Students at Landstede MBO in Raalte find a rather messy classroom this morning. Books, coats, notebooks and bags are scattered across the desks. This is the setup for the escape room on the programme. The introductory video shows Ben receiving an anonymous nude photo, which he forwards to a friend. It then turns out to be a photo of his little sister. In twenty minutes, the students have to solve five puzzles. The codes they find form Ben’s telephone number. Using it, they can delete the nude photo and stop the shame-sexting.

Impactful

Nicolas ter Avest (16) experienced at close hand how devastating shame-sexting can be for the victim. It happened to a good friend of his. He does not want to say much about it; he promised the boy’s parents. It is clear that the incident had a profound impact. What if it happened to him? “I would never send anyone a photo or video anyway. But suppose I did, then I think I would make it something we could talk about. That is why it is also good that the school pays attention to it. And with such a creative format as the escape room, it sticks better than when a teacher talks for an hour.”

Coming out

Fellow student Louise de Kruijff (17) agrees with him. “You also notice that everyone is much more open during a game like this. You get to know each other in a different way.” Has she ever experienced shame-sexting herself? “No, but I was the victim of a sexual offence two years ago, and I am still on my guard in the dark. Six months ago, I came out as bisexual. The reactions are not always pleasant. That makes it difficult to talk about, even though it should be normal. Because it is simply love too; it does not matter who it is between. I therefore think it is very important that we talk about these kinds of things at school, about the rainbow flag, Purple Friday and also shame-sexting. If it happens to you, you want nothing more than to be supported.”

Foolish decision

Nicolas thinks it is a foolish decision to send someone a nude photo of yourself. “You just don’t do that. But forwarding it is even more foolish.” Nevertheless, he thinks the attention being paid to it is good. “I have never had a lesson about it before, but actually you should already learn about it in eighth grade. That could prevent a lot of misery.”

According to Louise, there cannot be enough attention paid to it. “We are at an age when all sorts of things happen around your sexuality, and a lot is happening online too. As far as I am concerned, these subjects should come up much more often in lessons to help you stand stronger in your shoes.”

The Voice

According to teacher and coach Siham Barkkich, that will certainly happen. “In the second year, we already paid attention to #MeToo in our Citizenship classes. In those lessons, we try to connect with current events as much as possible. The scandal surrounding The Voice of Holland is a reason to address it in the first year as well. The Educational Escape Room is a great framework for doing so. It shows how different opinions can be, but ultimately you see that the gears start turning through the group discussion. And that is exactly what we want.”

‘Students know that sexuality is open to discussion’

Thanks to the €5,000 contribution from the Relationships & Sexuality Incentive Scheme, we have been able to give the theme of Relationships and sexuality a major boost. It is good that students know that Relationships and sexuality can be discussed at our school. If something is troubling you, you want to know that there is somewhere you can turn, and that may not always be at home,” says Evelien Lammers, Healthy School coordinator at Landstede MBO.

Source: Healthy School.