This was the view of Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner, Emily Spurrell, who spent time observing a refusal skills workshop delivered as part of the project. The children practice talking about their boundaries and the PCC said that she is, “not sure that there are lots of adults that could articulate that as well as they did.”
Helping children to resist and refuse different forms of grooming is the focus of Ariel Trust’s approach to violence reduction education. The PCC went on to say, “social media is a huge part of our life now and we can’t ignore that, this is really about giving young people the skills to navigate that. The language that we are teaching them about boundaries and consent is really important and part of a bigger picture designed to challenge the culture that allows violence against women to happen.”
The interview with can be heard on the BBC by following the link below. You will need to scroll through the programme to 1 hour 28 minutes to find the relevant bit here.
The 'Send me a Selfie' resources are funded through the Safer Streets initiative and are freely available to every primary school on Merseyside. Schools wishing to access these resources should contact trish@arieltrust.com
