Sexualistation of Young People

Sexualisation of Young People Review
10. Acknowledgements
100
Researching and writing this review
has been one of the most interesting
and thought provoking journeys of my
career. I have been very lucky to have
the support of a great team behind me
to make the task of collating, reviewing
and writing up this work possible. A big
thank you to Steven McDermott and
Louise Bell for helping me wade through
seemingly endless reams of research;
and to academics like Jessica Ringrose,
Katherine Sarikakis and Maddy Coy for the
constructive feedback and input.
I am very grateful to the members of the
VAWG Advisory Group for their valuable
insight into the role that schools and
teachers can play in promoting gender
equality and preventing violence against
women and girls. Thank you also to
front-line clinicians and those working in
child protection like Sara Delaney, Peter
Johnson, Holly Elsdon-Smithers, Davina
James-Hanman, Tom Narducci and all the
members of the steering group for their
invaluable input, help and advice.
A very special thank you to Rhys
Scudamore and Trystan Dafydd, whose
tireless work and assistance throughout
made this project not only possible but a
genuinely enjoyable working experience.
I am especially grateful to both Jacqui
Smith and Alan Johnson who had the
insight and bravery to recognise that the
sexualisation of young people is an issue
that needs be addressed and discussed,
and who decided to get the conversation
started by commissioning this report.
Finally, and very importantly, I’d like to
thank all the children and young people
who have helped shape and inform this
review by taking part in focus groups
and research studies and by sharing their
experiences so generously – and in the
case of my little daughter Jessica, for
reminding me that the way she sees the
world around her will inevitably shape the
way she sees herself…