The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Fierce Girls pass on baton in battle against peer sex abuse
Oor Fierce Girls are a band of courageous young women helping peers in Dundee schools speak out about sex abuse and toxic relationships.
But as the schoolgirls who have led the movement prepare to start university, they are recruiting the next generation of girls and young women to take up the cause.
They also hope schools in other areas will soon have their own Fierce Girls, with talks already under way with authorities in Angus and Perth and Kinross.
As they prepare to pass on the baton, some of Dundee’s Oor Fierce Girls spoke about the work they have done and what it is been like being part of the project with Dundee City Council, NSPCC Scotland and YCWA Scotland.
This time last year, the campaign launched a ‘toolkit’ of resources to help professionals and parents talk with young people about peer sex abuse and what a healthy relationship looks like. The girls were involved with creating the toolkit and have spent the last year raising awareness and ensuring girls and young women know where to go to seek support.
Four Dundee schools now have Oor Fierce Girls representatives – Morgan Academy, Baldragon Academy, Craigie High School and Braeview Academy – and it is hoped an army of new Oor Fierce Girls will march it out to the others next term.
Fatima Ishaq, of Morgan Academy, said: “Our school signed up to be a ‘test of change’ using our campaign toolkits, so we created safe spaces. But we recognised that safe spaces don’t have to be an actual place and in some schools that’s not readily available, so we delivered staff training using our toolkit and now we have teachers who are the safe spaces young people can go to.”
Fellow Morgan Academy leaver Megan White said: “Teachers are now more willing to speak about things and have more conversations, which is the whole reason behind this campaign.”
The campaign has encouraged more girls to talk about relationships and abusive behaviour, according to Ashley Henderson of Baldragon Academy.
She said: “Girls I’ve spoken to who know what I do have said they feel more comfortable speaking about this. It has taken away some of the stigma around these conversations, which is a really positive change.”
And there is a “huge” need for such change, she said. “Nobody really talks about the relationship side
of things. They talk about sexual abuse and sexual assault but never when it’s with someone you know and love, and that can be just as dangerous and just as scary,” she said.
Ashley, Megan, Fatima and Sophie Kelly, who designed the team’s new
logo, are moving on to university and art college after the holidays but Ashley said being part of the Oor Fierce Girls had been an “amazing experience”.
They have worked closely with education support officer Sarah Anderson.
Sarah said: “What’s really powerful about the campaign is it’s from a young person’s perspective.
“It’s our young women using their voice and their power to encourage adults around them to listen to things from their perspective.”