Many young people feel pressured to share images of themselves
Students worked with Rock FM, Lancashire Police and Nest Lancashire case workers to explore the topics and to create podcasts in the station’s recording studio to help educate other young people.
The finished podcasts will be shared with schools across Lancashire to raise awareness of what happy and healthy relationships should and shouldn’t look like and where young people can get help should they need it.
Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw said: “Bringing the voice of young people to the forefront is so important in trying to educate them around staying safe within their relationships, be that online or in person.
“Young people listen to their peers and by getting them to explore the topics and create messages around staying safe in their own words we can make sure that they are taken on board.
“I am really impressed with the maturity the students have shown today. These topics can be difficult to talk about but everyone has worked really hard and the podcasts the students have created as a result will be a fantastic resource to share with schools across the county.
Detective Chief Inspector Eric Halford from Lancashire Constabulary added: “If we can educate children to recognise the signs of unhealthy relationships and the dangers involved in sharing images we can start conversations with them about how to meet their emotional needs in healthier ways.
“Many young people feel pressured to share images of themselves but don’t realise that it can leave them unwittingly open to being criminalised or becoming a victim, both of which has a massive impact on their mental health and in the worst cases, their future life prospects.”
“Workshops like this really help to get this message across and to prevent young people from being exploited.”
Nest Lancashire, funded by the Commissioner to support young people affected by crime in Lancashire, supported the students in exploring the topics and shared information about the support they can offer during the day.
Adrian Wright, Service Coordinator for Nest said: “Workshops like this are a great way of engaging young people in difficult subjects and getting them to think about how they can keep themselves and each other safe.
“Today has also been a great opportunity to let the students know that Nest Lancashire is here to support them should they ever find themselves in a situation where they feel they might be exploited or are unsure where to turn. The podcasts created today will help to get that message out to many young people in Lancashire which is fantastic.”
The podcasts will be added to the Nest Lancashire toolkit which is available to professionals working with children and young people in Lancashire. Professionals can register at www.nestlancashire.org/toolkit to access a full range of educational tools and resources aimed at keeping young people in Lancashire safe.
