Teachers everywhere are concerned about the rise in sexual violence and harassment in schools. They are looking to understand the causes and find tools to use as interventions. Policy Hub Scotland are on to it and kindly invited TRF to speak at their conference in Edinburgh on 25 November to raise awareness about the impact of internet pornography on the adolescent brain. The comments from participants were extremely positive about our contribution. They also liked Graham Goulden’s workshop from the Mentoring Violence Programme and Lesley Walker from NHS Lothian’s Healthy Respect team. TRF is pleased to confirm that we are collaborating closely with both these players.
Much research in the past around violence has focused on the work of sociologists and psychologists. However the latest developments in neuroscience offer key new insights into how adolescents are affected by the changed environment brought about by our immersion in technology.
Education in schools about the reward system of the brain in adolescents needs to be a key part of the prevention strategy. The Reward Foundation is pioneering effort to teach young people how to develop self-management strategies such a doing a 24hour screen fast and also to consider experimenting with quitting internet pornography. Otherwise the rise in sexual harassment and violence amongst young people, and with it poorer levels of attainment, are likely to continue unabated.
Three challenges have become apparent from the discussion we had at the Policy Hub event. First there are too few educational tools to tackle the matter directly in schools. Second, how do we involve parents in the issue? A one-sided approach at school is not enough. Parents need to be on board and be willing to collaborate in any endeavour to help their kids do well at school. Third, are there funds available to provide training for teachers and pupils? If money is not produced to support prevention, then the costs in health care for mental and physical health issues, criminal justice bill and unemployment benefits stemming from addiction, are likely to spiral out of control in the years to come.
