'Essential' Pupils Taught About Healthy Relationships

The vast majority of young people in Scotland think it's important to be educated on healthy sexual relationships.

The number of sexual crimes recorded by police in Scotland increased by 12% last year.

94% of high school pupils who attended sexual violence prevention workshops said being taught about consent and the law was essential. The project's being run by Rape Crisis Scotland - they found the attitudes of young people changed when given the opportunity to discuss these issues in an open and safe environment.

Between October 2013 and March 2015, workshop sessions were delivered to 8,412 young people in 79 schools and 22 youth agencies.  The majority of sessions were delivered to pupils in S3-4.

The evaluation found that following attendance at three  Rape Crisis workshops, the vast majority of young people had increased their knowledge of the law on sexual violence. Before attending 53% of young people agreed with the statement I know what the law says sexual violence is, but afterwards 89% did so, and those who said they were 'not sure' decreased from 39% to just 10%.  

Police in Fife recorded 829 sexual crimes in 2014/15. It is estimated many more have suffered but did not report the crime. Fife Rape and Sexual Assault Centre (FRASAC) supported 229 individuals last year.

18% of women have experienced a complete or attempted rape at some time in their life. Sandy Brindley, from Rape Crisis Scotland, said:

"If we are serious about reducing sexual violence, we need to prioritise working with young people, to make sure that they have safe spaces to explore issues around consent and healthy sexual relationships.  The findings of the evaluation are really significant, and show that our approach works - it is clearly possible to change attitudes, and from that to look at how we change behaviour.

"It is essential that young people know what the law says, what kind of behaviour constitutes rape and what consent actually means."