What's New

October the 11th is International Day of the Girl Child; a chance for us to celebrate the power of young girls and work on ways to improve the prospects of young girls around the world.

This week Lady Gaga released a powerful video about sexual assault in Universities. The song was written for the documentary called “The Hunting Ground.” The video shows graphic situations of sexual assault committed against women in various situations.

Rape, consent and victim blaming are terms that are talked about but are often misunderstood. In her new novel, ‘Asking For It,’ Louise O’Neill tackles these issues. She challenges the “two myths that [are] very dangerous in our culture; that of the perfect rape and that of the perfect victim.”

My interest in domestic abuse and its prevention began a few years ago when I trained to become a listener for a suicide helpline. It wasn’t long before clear patterns began to emerge, with many different forms of abuse discussed in almost every call.

“I got involved with the Tender Youth Board because the subject of healthy versus unhealthy relationships is something that affects everyone my age, so I can personally see the need for, and the brilliant effect of, Tender’s work. I love how Tender actively tries to prevent the issue in a way that immediately helps change lives, and it’s amazing to feel like a proper part of that at the Youth Board.” -Hannah Lily Lanyon - Youth Ambassador and Youth Board member since 2011

Personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) has been an element of the National Curriculum for UK schools since 2000, yet only some aspects are compulsory: sex and relationships education (SRE) is not a necessary requirement, should this be the case?

Every week, 2 women in England and Wales are killed by a current or former partner (Office of National Statistics, 2015) - 1 every 3 days. This means over 100 women a year. Let that sink in for a minute.

After the success of the ‘No More Page 3’ campaign earlier this year, we are a step closer to diminishing the sexual objectification of the female body in the UK. Over the Atlantic, a similar battle has commenced, but from the outside it looks like a contradictory cause.

The social media obsession of today’s youth has created a vast network of teenage celebrities whose private lives are at the forefront of entertainment news. This can be a dark road for those who do not treat it with respect, as vine star, Carter Reynolds, has recently learned.

All over the News and monthly 30minute Crime Watch shows In Britain we hear about domestic violence and abuse cases, typically towards younger women - as low as the ages of 13- who are vulnerable and think that controlling attitudes in relationships are of the norm or are trapped and cannot escape it.

There is a statement that so many domestic abuse victims can relate to. There is an ongoing issue regarding the number of woman that are struck by fear and too frightened to leave their abusers. According to statistics more women are killed by their partner AFTER they’ve separated rather than when they are living together, this is the main factor that restricts victims from leaving, the fear. The fear of getting caught, the fear of getting killed, the fear.

Recently I was shown an animated video which made me seriously reflect on the difference between empathy and sympathy and how I engage with each of them. I’ve always known the differences in dictionary definitions between the two, but until it was laid out visually for me, I hadn’t realised just how important these differences are.

This past week, Tender sent facilitators to participate in Camden's Intergenerational Week. We asked our younger participants to write letters to their future selves, and our more mature participants to write letters to their younger selves. The letters were to offer advice about relationships and we got some incredible responses! We wanted to share some wonderful excerpts.

As I wrap up my last few weeks in London, I have been trying to reflect on the multitude of experiences I’ve been lucky enough to have. Most have been good (sunny London is a dream come true), some not so good (the tube at rush hour), but my experience at Tender has been truly life-changing.

In Britain, as in America, election season is beginning to get underway. We’ll hear candidates pontificate about everything from taxes to Ukraine to healthcare and all of the issues in between. Many will also reaffirm their commitments to “women’s” issues like domestic violence and sexual assault awareness. While it’s always good to hear politicians speak up about these underrepresented yet very pressing issues, it’s time to stop calling them “women’s issues”.