Equally Safe at School – student survey

An article in today’s Herald: Campaigners raise concerns over Rape Crisis Scotland school survey reports on a survey that asked second year pupils numerous questions about sexual harassment. The purpose of the survey is to evaluate the programme run by Rape Crisis Scotland in schools across Scotland on the prevention of gender based violence. Parents, however, have raised concerns about the intimate nature of the questions with no support for pupils immediately available, and queried what procedures are in place should a pupil either anonymously disclose abuse by a school teacher or admit to criminal behaviour themselves.

Trina Budge, co-director at For Women Scotland said: “It beggars belief that a rape crisis charity would be so careless with potential disclosures of sexual abuse from children. To ask 13-year-olds during class time if they have been a victim of sexual assault and then return to maths lessons as if nothing has happened is quite extraordinary.”

After completing the survey, pupils are told that if they feel upset they should speak to “a trusted teacher or other trusted adult in your life”. They are also signposted towards helplines for organisations including Childline, Rape Crisis Scotland, and LGBT Youth Scotland – the organisation that employed at least two convicted paedophiles and reported itself to the police over allegations of grooming.

As schools are reluctant to share the survey questions with parents, we provide it here: