‘Jane’ (not her real name), a 15 year old girl was able to identify that her boyfriend’s behaviour in their relationship was unhealthy and contained several of the early warning signs of potential abuse.

She was then able to tell her friends and teacher about her concerns and get support and advice on what to do next. Without the project Jane may not have spotted these signs early on and been able to talk to her friends. Similarly her friends may not have been able to advise her safely without the knowledge they gained from the project.

She was also able to spot emotional abuse from her mother and disclosed this to the Tender workshop leaders. She wanted some counselling on how to deal with her mother. Following child protection procedures the disclosure was passed on to the child protection officer at the school. The school already had confidential counselling available to students which Jane did not know about so, thanks to the Tender project, she was able to receive the counselling she needed and the school knew of her situation.

Tender’s education projects have an impact on all young people, and in this case it was through exploration of early warning signs and what is healthy and unhealthy in a relationship.