Technology will help them keep safe as well as promote good sexual health
Young people with learning difficulties now have access to an app to advise on safety and sexual health.
CKUK Common Knowledge and Scottish Drug Forum have launched Be Safe Have Fun - the first sexual health and safety app developed exclusively for young people age with autism and learning difficulties.
The new app is an accessible learning tool that guides young people over the age of 14 to ask themselves some questions before they get involved in any sexual activity.
The motivation for the app stems from a gap in many young people with autism and/or learning difficulties’ knowledge or understanding of issues relating to both sexual health and consent.
The app is fully accessible and has text to speech, videos and photographs featuring young CKUK volunteers, quizzes and is full of good advice about staying safe around the laws concerning sexual health and consent.
Marilyn Slavin, CKUK director, said: “We are truly delighted to be able to launch this digital resource for young people, which we believe will equip them better to understand the basics of sexual consent so that they can both be safe and have fun when it comes to relationships.
“Young people with autism and/or learning difficulties can often find themselves in situations where a lack of comprehension or perception of social situations can lead them into difficulties with the criminal justice system.
Ian, a young person who was involved with the development of the app, said: “I think the app is great because it really gives you all the knowledge about things surrounding sex, alcohol, drugs and consent that I didn’t really get taught in school.
“It was really interesting to learn all the new stuff, because although there’s things I already knew, there was also loads of things that I wouldn’t go to my mum or dad to find out – but it’s right here in the app for me to access and learn about.”
Be Safe Have Fun is currently available to download for free on Android devices via Playstore.
