The 2017/18 programme

Choosing a topic

The 2017/18 participants were a diverse group geographically and culturally, but all united in their desire to change things, and improve the lives of other young women growing up in Scotland. A percentage of places in this group were reserved for partner organisations within The Young Women’s Movement’s network such as Young Scot, Amina Muslim Women’s Resource Centre, Girlguiding Scotland, Saheliya, and LGBT Youth Scotland. Partner organisations were invited to nominate a young woman for this programme who, in turn, acts as a champion and connector between The Young Women’s Movement and other public, private and third sector organisations.

In the year of the #MeToo movement, their chosen topic of inquiry, sexual harassment in schools, looked at their local communities and lived experiences. The young women recognised that this behaviour is often intersectional and incorporates racism, disablism and homophobia.

The process

• 16/17 February – Participant Training
• 9 March – 1st Committee Meeting
• 20 April – 2nd Committee Meeting
• 18 May – 3rd Committee Meeting
• 31 May – Report Launch
• 30 June – Graduation

Committee meetings were chaired by Deputy Presiding Officer Linda Fabiani, with participants taking evidence and questioning Scottish Government officials. Participants carried out engagement work across Scotland, leading focus groups and running an online campaign and survey, analysing the data to create focused solutions. Over the course of their inquiry, they came up with innovative ideas to eliminate bullying, harassment and discrimination in schools, ranging from providing safe spaces to additional training for teachers and ensuring an inclusive approach recognising different needs for different groups. The final report was presented to the Scottish Government. The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education committed to ‘engage seriously on the contents of its report.’

Watch the committee meetings here:

Results

In December 2018 the Parliament’s Equalities and Human Rights Committee decided to follow up on the Young Women Lead Committee’s report. They invited participants to give evidence on their inquiry, and then questioned Deputy First Minister John Swinney on actions that the Scottish Government had taken in light of the recommendations. The Scottish Government then followed up with a full written response to the report, which can be found here.

Feedback

The participants themselves spoke highly of their personal outcomes from involvement in the programme, including: gaining confidence to try a new career; raising issues with MSPs and setting up a support network for other young women. The group remain involved in the work of both Young Women Lead and the Scottish Parliament, and are in regular contact through a social media group where they have created a positive and supportive peer network.

 

 

Participants

Convener of the Young Women Lead Committee: Linda Fabiani MSP – Deputy Presiding Officer

Parliamentary staff

• Hayley Forrester – Project Lead
• Rachel Edwards – Clerk of the Young Women Lead Committee
• Gillian Baxendine – Senior Managment Support
• Gerry McGuire/Hannah Glen – Social media Officer
• Linda Peters – Media Relations Officer
• Suzie Macpherson – Resourcer
• Leanne Smith – Administrator

YWCA staff

• Jemma Tracey – Programme Co-ordinator
• Tomiwa Folorunso – Programme Intern

Publications

Main report – click on the cover below

  

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Other documents

• Official response to the report from the Scottish Government
• Girl-guiding Scotland Written Submission
• Scottish Government Written Submission
• Rape Crisis Scotland Written Submission
• Scottish Women’s Aid Written Submission
• Zero Tolerance Written Submission
• Get involved with Girl Guiding Scotland Citizen Girl
• Zero Tolerance Under Pressure Resource
• Girlguiding Scotland Citizen Girl Resource