[blazey]

This is a sensitive subject really. When I was on the summer school this past week we weren't allowed to take pictures except on the departments camera, and the children and their parents all had to sign declaration forms to say this was ok. It is VERY important that this is done.

One year, before this process was introduced, the department took a picture of a group of children and it had their names under the picture and where they were from. One girl had a violent father who had an injunction against him. When he saw the picture in the publication he obviously found out where his daughter was staying and tracked her down and she had a very scary experience resulting from that.

Now you may think this is a different scenario, but if you took a picture in rhyddings park for example of your child and happened to get others in the background, and put it on a networking site or a forum for all to see, similar situations may end up happening.

The fact that it may or may not have happened to a woman is an issue, but we can't say it may have been different if it had been or not. Some people are just as wary or women as they are of men when it comes to their children.

I didn't look at it this way until I became a student ambassador and now I take it really seriously. We aren't allowed to hug children or touch them in a way that can be seen as inappropriately, can't tend to them at night when they are sick without getting another ambassador, can't be in any one on one situation with them with nobody else around. It is for EVERYONES protection though, not just the child's, so I find it quite important that it is stuck to even though it may seem unreasonable at times. When I say bye to my groups at the end of their course I high 5 them all, they can't all hug me goodbye and they feel sad about that, but that's just the way it is unfortunately. Either that or we put everyone at risk.

We even had seperate toilets when possible because public toilets are a very high risk place for student ambassadors if you end up being one on one with a student, yet you probably wouldn't even think of that on a normal day, but I know I certainly will in future, just to avoid being accused of anything myself. I guess it almost drives you to the point of paranoia but it's better than being accused of things!

I obviously haven't made this policy, but I think it is one we should all bear in mind when taking photographs or having contact with children. It makes quite a lot of sense anyway in my opinion.