Two small information brochures are intended to further reduce the fear among children and young people of seeking help if they have experienced violence or sexual assault. Psychological stress and sexual violence are part of everyday life, but often hidden. “We take the concerns and needs of children and young people seriously and want to make education child-friendly,” said Education Minister Simone Oldenburg (Left) on Tuesday at the presentation of the two booklets in Schwerin.
“Spreading the word is not gossiping!” is aimed at students in grades 3 and 4, “Getting help is friendship!” is aimed at children from grade 5 onwards. According to Oldenburg, the two brochures complement existing support offers for students, parents and teachers. These included prevention projects such as “Dare”, “My body belongs to me” and “Class of 2000”. The booklets were printed in a circulation of 130,000 and were mostly distributed at parents’ evenings. The information is also available online.
The minister emphasized that looking and listening are particularly important in order to be able to recognize possible signs of attacks, build trust and react. Those affected are often afraid to confide in adults out of shame, but they tell friends about their needs. «Bad secrets have to be told. This is not a breach of trust,” said Oldenburg.
In recent years, those affected or their friends have revealed themselves more and more frequently. While 17 suspected cases of sexual assault were reported at schools in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the 2020/2021 school year, there were 36 in the following year and 64 in the 2022/2023 school year. Oldenburg emphasized that the majority of these reported cases did not occur in schools and were followed by police investigations. When comparing the numbers, it should also be taken into account that schools were closed for a long time in the Corona years.
The honorary chairman of German Children’s Aid, Rainer Becker, welcomed the ministry’s new initiative. As with the child protection hotline, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is also one of the pioneers in Germany when it comes to child-friendly education about sexual violence. “It is not uncommon for abused children to send signals and try to express what is happening to them in a “different language,” he explained. Parents and teachers would have to sharpen their senses and be prepared to report their perceptions.
Oldenburg referred to studies according to which, purely mathematically, one to two students per class are affected by sexual violence within or outside the family. Around 80 school psychologists are deployed in the country to intervene quickly and professionally in these or other cases with psychological effects. Early and comprehensive support is important in order to be able to counteract possible subsequent problems.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:231114-99-941521/3
Two small information brochures are intended to further reduce the fear among children and young people of seeking help if they have experienced violence or sexual assault. Psychological stress and sexual violence are part of everyday life, but often hidden. “We take the concerns and needs of children and young people seriously and want to make education child-friendly,” said Education Minister Simone Oldenburg (Left) on Tuesday at the presentation of the two booklets in Schwerin.
“Spreading the word is not gossiping!” is aimed at students in grades 3 and 4, “Getting help is friendship!” is aimed at children from grade 5 onwards. According to Oldenburg, the two brochures complement existing support offers for students, parents and teachers. These included prevention projects such as “Dare”, “My body belongs to me” and “Class of 2000”. The booklets were printed in a circulation of 130,000 and were mostly distributed at parents’ evenings. The information is also available online.
2023-11-15 03:40:45
#Education #Children #victims #sexualized #violence #brochure #information
