Monday 17th of May, 2021

NHS and YouTube Pair to Encourage Vaccination Among Young People  

  • YouTube has partnered with the NHS to launch a campaign to encourage young people to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
  • The campaign’s tagline ‘Let’s Not Go Back’ will be used in a national awareness drive  on social media, billboards and in the national press.  
  • 98% of 18–34-year-olds in the UK use YouTube every month.
  • Dr Nikki Kanani, Medical Director of Primary Care for NHS England, said…it is great to have support from platforms such as YouTube, to reassure people that the vaccine is safe, simple and effective”. 
  • Get the full story here.

Study Finds Pandemic Left Children More Vulnerable Online  

  • A report by the University of New South Wales has raised further concerns about the impact of the pandemic on child sexual exploitation investigations globally.
  • The research surveyed law enforcement professionals working to combat online CSE across the world. 
  • The majority of professionals reported an increase in abuse material, online grooming, activity in organised abuse communities, online risk-taking by children and live streaming of abuse.
  • Dr Michael Salter, an expert in child sexual exploitation, said that “professionals struggled to maintain their existing outreach and prevention efforts”. 
  • He also called on the need for child protection systems to plan responses to future crises and pandemics.
  • Get the full story here.  

LGBTQ+ Youth Twice as Likely to Contemplate Suicide

  • A survey by Just Like Us, an LGBTQ+ young people’s charity, surveyed almost 3,000 young people. 
  • The organisation found that LGBTQ+ were three times more likely to self-harm and twice as likely to contemplate suicide.
  • The research indicated that 68% of LGBTQ+ young people had experienced suicidal thoughts, compared with 29% of young people who did not identify as LGBTQ+.
  • Lesbian (75%) and Trans (77%) were most likely to have experienced suicidal thoughts and feelings.
  • Where young people were LGBTQ+ and Black, 89% of them had experienced suicidal thoughts compared with 67% of white LGBTQ+ young people. 
  • Get the full story here

NSPCC Launches Landmark Childhood Day  

  • On the 11th of June, the NSPCC plans to launch Childhood Day, a celebration of childhood to help raise money and focus on the profound impact of the pandemic on young people.
  • In the past year, Childline calls across the UK about mental or emotional health increased by 29% and calls about emotional abuse increased by 18%.  
  • Young people have been particularly impacted by rolling lockdowns and the most severe changes to their lives in a generation, having had their schools closed several times amid rising COVID deaths across the UK.
  • The NSPCC wants to see the UK Government invest in children and better support their mental health.
  • Get the full story here