Katrina Charles and Rebecca Steels invited to speak at Highgate School as part of its response to issues raised on the Everyone’s Invited website

Katrina and Rebecca were invited to speak to concerned students about the issues highlighted by personal stories posted on the Everyone’s Invited website by students at the School. The published stories had brought the issue of sexual violence and sexual harassment to the forefront of the young people’s minds. The school are taking a pro-active approach to engaging its students and tackling these topics and are running a programme of talks from professionals engaged with assisting victims of sexual violence and its prevention.

Katrina and Rebecca spoke to year 13 students aged 17 and 18 about the court process, and in particular the approach to sexism and sexual violence within the justice system. There was a particular focus on sexual assault allegations and about how the criminal justice system is seeking to tackle the myths surrounding victims of sexual offences. In discussing the safeguards in place for complainants they addressed the process from the point of initial allegation through to trial and allayed fears about systemic unfairness following the introduction of section 41, section 28 and disclosure management of personal information, as well as the lack of comparative safeguards for defendants.

The students participated throughout the session, with a keen interest in whether anything could be done differently to support complainants, and whether the future is bright for the students given their engagement and education in this area.