Northumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Susan Dungworth, is urging schools to sign up for The Alice Ruggles Trust school assembly programme, as it gains momentum across the force area..
Funded by the PCC’s office, the Trust is delivering free assemblies to secondary schools across the Northumbria Police force area to help students learn about the warning signs, understand the law, and know where to seek help if needed.
18 schools across the region have already signed up to the project, with 13 assemblies delivered to date. The Alice Ruggles Trust seeks to give young people the confidence to recognise stalking behaviours and empower stalking victims to seek help much sooner, and to build a society that responds in the right way.
Stalking often leads to emotional, psychological, and sometimes physical harm and has been experienced by 1 in 5 young people in the UK. 47% of young people who reported being stalked experienced it online.
Working with partners to prioritise prevention to help reduce violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a key focus for the PCC, who launched her ‘Safer Streets: Stronger Communities’ Plan last month. The Commissioner believes this school assemblies programme is a great example of that prevention work in action.
Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Susan Dungworth, said:
“A real way to protect our young people is to get more education around stalking in our schools. The more young people we can get in front of to raise awareness of what stalking can look like and how to enjoy healthy relationships, the better.
“We need to support young people and not normalise or trivialise unwanted behaviours and we need to bust the misconceptions – it’s not just a problem for celebrities – it can happen to anyone. Anyone can become a victim, and anyone can become a stalker if their behaviour towards another person is fixated, obsessive, unwanted and repeated.
“As these engaging assemblies cover, the impact it can have on the victim and their families can be devastating. So, I am appealing to students and to teachers to take a proactive approach in raising awareness by reaching out to The Alice Ruggles Trust and make an important assembly happen in your school.”
Feedback following the school assemblies included a 16-year-old girl commenting “Even if it seems like innocent intentions, your feelings are still validated.” A 14-year-old boy added that he’d learnt “It should always be taken seriously; even if it’s nothing, it’s better to tell someone before it’s too late.”
Lydia Bond, Community Engagement Officer for The Alice Ruggles Trust, who delivers the programme in schools, said:
“Seeing students engage with these sessions and hearing their reflections has been incredibly rewarding. Their words show just how vital it is to educate young people on the seriousness of stalking and healthy relationship behaviours. We’re also incredibly grateful for our volunteers, whose support makes all of this possible—but we still need more people to get involved and help us reach even more young people. We’re making real progress in Northumbria, and I’m excited to keep expanding this work.”
Clive Ruggles added: “It is the mission of the Alice Ruggles Trust to foster generations of young people who understand stalking, the potential risks of stalking, and what they can do about it. We know our assemblies across Northumbria are starting vital conversations that are part of the prevention puzzle to bringing stalking to an end.”
To arrange an assembly or learn more about how to volunteer with this vital initiative, contact Lydia at The Alice Ruggles Trust lydia@alicerugglestrust.org
