Young voices - some not allowed

[arethereanyleftatall]

My 15yo DD was invited by her school to go to a 'young voices' event. An event for children to share and discuss their views on a wide range of topics.
She was one of 8 from her school, many other schools attended with same numbers. Hundreds of pupils. She said there were many children their with pride pins etc on display.
She is gender critical and believes sex matters.
Basically her views were not allowed. She was shouted over by other pupils in the discussions and organisers did nothing.
They all had to write on a post it who their inspiration was, and pin in to a board. She put JKR. The board was being manned by the organisers. When she came back to the board her post it has been removed and placed on a 'hate' board alongside terrorist organisations etc.
She absolutely hated the day, said it wasn't 'young voices' at all, but 'young voices as long as you agree with us.'
She is petrified of being expelled/suspended/told off because of her views.

Any advice please on what to do?

That's absolutely brilliant! Well done to you and your brave DD.

Is there any chance you could share the letter you sent with us?

Well that’s absolutely bloody brilliant. Well done to you and your amazing DD

I would complain to and about the organisers.

Their facilitation was terrible. They should be able to handle situations of disagreement between participants. That is a core part of their role They should have come down respectfully but firmly on any shouting down of other participants, or any other attempts to shame or silence participants. They should established clear expectations of respectful dialogue at the start and enforced those.

Just read your update! That's brilliant - Well done both of you!

I would complain to and about the organisers.

Their behaviour is in fact the polar opposite of what the whole point of the event was supposed to be about!

Bloody brilliant!!

What a wonderful update, it’s immensely heartening to read. Your daughter is an absolute star OP. Well done to you both! 👏🏻

Wow! Tell your DD that she has made a real difference and that a bunch of anonymous women on the internet are genuinely proud of what she’s done. I wouldn’t mind having sight of the letter you sent in (with all identifying features removed of course) as an exemplar of how someone might go about dealing with a similar situation. It was obviously well-crafted and I’m glad your HOY dealt with the complaint so thoroughly. Totally wonderful outcome. Our school-age DDs and DSs are on the frontline with all of this and giving them the tools to challenge such things calmly and intelligently is vital. So important to empower them (and us!) 💐

Brilliant news! Your DD is an absolute star! Top womaning!
And you too for supporting her.

Well done to mother and daughter here. DD for standing up as she did, mother for having her back.

And FWR support, of course.

Best of all for dd, she's moved on, feels she's made a difference, but can let it go now. (Thank you to the poster who detailed this isn't her fight, I passed that on). She also knows she can state sex matters at school and can't be bullied for these views.

This is so wonderful to hear. And its seems she has, despite the original distress, got something positive out of it.

But also thanks for you in helping her challenge the dreadful treatment she experience, and have adults listen to her.

But also thanks for coming back to this thread.

So many stories started on FWR and sometimes we never find out what happened next.

Fantastic result. Well done, arethereanyleftatall. And good luck to your DD, sorry she went through this but glad she’s feeling confident again and hopefully has gained strength and wisdom from the experience.

Hats off to your daughter - and you.
Two very indomitable women 😀

Well done to you and your daughter! So pleased to hear a good outcome.

Omg! Your update is so amazing I nearly burst into tears!

Well done your daughter!!! You've raised a good 'un.

And well done Young aVoices for taking your comments onboard. Wonder if the Cass Review gave them the fright they needed?

Brilliant and a really good example of why it's worth challenging this crap.

You and your DD should be very proud.

It's impossible to calculate the positive impact she's had by speaking up to you and you taking this on OP for other young females in the future.

Brava 👏👏👏👏👏👏

Late to this thread but fantastic result. 🙌🏻💐

You and your daughter deserve extra plaudits for demonstrating with a perfect object lesson the whole spirit of what 'young voices' is supposed to be about.

Challenging prejudice, demonstrating grit, courage and resilience, using critical thinking and independent thought.

You've also given the organisers the chance to reflect and consider how to genuinely offer space for diversity of thought and opinion and expression, and hopefullu helped even those.who were so intolerant a reason to consider the jmpact of their actions.

Huge gold star for both of you.

I stand, and raise a glass to both of you.

Bloody well done!

SPECTACULAR

It didnt have to be her fight - but you had her back. You should both be feeling really proud today.

That’s absolutely fantastic. Congratulations to both of you.

Well done to you and your DD! Fantastic news

Well done both of you, what a great result for her to know that she has agency, and her mum has her back 👏

(FWIW I don't think the schools response is really satisfactory given how she was treated on their watch, but that's not to say you need to have that fight- at least there has been some acknowledgement).

Wow, arethereanyleftatall, that's one hell of an update!!

Between you, you and your daughter have stopped a process that was directly damaging women and children. That's huge.

Through bravery, critical thought, perseverance and sheer bloody grit.

The company pulled in to run the lgbtq+ room will no longer be allowed to run it. They will all receive training on impartiality. The letter acknowledged that sex matters.

Yay to the arethereanyleftatall family 🥂💐💪

What an amazing result. Besides the change you have made at the school, she (and you) will have given some extra courage and an example to hundreds of others on this board. Being the change you want to see in the world!