Latest news with #Imogen
Glasgow Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow City chambers forced to close after protest
Six teenage activists from the direct action network Trans Kids Deserve Better (TKDB) Scotland held a demonstration outside the local authority's building on Monday in an attempt to speak with the Leader of Glasgow City Council, Susan Aitken. The group had planned to stage a 'read-in' inside the chambers but were blocked by security, with the building being closed 'until the end of the day'. Protesters blocked one of the entrances with flags and banners that read 'Trans Kids Deserve Better' and 'Save Our Libraries," as the group vowed to fight to defend safe spaces for transgender children. READ NEXT: 3 suspects accused of murder of man in Glasgow 20 years ago READ NEXT: Glasgow man stealing from cars spat and told cops he had HIV Imogen, the protest organiser, said: 'I always found my school library as a safe haven. 'It's where I found my identity. My school librarian helped me so much with that. I wouldn't be the person I am today if it weren't for her.' They added: 'Having that space to go read, just to be quiet and have a moment to yourself, outside of the bullying and the harassment, which we face constantly, it's really nice to sort of have that place.' (Image: NQ) A council-approved review of library services in February 2024 targeted savings of £100,000, which included proposals to remove librarians from every Glasgow secondary school. In June, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland wrote to Glasgow City Council expressing "significant concerns" over the local authority's plans to 'de-professionalise a vital service'. TKDB staged a sit-in at the city chambers last month to demand a conversation with Aitken over the proposals, as they claim she hasn't responded to their request. SNP councillor Graham Campbell, who spoke to activists outside the chambers, said he expected the local authority to 'hear what their big asks are' and to give a reply. He added: 'Trans kids are the most pressured kids in the country, so therefore, it's our duty to protect them and to hear their voices when they're advocating for themselves.' In April, the Supreme Court ruled that women are defined by biology in a landmark judgment, which dealt a blow to transgender campaigners. The UK's highest court rejected the Scottish Government's arguments that the category of 'woman' included both biological females and biological males who held a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). Campbell said following the Supreme Court's ruling he wants to make sure all spaces are safe for trans kids and not just libraries. He said: 'I want to make sure that all of the spaces that we have are safe. Now, that's a hard thing to do, and I am aware of that. 'Obviously, there's been a lot of controversy because of the reactionary Supreme Court judgement. 'In my view, if it were up to me, I would utterly defy all of their rulings, because I don't think that their rulings are lawful. 'If it were up to me, I would say the council should make no changes whatsoever in respect of that judgement and keep to what we already have, which is inclusive integrated spaces, we should defend that.' 'If it were up to me, I'd be prepared to defend that court, but I'm not in charge. But I think that should be our sense.' Imogen said the campaign group wanted to speak with Aitken about the effect the council's proposals to cut funding to libraries will have on trans children. 'We want to tell her that cutting funding for school librarians is having an effect on all trans people,' they said. 'We use those as safe spaces. It's where we find out our identity, where we learn about our history, our heritage, and taking that away from us is just going to cause us more bullying, more harassment for us in our community.' A spokesperson for Glasgow Life said: "Glasgow Life is currently consulting on the proposed redesign of Glasgow's Secondary School Library Service. The proposal, which is being discussed with affected colleagues and trade unions, includes a target saving of £100,000. This would be achieved through a revised staffing model and a reduction in the materials fund, which supports books and resource purchases. 'Glasgow has consistently invested more in school collections than many other Scottish local authorities. Under the proposed model, the average spend on resources per secondary school pupil would remain above the national average.'
The National
2 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Pro-trans activists' protest shuts Glasgow City Chambers
Six teenage activists from the direct action network Trans Kids Deserve Better (TKDB) Scotland held a demonstration outside the local authority's building on Monday in an attempt to speak with the Leader of Glasgow City Council, Susan Aitken. The group had planned to stage a 'read-in' inside the chambers but were blocked by security, with the building being closed 'until the end of the day'. Protesters blocked one of the entrances with flags and banners that read 'Trans Kids Deserve Better' and 'Save Our Libraries," as the group vowed to fight to defend safe spaces for transgender children. READ MORE: Wikipedia loses Online Safety Act legal challenge Imogen, the protest organiser, said: 'I always found my school library as a safe haven. 'It's where I found my identity. My school librarian helped me so much with that. I wouldn't be the person I am today if it weren't for her.' They added: 'Having that space to go read, just to be quiet and have a moment to yourself, outside of the bullying and the harassment, which we face constantly, it's really nice to sort of have that place.' (Image: NQ) A council-approved review of library services in February 2024 targeted savings of £100,000, which included proposals to remove librarians from every Glasgow secondary school. In June, the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland wrote to Glasgow City Council expressing "significant concerns" over the local authority's plans to 'de-professionalise a vital service'. TKDB staged a sit-in at the city chambers last month to demand a conversation with Aitken over the proposals, as they claim she hasn't responded to their request. SNP councillor Graham Campbell, who spoke to activists outside the chambers, said he expected the local authority to 'hear what their big asks are' and to give a reply. He added: 'Trans kids are the most pressured kids in the country, so therefore, it's our duty to protect them and to hear their voices when they're advocating for themselves.' In April, the Supreme Court ruled that women are defined by biology in a landmark judgment, which dealt a blow to transgender campaigners. The UK's highest court rejected the Scottish Government's arguments that the category of 'woman' included both biological females and biological males who held a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). Campbell said following the Supreme Court's ruling he wants to make sure all spaces are safe for trans kids and not just libraries. He said: 'I want to make sure that all of the spaces that we have are safe. Now, that's a hard thing to do, and I am aware of that. 'Obviously, there's been a lot of controversy because of the reactionary Supreme Court judgement. 'In my view, if it were up to me, I would utterly defy all of their rulings, because I don't think that their rulings are lawful. 'If it were up to me, I would say the council should make no changes whatsoever in respect of that judgement and keep to what we already have, which is inclusive integrated spaces, we should defend that.' 'If it were up to me, I'd be prepared to defend that court, but I'm not in charge. But I think that should be our sense.' Imogen said the campaign group wanted to speak with Aitken about the effect the council's proposals to cut funding to libraries will have on trans children. 'We want to tell her that cutting funding for school librarians is having an effect on all trans people,' they said. 'We use those as safe spaces. It's where we find out our identity, where we learn about our history, our heritage, and taking that away from us is just going to cause us more bullying, more harassment for us in our community.' Glasgow City Council has been asked for comment.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Urgent appeal issued after woman, 24, vanishes
Police are appealing for help tracing a young woman who has gone missing in Trafford. Imogen, 24, was last seen in Stretford yesterday (Thursday, August 7). "Officers are becoming increasingly concerned abut her and want to make sure she is safe and well" Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said in an appeal shared on social media. READ MORE: MediaCity incident: Huge emergency service presence after 'person falls from building' READ MORE: Screams heard and armed police descend after 'unattended' dog attacked woman and second pet Never miss a story with the MEN's daily Catch Up newsletter - get it in your inbox by signing up here She is about 5ft 4in tall, has medium-length blonde hair, blue eyes and has a tattoo on her upper-left arm in the shape of a cross. She was last seen wearing a purple and blue Adidas jogging bottoms with dark purple stripes, a Hello Kitty crop top and was carrying a grey, leather shoulder bag. Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE Anyone with information is asked to contact GMP by calling 101 quoting log number 694 of August 8. -- For the latest stories and breaking news visit Get the latest headlines, features and analysis that matter to you by signing up to our various Manchester Evening News newsletters here. You can also get all your favourite content from the Manchester Evening News on WhatsApp. Click here to stay up to date with the us on X @mennewsdesk for all the latest stories and updates on breaking incidents from across the region and beyond, as well as on our Facebook page you prefer reading our stories on your phone, consider downloading the Manchester Evening News app here, and our newsdesk will make sure every time an essential story breaks, you'll be the first to hear about it.
Edinburgh Live
05-08-2025
- Edinburgh Live
Shamed East Lothian man sent '14-year-old schoolgirls' disgusting messages
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info An East Lothian child sex offender who sent disgusting sexual messages to social media accounts he believed belonged to two schoolgirls has been slammed by a sheriff for his 'shameful and disgusting conduct'. Daniel Schlegel made contact with the online profiles of the 14-year-old children named Imogen and Billy-Jo and sent them sick comments and asked for naked pictures. But the 49-year-old project manager was in fact speaking to adult decoys from the paedo hunter group Elite and was snared when members turned up at his home to confront him in 2023. Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told this was the second similar offence committed by Schlegel after he was convicted of sending sick messages to children in his native Germany in 2020. Prosecutor Xander van der Scheer told the court the Elite hunter group are based in England and adult decoys had set up two online profiles pretending to be schoolgirls in a bid to catch online predators. The fiscal said Schlegel, from Musselburgh, East Lothian, made contact with the first account in the name of Imogen and was quickly told she was just 14 in August 2023. The court was told the pervert then sent numerous sexual messages to the 'child' including telling her he would 'love to see you in the shower'. He also said the youngster was 'sexy' and talked about shaving her pubic hair. Mr van der Scheer said one message sent by Schlegel stated: 'I lie in bed and fantasise about undressing you.' Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sentstraight to your messages. The court heard he then made contact with a second online profile in the name of 14-year-old Billy-Jo that was also being operated by an adult decoy the following month. Schlegel asked the 'schoolgirl' if he could video call her and asked her to send him naked pictures of herself. The hunter group passed on the details of the offender to the Scottish organisation Improved Maximum Exposure and members attended at his home to confront him of his online activities on September 8, 2023. The court was told the hunter group were forced to grapple and detain Schlegel after he attempted to run past them in a bid to escape. Police were subsequently contacted and the predator was arrested and charged. He appeared at the capital's sheriff court on Tuesday August 5 where he pleaded guilty to attempting to communicate indecently with with both children between August 26 and September 8, 2023. Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox Sheriff Douglas Keir said: 'I have heard the narrative from the Crown, which is clearly a chapter of quite disgusting and shameful conduct on your behalf. I note you have a conviction from Germany of similar behaviour from 2020 and I will, before sentence, allow you bail at this time. 'Albeit, clearly all sentencing options are open to this court.' Schlegel was placed on the sex offenders register and sentence was deferred for the preparation of criminal justice social work reports to next month.
BBC News
24-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Should student mental health responsibility fall to universities?
Listen to Joe read this articleWhen Imogen arrived at the University of Nottingham in September 2022, she carried with her a letter addressed to the student wellbeing services. As a teenager, she struggled with anxiety and self-harm. The letter, written by her former head of year, was a direct plea to the university to help years on, Imogen (not her real name) feels let down. She has since been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism, and was referred for university counselling multiple times, but, instead of helping, she says it made her feel worse."I felt like I was being thrown between services, no-one wanted me and no-one could help me."Another student at Nottingham, Leacsaidh, who was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) at age 17, characterises the services as "one-size-fits-all". She says that when she sought help for self-harm, she was simply given website references. The University of Nottingham is certainly not an outlier, nor is it considered worse than other British universities for mental health an international student at King's College London (KCL), was diagnosed with anxiety by a university GP, which made her eligible for certain adjustments, but she found the process of implementing them "painful". Requests for deadline extensions, she says, were delayed by clerical errors, compounding her anxiety at an already stressful did not respond to a request for that the number of young people reporting mental health concerns is rising, these sorts of issues could get worse. For its part, the University of Nottingham says it has invested in its specialist wellbeing services in recent years. A spokesperson says they "encourage any student with concerns to discuss their experiences with us".However, they also stress: "University services are there to support the mental health and wellbeing of our students but are not a replacement for clinical NHS services to treat more serious or complex needs."Which raises the question: are institutions really letting students down - or is the expectation placed on them part of the issue? And to what extent should the responsibility fall on universities in the first place? 'Prime conditions' for problems The extent of the crisis in student mental health came to public attention in 2018 after Natasha Abrahart, a physics student at the University of Bristol, killed herself. Ten others are believed to have taken their own lives at the university between 2016 and the decade to 2023-24, the number of students with a mental health condition almost quadrupled, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), increasing every year to 2022-23 before dipping slightly in year, some 122,430 students in the UK (out of a total of 2.9 million) said they had a mental health condition. Most were undergraduates, and the majority were women. Part of this may be down to age. Late adolescence (18 to 21) is what Dr Sandi Mann, a senior psychology lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire, calls the "peak ages" for many mental health problems, including OCD, anxiety and is no recent parallel data that directly compares the mental health of young people who do not attend university or higher education. But combining the stresses of late adolescence, academic pressure, learning how to live independently, and, for some, part-time work, creates the "prime conditions" for mental health issues, argues Dr Mann.A lack of "resilience" also concerns her. "I'm not talking about serious mental health issues, such as severe OCD, anxiety and depression," she says. "Of course they need help. But young people seem to struggle more coping with the day-to-day stresses of everyday life." Some have argued that society is increasingly pathologising normal experiences, and that encouraging people to talk about mental health doesn't help everyone. Ben Locke, an American psychologist who researches US colleges' support services, has argued that many mental health assessment tools cross over with normal human distress, leading to more people being told they need professional Dr Sarah Sweeney, the incoming chairwoman of the student services organisation Amosshe, and head of student support and wellbeing at Lancaster University, argues that encouraging young people to talk about mental health has removed some of the also believes, however, that more could be done to educate people about when something is a mental health challenge or problem. "Which is different from a diagnosed mental illness," she stresses. 'We're not trained for this' Another part of the challenge is that the first point of contact for students reporting mental health challenges is often their personal tutor - an Mann stresses that a personal tutor - sometimes called an academic advisor - is not a mental health practitioner. Their main role should be signposting and sometimes referring students to counselling senior humanities lecturer at the University of Manchester, who asked not to be named, says that in their department, personal tutors are given a "handbook of academic advising" and some PowerPoint slides, which they describe as a "series of generic questions to ask" in specific situations. The level of training a personal tutor is given varies between universities. But often an academic's first indication of an issue is during casual conversations with a student about not submitting a piece of work on time. This can mean tutors "don't really know that [they are] intervening in a mental health crisis", they explain. "And it's a problem that we're not trained for."They summed up the situation at universities as "grim". "It has gone from being a really serious problem to being a really major crisis… People are swamped."The University of Manchester said that "all student-facing staff can access a rolling programme of training on responding to mental health difficulties in students", run by mental health nurses, and that there are "clear and rapid" routes to escalate cases. All academic advisors receive training and have the support of an advisor network, it added that it had significantly increased investment in student health and wellbeing in the last few years. 'People can slip through the gaps' Some students argue the sheer number of services, and the levels of complexity around how to access it, can make it difficult to get the help they after speaking to a personal tutor, the second step for a student might be to meet with a wellbeing team, which may help them take steps to "manage stress and the transition to university", including advice on topics like good sleep and managing advisers will typically assess whether a student's case needs escalating, and might refer students for specialist support like disability services or counselling through the university's in-house who are seriously unwell - or those who may be a risk to themselves or others - are escalated to a final step. This usually means making contact with the local health authorities about managing Sweeney says this can all be "a lot" to get your head around. "Even as a mental health professional it's really difficult to navigate," adds Dr Mann. "Nobody really knows who to go to."There is, at both universities and mental health services more widely, a "real danger that people can slip through the gaps".Universities are spending more on these services: their spend increased by 73% on average in the past five years, according to research of 72 UK universities by Times Radio and The Sunday Times released in January. This is despite almost half of universities expecting to be in financial deficit this summer, according to the Office for Students."Student services can do a lot, but it needs to be properly resourced, and there is increasing demand," says Dr Sweeney. "We could be part of the whole drive to streamline… but you have to resource those services properly for them to be effective." What role should universities play? Some academics argue it is not a university's job to look after students like a school teacher would. Another lecturer at Manchester, who prefers not to be named, argues that: "Students are adults, they are over 18 when they are coming to university".However, they concede that it is "very hard on a human level" to just turn students Sweeney similarly emphasises that universities are not mental illness treatment centres. (Indeed, student services will always tell a student in serious crisis or immediate stress to seek help from their GP or NHS services.) But some students are put off by long NHS waiting times, including for mental health services. One argument is that universities need closer collaboration with NHS authorities to improve mental health care. In Manchester, local authorities have created a scheme called the Greater Manchester Universities Mental Health Service, under which local universities, including the University of Manchester, can escalate a case meaning authorities respond Sweeney says the scheme is currently working well. But she acknowledges that it is new, and relies on local NHS services having the others believe universities need to take on more responsibility. Natasha Abrahart's father Bob is one of them. "If universities can't provide a safe and supportive environment then they are not fit for purpose," he argues. The duty of care debate Natasha was just 20 when she took her own life on the day of an assessed presentation. Natasha - who had a diagnosed social anxiety disorder - became distressed at the prospect of having to deliver the oral assessment to a full lecture May 2022, Bob, together with Natasha's mother Maggie, sued the university. Bristol County Court found it had breached its obligations under the Equality Act to make "reasonable adjustments" to the way Natasha was assessed, and ordered the university to pay more than £50,000 in University of Bristol has not responded to a request for a comment. Student suicide rates are believed to be lower than the general population. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that 319 students died by suicide between the 2016-17 and 2019-20 academic years. However it stresses that there is no central database recording student suicides - instead, they cross-referenced death certificates with student records to identify potential cases of student May, a report by the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health (NCISH) at the University of Manchester concluded universities needed to do more to prevent student suicides, including mandatory mental health awareness and suicide prevention training for and Maggie are calling on the government to introduce a statutory duty of care in higher education, or a legal obligation to protect students from harm. The court in Bristol found there was no "statute or precedent" establishing this duty of care. The Department for Education says it has no plans to introduce this because higher education providers already owe "a duty of care to not cause harm to their students through the university's own actions".Both Amosshe and Universities UK, which represents university vice-chancellors, oppose the change too. Amosshe says it would "place unrealistic expectations over what higher education providers can control".Yet most universities acknowledge something must change. Dr Sweeney says the sector could be doing more, as there is not a standardised student services model across higher education. But she also adds university is a "more supportive environment than the workplace".Meanwhile Dr Mann believes that it is about giving students the "scaffolding" to thrive. "They're used to adults just stepping in and rescuing them. I think we need to teach them to rescue themselves."As for the students, many I spoke to say they still feel let down. "I wish," says Imogen, "I could say everything was great and I had a really supportive uni. But I can't." Support and information for anyone affected by the issues raised in this article can be found on the BBC Action Line image credit: Jodi Lai, BBC BBC InDepth is the home on the website and app for the best analysis, with fresh perspectives that challenge assumptions and deep reporting on the biggest issues of the day. And we showcase thought-provoking content from across BBC Sounds and iPlayer too. You can send us your feedback on the InDepth section by clicking on the button below.
