Awaken receives National Lottery grant to aid education about sexual assault and consent

Early in 2020, Awaken Productions were awarded a £10000 grant to aid them in producing a brand new play to tour schools and community youth groups. Her, Me and It has been designed with focus groups of professional artists, young people and people who have experienced sexual assault, in order to empower survivors by sharing their experiences and raise awareness of the nuances surrounding sexual assault, rape and consent. 

The pandemic meant that this production has had to be redesigned to suit working from home and regulations surrounding schools, and will now be a professionally produced film. This, along with education resources, will be provided to schools and community youth groups, as well as optional workshops and Q&A with the production team. We hope that this will be a powerful and eye-opening experience for young people, many of whom are sadly likely to experience sexual assault or already have. 

Anna Sherratt, who wrote the play and screenplay adaptation said, “As we continue to see heartbreaking headlines about sexual assault, and hear echoes of the same experiences in the stories of our loved ones, now is an important time to reflect on the actions of perpetrators and the incredible courage of the people of all genders who have been through it. This project is a unique and groundbreaking opportunity to share honest answers to the questions we were all afraid to ask, and provide some hope for the future.”