Jashmin Patel
I was the first intern for MsUnderstood in January 2014. I applied for the internship because I wanted to gain more experience with working with young people and how currently services are responding to young people’s experiences of inequalities. During the programme, I had the opportunity to work closely with Carlene Firmin, contribute to many policy meetings and setting up the Girls and Young Women’s Engagement Subgroup. For International Day of the Girl, I organised a conference at City Hall for young women to influence and change policy that affect their lives. The day amplified and celebrated young women’s voices and their campaigning achievements. Currently, i’m based at Imkaan young women’s team, where I am focussing on the youth engagement work. I’ve also recently started my own makeup blog called imakeme, a platform to celebrate makeup artistry that explores different identities. Being a part of the MsUnderstood team and doing the internship programme, I have learnt and grown so much! Thank you MSU :)
Paris Black
I interned for MsUnderstood in 2014 and was their second intern on their internship program. I am currently completing my Masters in Sociology at the University of Warwick. I have always been passionate about the subject of Sociology, having completed my undergraduate degree in the subject at Bristol University a couple of years previously. The subject’s roots being connected to so many topics which MsUnderstood works passionately with such as feminism, social policy and gender equality.
My internship with MsUnderstood was an important building block in teaching me how social policy works and how positive change to society happens as a physical process. Carlene Firmin was an inspiring women to work with, and her hard work and dedication to this project is infectious to those around her. I was able to learn about communities not just in London but also meet motivating individuals from across the country. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the MsUnderstood and working with its team.
Asaybi Snape
I thoroughly enjoyed working with MSU as an intern, I was made to feel at home by the MSU team and felt that the entire team had a great understanding for the fact that I lived in Birmingham, was studying in Birmingham, had a another job and voluntary posts in Birmingham and had to commute to London on a weekly basis to complete the internship whilst managing my other obligations. As I had the option to write a dissertation or complete an internship for my final piece in my masters degree in International Human Rights Law, it was agreed with Carlene (Head of MSU) and my tutor that my internship would be included into my master’s degree as my final piece and therefore I would be assessed by my tutor on the work I completed in the internship, a huge report on my time as an intern and an essay on a topic MSU was currently working on; I chose the media representation of women. I gained some great insight into the issues youth services were experiencing in London and the struggles boroughs faced in tackling such issues. I created a merchandise poster in order to advertise MSU’s merchandise on market stools at conferences and I also created and designed MSU wristbands which I believe young people would be more willing to buy into in order to promote the works of MSU.
I was given the opportunity to sit in on very important planning and strategic meetings that allowed me to make suggestions to contribute to the direction of MSU. I was also given a place on the MSU Girls and Young Women’s Sub Group. This I felt was a very brilliant idea as it allows for interns to have a say on what they feel will work well and gave us the chance to participate in shaping MSU’s future.
Not only did I get to sit in important meetings, I was given the opportunity to participate in a few conferences. The first I facilitated a workshop alongside Fiona Factor and Helen Becket from UOB’s International Centre at the International Centre Conference 2014. The workshop was about engaging young people in the media, the struggles and benefits. This I considered an honor and great opportunity. The second conference was called the Children as Actors Transforming Society Conference in Geneva. This gave me the opportunity to showcase and also facilitate a workshop at an International Conference on the work I have done with UOB’s International Centre in the UK on gangs, CSE and issues affecting young people but also I got to talk about the things I had been doing since the project ended and therefore the projects lasting impact on my life. I was given the opportunity to conduct media speeches and interviews as a result of media reps enjoying our workshop.
Finally, I was given the opportunity to facilitate a speech and workshop at MSU’s ‘Our Version of Events Conference’ which celebrated the International Day of the Girl. This was a very overwhelming experience because I saw so many inspirational women from a variety of different age groups, backgrounds and ethnicities, but, also my Empowerment Girls Group were able to conduct their second workshop alongside myself which was also a very proud moment for me as they nailed it! I loved being in the MSU office and the debates that would conjure regarding new issues in the media, music videos etc as the months went by. I would say the MSU internship program was the best I have completed so far. I would definitely recommend it to those seeking to gain experience in politics, policy, youth advocacy and human rights. I would like to thank MSU for the great experience I gained and for the great result I gained at university based on my report and essay (71%). I will always hold your team with high respect and would love the opportunity to work with you again in a voluntary capacity.
Elizabeth Ackerley
The three months I spent with the MsUnderstood team gave me the best possible start to my career I could have wished for. I developed some very useful technical and admin skills, but more importantly I learned about passion, commitment and drive to make things more equal, and to do it all with a lot of laughter! The experience gave me invaluable insight into the women’s sector, work to safeguard young people, research into gender inequality, how to influence policy, and effective ways of engaging young people, especially girls and young women. During the internship I shadowed other members of the team, attended conferences and roundtables about child sexual exploitation, women and the criminal justice system, girls and gang violence and peer on peer abuse. I was given responsibility of some key admin tasks, I had the opportunity to write my own blog pieces and was supported to speak at stakeholder meetings and help with training sessions.
A big highlight for me was the young women’s conference, ‘Our Version of Events’ at the very beginning of the internship. The day was created and led by young women for young women, and was a celebration of all the invaluable work being done by young women to create positive change and challenge sexism and racism across the media and wider society, and the demonisation of young people. It was hugely inspirational listening to other women in the field talk about their experiences and most of all meeting other women and girls who are passionate about taking up space and making a positive change.
A crucial learning point for me whilst at MsUnderstood is the importance of intersectionality when trying to address gender inequality and violence against women and girls; the recognition that different groups of women experience inequality, prejudice and discrimination in a variety of intersecting ways is now a core part of my feminism. What I have taken away from my experience of working with MsUnderstood and Imkaan is a strengthened desire to expand my knowledge and understanding of intersectionality in all areas of life and to aim to actively make space for marginalised groups of people.
Since leaving MsUnderstood I have started work as a research intern at the International Centre: researching child sexual exploitation, violence and trafficking at the University of Bedfordshire; a role I would not have gained had it not been for the experience of the internship and the support of the MsUnderstood team. I am able to use the skills I developed during the internship, specifically around building professional relationships with others, knowledge of intersectional inequalities, contextual safeguarding and working with young people. I hope to continue to work in this field and develop my knowledge of research and policy and gain more experience of working with children and young people to support them and make their voices heard.
Cassie J-C
Since being an intern at Msunderstood I have applied for an ISVA voluntary role and I have done various training around this voluntary role. The training has helped me to understand sexual violence in a lot more detail for women , the impact of trauma and also to understand the role of the criminal justice system in relation to sexual violence cases. The internship has helped me to understand what is peer on peer abuse between young people and how different multi-agencies must work together more so that the right interventions are used when working with young people. Since training for my new voluntary role and I understand that that safeguarding and interventions are different between young people and adults therefore different professionals should understand this and put in the procedures when working with an adult or young person. In relation to the internship because I enjoyed learning about peer on peer abuse, for this reason I would like to I would like to gain some experience with young people and hopefully study a social work masters in the future.
Jade K Tate
Shadowing the MsUnderstood team, attending MSU training and being invited to conferences as a part of the MSU team has helped me understand a range of issues that can affect young women such child sexual exploitation, harmful sexual behaviours, teenage relationship abuse and serious youth violence. It is very nourishing to be part of a team where issues of gender are constantly discussed with an intersectional approach that takes ethnicity, sexuality and age into account, and all members are encouraged to learn as much as they can. Before working with MsUnderstood I felt passionate about challenging gender inequality but was unsure how to channel this in a constructive way. The internship has shown me that research, policy, supporting professionals and engaging with young people are effective ways to safeguard those who are at risk of being affected by peer-on-peer abuse and gender inequality. As a result I was inspired to apply to be an advice service volunteer for Women and Girls Network (an organisation that supports women who have been affected by gender based violence). Experience gained in the internship has been a vital part of my application and without it I would probably not have been shortlisted for an upcoming interview. Furthermore the internship has helped me to realise my desire to be a caseworker for young women and I am excited to start my journey to achieve this. It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know such a guiding, understanding and knowledgeable group of women. As a result I leave the internship knowing I have grown professionally and personally.
by Martha MacDonald
Susan B. Anthony, Bob Moses, Wajeha al-Hawaidar; to name but a few of the men and women who have dedicated their lives to achieving universal suffrage, so that we all may vote. This is not a battle which started and finished with the Suffragettes, or with the black civil-rights campaign, but one that continues today. Women in Saudi Arabia are still awaiting the day in 2015, when, at last, they will be able use their vote for the very first time in their country’s history.
I am 17 and a half years old, and last October marked the second time that I used my right to vote. Jersey, a tiny nine-by-five island, 14 miles off the coast of France; high in off-shore banking accounts, milk and low on…taxes, but more importantly (and perhaps less contentiously) on voting age. In 2008, the States of Jersey, following in the footsteps of Brazil and Nicaragua, decided to extend the right to vote to young people aged 16 and 17. My right to vote is not something that I tend to take lightly. I fully appreciate its levity, and the brazen context in which it was forged. I feel the courage of the Suffragettes drive me as I mark the cross on my ballot paper, bold and unashamed - I would like to disclose that Emmeline Pankhurst did not coerce me into voting for anything or anyone in particular…it was a metaphor.
In October this year, on International Day of the Girl, the MsUnderstood Partnership held our first annual conference - ‘Our Version of Events’ - at the City Hall in London. The idea behind the conference was to inspire and engage young women and girls by giving them a chance to discuss and develop ideas about the issues the MsUnderstood Partnership exists to explore and challenge: namely young people’s perceptions of gender inequality, sexism and racism across the media and wider society, and the demonisation of young people. Attended by more than 70 young women and girls, the day was hugely inspiring and a great affirmation of how young people can and should be the ones leading positive change. The day was created and lead by young women for young women, featuring presentations and workshops from the Girlguiding movement, the Birmingham Youth Empowerment Project, The Greater London Authority Peer Outreach Team and Imkaan’s Young Women’s Team. Tackling a variety of issues including Human Rights, influencing social policy, engaging girls and young women in politics and challenging discrimination in popular culture, one young women said the conference “Made me feel stronger. That my opinion does matter, that a difference can happen.”
“Are you all comfortable when I say the words oral sex?” Drawing the words out with an almost sadistic smile on his face, this was how a former teacher of mine once addressed our year 9 class. His question was followed by nervous giggles and embarrassed coughing and left us squirming in our seats as we tried to look anywhere but at his incredibly tight trousers. Needless to say, we were not exactly thrilled by the idea of discussing the topic with our RE teacher. This, and a cartoon video of a sperm meeting an egg, was the extent of my sex and relationships education at school. A handful of other classes were at least treated to a condom demonstration, but sexual consent, pornography, LGBTQ relationships, violence against women and girls, what constitutes a healthy relationship and online safety? Not a mention. Sadly this is not unusual, as the government deem only some aspects of Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) important enough to be compulsory in comprehensive schools; namely those that are part of the national curriculum for science and therefore do not explore healthy relationships or issues related to gender inequality. And in private schools and academies SRE can be missed out altogether.
So why is it so important that schools, in partnership with experts in the field, provide comprehensive and appropriate SRE for all their pupils?
For many years, abstinence has been traditionally taught to young girls as a method of protection and self-discipline. However, some say that this method is worn out and unpractical in this day and age. As teenagers’ hormones increase and puberty kicks in, the average age that girls are beginning to have sex is decreasing. In 2012, a total of 5,131 girls under 16 (aged 13-15) got pregnant in England and out of those, 59.8% had abortions. This is proof of why contraception should be taught to young girls in schools, to firstly, prevent any unwanted babies being killed and also to give young girl’s the power to make the right decisions for their bodies.
The application process for our internship placements are now OPEN! see http://www.msunderstood.org.uk/ for details of how to apply -
http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/policyandpublicaffairs/england/consultations/APPG-CSA-seminars_wdf102423.pdf
Just published last week - MsUnderstood gave oral evidence to this
Carlene Firmin: The Prison Reform Trust and HMIC highlight links between women’s offending and domestic and sexual violence, yet the criminal justice system still isn’t joining up the dots…click on link to read more
One of the monthly columns written by Carleene Firmin, Head of the MSunderstood Partnership
Carlene Firmin is recalling the worst case she has ever come across. A 20-year-old woman, whom she met in a refuge, had had two relationships with gang members as a teenager. They broke both her legs and her collar bone. Slashed her with knives. Beat her. Her baby was stillborn at eight months and she can no longer have children due to internal injuries.
Building on eight years of experience researching peer-on-peer exploitation, teenage relationship abuse, serious youth and gang-associated violence, Carlene Firmin is heading up the MsUnderstood Partnership to offer direct strategic and operational support to three local areas for three years. Following an initial audit, each locality will receive a bespoke three pronged, three year, programme of work to meet local need and improve strategy, tools and services.
Expressions of interest are welcomed from clusters of local authority areas in addition to single local authorities.
To download the information leaflet, please click here.
To download the expression of interest form, please click here.
The MsUnderstood Programme aims to improve local and national responses to young people’s experiences of gender inequality.
The MsUnderstood Partnership – (funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation) is a three year partnership between the University of Bedfordshire, Imkaan and the Girls Against Gangs Project, to improve responses to peer-on-peer abuse in young people’s relationships and peer groups through:
The MsUnderstood Programme is founded and headed by Carlene Firmin MBE, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Bedfordshire
Click here for more information