Everyone has the right to be safe and everyone has a responsibility to help you.
All children and young people have the right to be protected and kept safe from harm.
Childline is here to help anyone under 19 in the UK with any issue they're going through. Whether it's something big or small, their trained counsellors are there to support you. Childline is free, confidential and available any time, day or night. Click on the links below for further information. You can also chat online, just go to their website and click on the Chat Online Button.
www.childline.org.uk - Children of all ages and young people can speak on the phone or use 1-2-1 Chat any time of the day or night. They can send emails at any time and these will be answered in the 24 hour time frame. For any children with a hearing impairment, the Deaf Zone is an additional resource on the website.
www.childline.org.uk/kids - for children under 12, visit this page.
How to contact Childline video is here
Childline Scotland 0800 1111
Young People can find information if they are feeling anxious or worried and how you can support others in your community as well as what's going on in the area i.e. Helpful contacts, news, what’s on and discounts etc.
Young Scot and Scottish Government have launched a new resource developed in partnership with Rape Crisis Scotland and Scottish Women's Aid. This resource – called #ThatsNotOK – provides young people with information about different forms of gender-based violence, healthy relationships and consent, and signposts where they get additional support.
Young Scot - That's Not OK new resource
Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) have a website you can visit to get loads of advice on keeping yourself safe about Gaming, using Mobiles, and being Online.
Here is a short film to promote our VSVS (Virtually Safe Virtually Sound) day. This event was held at Aith Junior High School (file prepared by Youth Services). VSVS events are held in all Junior High Schools every second year.
"You don’t have to like me, agree with me or enjoy the same things I do…but you do have to respect me."
Bullying could be verbal, physical or social, online or offline and is unwanted behaviour. It includes actions such as threats, spreading rumors or physically attacking someone. If you or someone you know is being bullied, more information can be found by clicking on these links:
kidscape - providing practical support, training, and advice to challenge bullying and protect young lives.
Respect me - Scotland's Anti Bullying Service
Find other contacts for children and young people about Bullying
or watch this video about what you could do to feel more like yourself: Respect me - Bullying - What can I do?
Who Cares? Scotland are a national organisation providing advocacy and participation activities to looked after children and care experienced young people. The service is confidential and totally independent of statutory services like social work and care providers. Advocates are on the side of the child or young person and are not involved in making any decisions about them. An advocate is there to help young folk speak up as an individual or a group.
We have 2 workers in Shetland;
Siân Wild [email protected] 07974370714 and
Rachel Hewitt [email protected] 07849090687
An advocate supports children and young people by:
Domestic abuse in a household can have a big impact on the children and young people in a family. Domestic abuse can happen in any family and can happen to men as well as women. For help and advice visit our page on Domestic Abuse & GBV for Children and Young People.
Childline Scotland - If you feel anxious you don't have to cope alone.
Voice Against Violence | Tackling domestic abuse through the voice of the young - Voice Against Violence are a group of young people with direct experience of domestic abuse who are working with the Scottish Government and Local Authorities to tackle domestic abuse and improve the lives of children.
18U - Home - 18U provides information and support to young people who have been abused in any way. You can visit in person in Dundee, by, phone on Facebook, text, WhatsApp, snapchat or I-Message.
LGBT Youth Scotland | LGBT Youth Scotland - LGBT Youth Scotland’s website provides information on identifying domestic abuse and what to do in a crisis. LGBT Youth Scotland is the largest youth and community-based organisation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Scotland.
The Awkward Moments work is to provide support for young people aged 16 to 19 and increase confidence to start the important conversations about positive and mutual consent.
Thinkuknow - Lets Talk about Sex - Information for young people on sex and relationships
Looking for advice? - LoveRespect - All the info you need to spot unhealthy behaviour, and what to do about it.
The Compass Centre - free inclusive, and confidential support and information to anyone, of any gender (age 13+), in Shetland affected by any form of sexual violence. This includes survivors, as well as family, friends, and supporters.
[email protected]
01595 745074
https://linktr.ee/theopenproject ßlink tree to our social media.
The OPEN Project strives to enable young people to achieve their full potential and gain the skills and confidence to take control of their pathway, through providing guidance, support, and encouragement in a safe and understanding environment.
Peer Mentoring – OPEN provides training and support for young people aged 16-25 to become Peer Mentors to support other young people aged 14-21 to identify and work towards a series of personal goals. These goals can be around building confidence or working towards applying for jobs, Uni etc.
Peer Education – OPEN provides training and support for young people aged 16-25 to create, design and deliver issues based workshops to other young people in the community. Most of these workshops will be delivered in Schools to S1 to S4 classes. Some issues covered are Online Safety, Drugs, Alcohol, Sexual Health, Positive Relationships, Mental Health.
Da Café – OPEN works with young people to open a youth space called Da Café two nights per week in the Olive Tree at Bolts Shopping Centre, Lerwick. This space is where young people 14-25 can meet with and socialise with their peers and get a free refreshments.
OPEN Board – We have a group of young people 16-29 making up our Governing body. OPEN’s Board set the vision and strategic direction of our project. As our project is Youth-led and we work for the benefit of all young people, we felt that it would be pointless having our board made up of adults, when there are many capable young people that can do the role perfectly! OPEN have also set up a group of adult Board Mentors, who can be called on to give advice or information to the board if they are unsure on a particular topic.
The Children and Young People’s Commissioner for Scotland site has some information about children’s rights in a time of crisis and a number of helpful links to resources
Children and Young People's Commissioner for Scotland - Children's Human Rights
On 7th November 2020 the law in Scotland changed. This means that no adult has the right to physically punish a child - this means hitting, smacking, skelping and pinching (but it can mean other forms of physical punishment too)
