland is patchy and inconsistent
- NSPCC calls for mandatory provision, more detailed guidance and greater prioritisation in the curriculum
The NSPCC reveals that almost one in four adults in Scotland (24%) believe that current Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenting (RSHP) education does not help children to understand online abuse, as the charity calls for it to be made age-appropriate, consistent and relevant for all children in the country.
The YouGov poll, which was commissioned by the NSPCC and surveyed over 1,000 adults across Scotland, also found that95 per cent of participants believed it was important to include content about online safety risks and staying safe online in relationships and sex education in schools and that over two-thirds of adults (67 per cent) believed it should be made compulsory.
The charity held an event at Scottish Parliament on Wednesday (14 January) to highlight why it is vital that the Scottish Government introduces a statutory duty for schools in Scotland to provide relevant relationships and sex education.
The charity is also calling for RSHP to be an educational priority and mandatory part of the curriculum, and for schools to receive more detailed guidance on the subject so there is consistency in the way it is taught.
At the event, which was sponsored by Martin Whitfield MSP and led by young people, speakers and guests were asked to explore why RSHP education is so important for children and young people.
One young woman’s terrifying experience of being sexually exploited online by an older man was read out at the event.
Aoife, 22, from East Kilbride, was 15 when a man, pretending to be a teenage boy, started chatting with her online and asked her to send him images of herself. He then attempted to control her behaviour by blackmailing her with these, threatening to share them with her friends and family on Facebook.
Aoife, NSPCC Lived Experience Advocate, said: “Through what started as a casual conversation online, he was able to start controlling what I did in real life, within a matter of hours. I remember it was 3am and I was sitting in my room, just shaking. I felt like I was the only person in the world and started crying.
“I want to help to make children safer online by sharing my story because, right now, the online world isn’t safe enough. I would like to help prevent other young people from going through the same experience as me in the future.
“You might hear stories about things like this and think ‘it won’t happen to me’. Parents think ‘that won’t happen to my children’ but it does. I want to raise awareness of that and help change things.
“If any other young person experiences this, I’d urge them to tell an adult they trust straight away. It feels like the worst thing in the world at the time but telling a trusted adult is the only way you can get the help you need.”
Rachel Talbot (19), from Angus, NSPCC Lived Experience Advocate, said: “At my school RSHP was taught the same way as English or Maths which made the whole experience incredibly awkward and difficult to properly engage with class discussions.
“It’s a personal and often sensitive topic so it’s better to teach smaller groups where the young people can develop trust, rather than having them ask awkward questions in a large class.
“The online world is such a central part of growing up now and young people need to know how to look out for themselves in these spaces. It’s especially important that discussions around the types of content they might come across is at the forefront of the curriculum.
“Young people are often exposed to inaccurate representations of healthy relationships and sex online, and if this isn’t discussed, they could develop an unhealthy view of how these things should work in the real world.”
While RSHP is part of the health and wellbeing area of Curriculum for Excellence, local areas have discretion about what is taught and when.
The NSPCC has found from its campaign work across the country that young people think the delivery of RSHP education is patchy and insufficient and the charity believes that many children could be missing out on vital knowledge that could protect them from harm and abuse.
Joanna Barrett, NSPCC Associate Head of Policy, said: ““Unfortunately, we know from our work with young people across Scotland that not all pupils receive relevant and consistent relationships, sex and health education.
“In all other nations in the UK it’s mandatory to teach this subject to children and young people. It helps them recognise healthy and unhealthy relationships and abusive behaviours in others and themselves, and we believe it can help to prevent harm to children, online and offline.
“Young people have a right to this fundamental education, and to be involved in influencing the way it’s delivered, so that it’s up-to-date and relevant to them.
“We are calling on the Scottish Government to prioritise RSHP education and ensure that teachers and schools are adequately resourced to deliver it.”
The youth-led Young Women Know campaign on healthy relationships, safe spaces, and consent on and offline was delivered by NSPCC Scotland and The Young Women’s Movement, over the last six years, with support from Angus Council, Perth and Kinross Council and Dundee City Council.
The young women who led the campaign, which included the ‘Oor Fierce Girls’, ‘Bold Girls Ken’, and ‘Brave Lassies Blether’ projects, created resources which have been added to the Relationships and Sexual Health and Parenthood (RSHP.scot) education website for children and young people.
This means they are available to schools, colleges and community-based learning as part of the Curriculum for Excellence.
Young people looking for support on any of the issues mentioned, can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or visit Childline.org.uk. Childline is available to all young people until their 19th birthday.
