Youth Service group Her Voice Wales set for TV appearance

08 December 2023

Work by the Youth Service to tackle sexual harassment has attracted national attention and will feature in a three-part series on S4C.

Her Voice Wales, one of the service’s participation groups, produced a report on how to improve street safety and have presented the findings to a range of audiences, including members of the Council’s Cabinet and a gathering at the Senedd.

Those efforts have also seen the group shortlisted for a Youth Work Excellence Award, organised by Welsh Government.

They honour exceptional youth work contributions across the country, with the winners crowned at a ceremony in Llandudno this February.

Her Voice Wales has been nominated in the category of Demonstrating Excellence in Partnership Planning and Delivery at a Local Level.

Made up of girls aged 13 to 17 from across the County, the group wanted to raise awareness of catcalling and sexual harassment among young people so started the #wedon’tfeelsafe campaign.

That involved conducting a survey into the problem.

One of the group explained: “Her Voice Wales was formed in March 2022 after some of our members completed the Champions of Wales scheme. That programme aimed to support young people to build the skills and confidence to become a champion of equality in their own communities, empowering them to change perceptions and attitudes towards girls, so that girls can live free from gender inequality. When the programme finished, we wanted to continue to meet to have a safe space.

“The #wedon’tfeelsafe campaign came about through one of the final Champions of Wales sessions during which we identified issues and themes affecting girls in the Vale of Glamorgan. We voted street safety and raising awareness of catcalling and public sexual harassment as our top issue.

“We applied for the Wales Young Change Makers grant which supported us to launch a survey, write a report with our findings, hold a showcase event with key stakeholders and work with a design team to create posters.”

That artwork encouraged young people to report incidents of harassment, while prominent individuals, such as Council Leader Lis Burnett, have made a pledge to publicise the problem.

Her Voice Wales has also come up with ideas to improve street safety, including the creation of Safe Spaces.

This involves asking businesses across the Vale to display a sticker in their windows indicating that it is a safe place to enter.

When a young person is feeling vulnerable, they can use this location as refuge.

Michaela O’Neill, Lead Project Officer, said: “I have been the ‘middle man’ for the young people throughout this campaign. I have given them an opportunity to explore and develop ideas and the support to make decisions.

“I am most impressed by the members commitment and will to succeed. The girls have a passion to act and make a difference, not only for themselves but for all young people. I am so proud of their accomplishments and growth throughout this period. Presenting to large audiences and professional bodies is not easy to do.

“Her Voice Wales will continue to champion the Safe Spaces scheme and hope to work closely with Safer Vale on this.

“Further ahead, we want to present to the different scrutiny committees of the Council to continue to raise awareness of the issues that are affecting young people feeling safe.”

Her Voice Wales is just one of a number of groups connected to the Council’s Youth Service and, in particular, Senior Youth Engagement Worker, Alex Thomas.

Alex’s role is to oversee various projects that have a participation focus and give young people a platform to be heard.

She oversees the Vale Youth Council, Penarth Youth Action, Rights Ambassadors Group and I AM ME group, among others.

“Youth participation empowers young people to have a voice on decisions made about them. It allows young people to take on valued roles within their communities and influence real outcomes,” said Alex.  

“Our Vale Youth Council are currently planning a climate conversations event to link in with the Council’s Project Zero work, while Penarth Youth Action have been involved in the Cwrt Y Vil Multiuse Games Area (MUGA) design work in Penarth.

“The Vale Youth Service actively encourages youth participation by offering young people the opportunity to be consulted and gather their ideas and opinions, take part in local and national consultations and represent the views of young people to decision makers in the Vale.

“They can also be involved in community events and activities and learn about children and young people’s rights.”

A production company that provides content for Welsh Language broadcaster S4C became aware of Her Voice Wales after one of its presenters attended a presentation in Cardiff.

The group’s experiences will now be included in a set of programmes, each focusing on a different topic that has an impact on young people.

It is due to broadcast early in the new year.