HOW CAN YOU HELP CREATE CHANGE TODAY?

Write to Your School

Many of us are looking for ways to do something tangible to tackle gender-based violence. We have written a template letter below for you to send out to your old/current school to urge them to prioritise education around gender-based violence and gender inequality. Please share this and encourage your school friends to do the same (the more from the same school the better!).

This letter is just a template. You might want to add more about your own experiences and why you think this education is needed. Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like support from Bold Voices with reaching out to schools.

Dear *SCHOOL/TEACHER*,

It has been hard not to be moved by the outpouring of grief and testimonies from survivors of sexual harassment and sexual violence over the past couple of years. The 50,000 testimonies anonymously submitted to Everyone’s Invited and statistics like those from UN Women UK that found 97% of young women aged 18 – 24 years-old have experienced sexual harassment are reminders of how prevalent and normalised these experiences are. Reading and listening to the testimonies of countless women and girls has made *me/us* desperate to take action.

This is a crucial moment to turn our focus to what we can do to create real change for the next generations coming through. Prioritising education on these issues is an absolute necessity. We need to be ensuring boys and girls have the opportunity to learn about gender based violence and the cultures, attitudes and beliefs that lead to it.  As a former pupil of *NAME OF SCHOOL* I am interested to see what action you are taking on this topic and I urge you to join the movement and to make education on gender based violence and gender inequality a priority at *NAME OF SCHOOL*. 

For support delivering this education I would recommend Bold Voices. Bold Voices is a social enterprise delivering education on gender inequality and gender-based violence in schools and universities. They provide workshops, talks and resources on these issues; starting the uncomfortable, yet necessary, conversations with students that lead to real change within society. Their work contextualises gender based violence within wider issues of gender inequality and encourages students to think critically and challenge the seemingly harmless norms and attitudes that lead to this violence. Bold Voices also recommend supporting this education with resources from Our Streets Now on the specific issue of public sexual harassment that has been such a pressing issue in the media recently .

It is through education that we can prepare and empower students to leave school with a clear understanding of the attitudes, beliefs and actions that lead to gender based violence and how they can play a role in tacking it.

How to get in touch with Bold Voices:
Website: https://www.boldvoices.co.uk/
Email: natasha@boldvoices.co.uk
Instagram: @hearthisboldvoice
Twitter: bold_voices

*I/We* look forward to hearing from you about the actions *NAME OF SCHOOL* are taking to eradicate gender inequality and gender based violence. 

Yours sincerely,

*NAME*