Meeting my MP about the Proud Trust sex ed materials

[Mollscroll]

I wrote to my Conservative female MP about the Proud Trust sex ed materials in May. I told her of my objections to the fact that they:

• promoted male-focussed sexual activities to girls as young as 13
• made no mention of any safe sex requirements around, for example, inserting objects in an anus
• made no reference to breasts, clitoris
• were designed to help girls discard their natural boundaries

And that all this was funded by the tampon tax which is supposed to be used in support of women and girls.

She did not get back to me despite multiple chasing letters. I suspect someone in her office did not like my objections. I have finally secured a meeting with her on zoom next week - I had to write to the local chair of the Conservative Party in order to get this.

Now that I have this meeting, I can't think what to say. I am so angry about the Proud Trust and about the betrayal of women and girls that I don't know what else to add.

I also don't know the current status of this material - I believe it may have been withdrawn but obviously the money, taken from the pockets of women and girls, has already been spent on a product which reduces us to mere tools for men's sexual pleasure.

Can anyone calmer and more succinct than me give me some pointers? What would you raise at this point?

Even if it has been withdrawn surely there is a question about how this managed to get into school in the first place?

Have you looked on Transgender Trend or Safe Schools Alliance? I know SSA recently released a parents' guide to RSE providers (link below). Might give you a framework for discussion

safeschoolsallianceuk.net/2020/10/25/new-ssa-uk-guidance-on-schools-rse-and-pshe-resources/?fbclid=IwAR3oMH9cM187KhKi4_9-oFluPJwk4JdjMp3r_6SO9fauwIbgcr4zGm1XjU8

www.transgendertrend.com/

It does not appear to have been withdrawn. The toolkit including the dice game still seems to be available here.

www.theproudtrust.org/training-and-education/secondary-education-resources/sexuality-agender/

This is the Specific Transgender Trend blog about the Proud Trust and the Dice game.

www.transgendertrend.com/proud-trust-nothing-proud/

The SSA resource that TheShoesa linked to also has a whole section about The Proud Trust and its unsuitability as a RSE resource provider.

I would link as far as you can to the recent DfE guidance which is also explained in the SSA resource.

[quote ChickenonaMug]It does not appear to have been withdrawn. The toolkit including the dice game still seems to be available here.

www.theproudtrust.org/training-and-education/secondary-education-resources/sexuality-agender/[/quote]
AFAIK it's the new guidance from the DofE/Gov saying schools need to be more aware of what they're using, making sure it's age appropriate etc but the product is still available to whoever wants to buy it.
I'm not sure what guidelines/policing exist to watch who can advertise their products as suitable for schools PHSE (?)

I think the strategy needs to be firstly, secure her agreement that this stuff is harmful, second, talk about the mechanisms for vetting materials provided to schools and thirdly, how is she going to raise this issue internally within the government?

As others have suggested, the safe schools alliance resources are excellent but in your shoes I'd also do my homework on what the rules currently are around vetting materials- are the rules inadequate or were they ignored?

Also, look up the various mechanisms open to MPs wishing to raise issues - if you think, for example, a formal question in the house is a good move, ask her to specifically commit to taking that action rather than letting her get away with general platitudes.

@ChickenonaMug

This is the Specific Transgender Trend blog about the Proud Trust and the Dice game.

www.transgendertrend.com/proud-trust-nothing-proud/

The SSA resource that TheShoesa linked to also has a whole section about The Proud Trust and its unsuitability as a RSE resource provider.

I would link as far as you can to the recent DfE guidance which is also explained in the SSA resource.

I would also point out - using what T/Trend have on that page - that it breaks statutory safeguarding guidance.

TT say:
"Next the class is shown 15 black and white drawings of male and female genitalia and asked which ones “you are likely to see in (a) textbooks (b) pornography (c) a doctor’s surgery”.”

The government guidance says:
"Child sexual abuse: Involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, not necessarily involving a high level of violence, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including assault by penetration (for example, rape or oral sex) or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing and touching outside of clothing. They may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or grooming a child in preparation for abuse Sexual abuse can take place online, and technology can be used to facilitate offline abuse. Sexual abuse is not solely perpetrated by adult males. Women can also commit acts of sexual abuse, as can other children."

TT also say:
"Session 3 asks What Is Your
Normal? Various activities are suggested and the group is asked to place them on a quadrant of normal, harmful, not normal and safe. Among the activities are “Having anal sex”, “Receiving a gift from someone in exchange for sex” and “Watching pornography”. The booklet advises using ‘usual’ and ‘unusual’ or ‘common’ and ‘uncommon’ instead of the more value laden ‘normal.’ Suggested supplementary questions about anal sex are “Is this usual? Who can have anal sex? Is this activity pleasurable? What might you need to consider if having, or thinking about having, anal sex?””

And this guidance says:
"Child sexual exploitation is a form of child sexual abuse. It occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into sexual activity (a) in exchange for something the victim needs or wants, and/or (b) for the financial advantage or increased status of the perpetrator or facilitator. The victim may have been sexually exploited even if the sexual activity appears consensual. Child sexual exploitation does not always involve physical contact; it can also occur through the use of technology"

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachmentdata/file/779401/WorkinggTogethertooSafeguard-Children.pdf

Thanks all. So helpful. I'm going through the TT stuff now. My main thought is, where the fuck are the grownups?

Indeed OP, where are they and where were they?

I will check but I think PT are actually expanding and have been invited into over 1,000 schools.

Statutory guidence says teaching has to be scientifically accurate (biology) and not share extreme views. It would be good to get quotes from the govt guidance to support our views. Will see what I can find.

Can anyone calmer and more succinct than me give me some pointers? What would you raise at this point?

Can you show that this material is being used in her constituency?

I have finally secured a meeting with her on zoom next week

well done OP 👏👏👏👏

Like the posters here have said SSA and TT... might be worth contacting them?

give me some pointers? What would you raise at this point?

Beargrass post

• it breaks statutory safeguarding guidance
• helps deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into sexual activity

and

• Can the MP ask a parliamentary question?

e.g.

• why are taxpayers paying for guidance that breaks statutory safeguarding?
• why is the tampon tax paying for this?
• Is it right that Public bodies pay for services or consult with ANY political organisation that lobbies to replace SEX with gender as a protected characteristic under the Equality Act? and that break DfE new guidelines?

Baroness Nicholson's letter to the BBC makes good points, quoting the statutory guidelines. It's on her Twitter.

(I was wrong about PT getting further funding, that was Diversity Role Models I was thinking of.)

Well that was good! I'd done my prep and read everything beforehand so thanks for all the pointers. But actually I didn't have to talk all that much. She didn't know about this case but knew about the other group that wrongly placed a DfE sticker on their materials (can't remember who that was) so was already aware of some of what's going into schools under false pretences.

I read her out some of the material and she was duly horrified and depressed. She immediately got that something has gone wrong at the Tampon Tax Fund if this is what they are funding. Appreciated that this is all about eradicating boundaries and making girls ready to accept what men want to do.

She will do some research and come back to me. I need to send her the content (I have a bad Twitter image of the Dice Game background for teachers that talks about docking and all that which I will send although if anyone has a better copy that would be great). Also will send her evidence of the Tampon Tax's funding of this (that's easy - it's in the TransgenderTrend material - funded to the tune of £99,960).

I even managed to cram in a reference to regulatory capture and references the number of government departments that had signed up to be Stonewall Champions and I suggested that this capture is what had eased the path for some of this other material. I think she had thought the DfE sticker thing was a one off error but I think I've planted the seed of understanding that this is a sustained campaign.

Pleasingly, she'd already spoken to someone about Stonewall and was already well aware of the extent to which they'd lost their way. She said she found their new stance anti-gay and misogynistic. She's very concerned about transitioning for children too. She knew of Jackie Doyle Price's work on this and was very supportive.

So much more positive than I'd feared. Also there was her young male assistant in the corner of the room as we spoke. Hopefully he heard a few truths that he wouldn't otherwise hear from his peer group.

Will update when I hear more.

Well done, that's a fantastic outcome!

Good work for your persistence in securing a meeting, and doing the research and having evidence to back your claims.

You have cheered up my afternoon

Cheered me up too, good work Moll!

A big and heartfelt Thank You! from me for doing this. Can't praise you highly enough for taking this on and seeing it through despite the daunting sense of uncertainty about how to do it.

That’s given me a lift I needed. Thank you & well done.

Had she received your earlier emails? If not, she might need to have words with that young man in the corner.

Bravissima, MollScroll! This is what it takes to change law & policy---large numbers of citizens getting up the courage (and finding the time and energy) to contact our elected representatives.

I share Aesop's question: had she received your emails?

Well done and thank you for persevering, I am heartened.

Amazing - well done for doing this!

Well done OP - that's such progress. This is what happens when MPs get to hear the real details of what is happening - rather than the spin they get from all the lobby groups chugging along on the gravy train handing out awards and hospitality along the way.
for you.

Thanks everyone for your kind comments. We are all living through such a shit show with the pandemic and life feels really miserable. And then this massive attack on women, merrily being waved through, often by women. Sometimes it feels too much. I've taken a big step back from FWR recently because it had become too much and was affecting my mental health. But your comments have really cheered me.

I had a couple of outstanding projects to complete related to Transactivism and this was one of them. I will follow through and make sure that my MP does what she said she would do. As pp have said, I think the young man in the room, or someone in her office, was quietly putting my communications aside. She definitely received them as I had numerous acknowledgements. And when I got on the phone to her office over the summer to chase up, there was lots of "someone will get back to you this week" and no one did. Repeatedly. It took my going to the Chair of the local party to get this meeting which then happened within a week ...

Maybe this young man thinks we are both terrible TERFs. But it turns out his boss is a TERF and so are most of the electorate I'd warrant. So he'd do well to have a think about what he heard today.

Oh and the other project has also been a tiny, tiny success. A charity I'm on the Board of (small but nationally known) was showing signs of going woke. We had LGBT material on our website despite not being an LGBT charity. Someone had put a reading list on there aimed at children (who are not our beneficiaries) including books such as I Am Jazz. This is so far from our remit that it's ridiculous but it was still quite a fight to have it taken down. It's been taken down. I'm resigning as a trustee because I'm at the end of my tenure so that will be my parting shot

Excellent work.