Following Baroness Morgan’s amendment to the Children and Wellbeing Schools Bill, powerfully supported by peers from across the house, the government has publicly committed to delivering the change in law this campaign is calling for. They stated that they would be happy for this legal change to occur through a private members bill that they would support.
We were proud to stand alongside Brook, SEF and EVAW as well as the formidable Carole Gould OBE of Killed Women to call on the Minister responsible for this change, Jacqui Smith to act promptly, particularly given the various forms of violence teenage girls are facing such as the increasing harms of the online world, namely GROK AI.
This is a major step forward. But it is not the finish line - the government are now delaying things, showing how seriously they take the issue of violence against women and girls...
The critical issue now is time.
Once again, the government is dragging its feet on the timeline of when this change can happen and every delay has real-world consequences. Each year this loophole remains open, an entire year group of 16–18-year-olds is denied life-saving education , purely because of a dangerous and ignorant gap in the law that ends mandatory Relationships and Sex Education at 16 instead of 18.
We cannot accept their subpar answers of “eventually” or “ in a few years” in regard to making this legal change happen, gender based violence does not wait and every year reported cases of teenage relationship abuse in England have increased.
No more lives can afford to be lost while we wait.
👉 Please keep signing.
👉 Please keep sharing.
👉 Please keep the pressure on.
I will continue pushing relentlessly for this reform to happen sooner rather than later, and I promise to keep you updated every step of the way.
Thank you for standing with me.
with determination,
Faustine
Our most recent media coverage can be found here:
- https://www.bigissue.com/news/social-justice/domestic-abuse-lessons-violence-women-girls labour/#:~:text=Big%20Issue%20Changemaker%20Faustine%20Petron,16%2D18%20year%2Dolds.
- https://www.bigissue.com/news/social-justice/children-crime-labour-violence-against-women-and-girls/ - Minister Alex Davies Jones
- https://www.politicshome.com/opinion/article/failing-provide-vital-relationships-sex-education-teenagers-need - Op Ed by Baroness Morgan on the urgent need for the education our campaign calls for