Thread by @DeanMThomson

How can a Scottish Government young persons health and well-being survey be controversial?

Let’s find out…
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➡️ the idea behind it

School pupils in S4 to S6 will be asked to give their views on a range of subjects.

These subjects cover the full spread of topics you’d expect. From physical and mental health to bullying and the pressures of school work.

So far so good.
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At this point I doubt anyone would dispute the value of conducting such a survey. It’s good to know more about the health and well-being of school pupils.

But what happens if the survey asks school kids about their sex lives?
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➡️ crossing the line?

The Scottish Government has stated that the survey’s aim is to “improve services for children and families".
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Is it acceptable to be asking a 12 year old school kid “in the last year (12) how often did have you had sexual intercourse?”

And then proceeding to enquire if they used contraception during their vaginal intercourse.
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Now for fairness you can imagine a public health and well-being defence here. It could be argued that public health bodies would stand to benefit to know if sexually active youths are taking the appropriate precautions.
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But these are very young kids to be asking incredibly sexualised questions.

It presents very real problems for parents. Many would object to a survey asking their 12 year old daughter what her sexual experiences are, and whether or not she has given a boy oral sex.
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Scottish Tory MSP @MGallacherMSP has said “If the SNP government need this type of information, then there are other methods to get it, through academics and smaller sample groups.”

This is an entirely sensible point. So why didn’t ScotGov think about that?
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The survey was put together by a ‘Health and Wellbeing Questionnaire Content Group’, set up on 2018 by ScotGov.

This group was made up of representatives & analysts from Public Health Scotland, local authorities, schools & Education Scotland, & the Scottish government.
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Now we’re witnessing the unedifying spectacle of the Scottish Government attempting to distance itself:

“While the government has worked with stakeholders to design a set of questionnaires, it is for local authorities to determine which questions they ask."
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➡️ Bottom line

While it is worthwhile to seek data on the health and well-being of children, this method of pursuing it crosses a line.
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There are other, less intrusive ways to academically gather information on - for example - how sexually active young people are and if they use protection.

Methods not involving asking highly sexualised questions to the nations 12 year olds in s4.
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That said, it should be acknowledged that parents did have the right to opt their kids out from taking this survey. But when a survey becomes so controversial as this one has, it has already failed to be useful in protecting young peoples health and well-being
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Correction: I typed s4 pupils would be 12 years old, this is incorrect they would be around 15 years old.