Bee the Difference
Aims
Improving the outcomes for future young survivors of terror, informed by survivors of the Manchester Arena bombing.
Overview
The 2017 Manchester Arena bombing attack tragically took away 22 lives. For those that survived many suffered long standing trauma. Many of the survivors were young people under 18 years of age.
Lancaster University researcher, Dr Cath Hill, wanted to explore the impact of this attack on young survivors. This was a truly collaborative research project designed by and for young Manchester survivors in collaboration with UK disaster response charity, the National Emergencies Trust.
This research project listened to the stories of the young survivors - how had they been affected and what support they received following the attack.
The findings of the research were compiled into a report, called ‘Bee the Difference.’ The report recognises the unique needs of young people surviving terror attacks. Six proposals are made to improve the outcomes for future young survivors of terror:
Bee visible - Ensure support is visible and readily available the onus is not on survivors to find it
Bee compassionate - Listen to, validate and take proactive steps to accommodate young survivors’ new needs
Bee experienced - Make sure that specialised trauma support is accessible and readily available, wherever survivors are based
Bee flexible - Empower young survivors to choose the right support for them
Bee patient - Remember that recovery isn’t linear and can take time
Bee proactive - Act on young survivors’ experiences to turn their challenges into future change
Results and Outcomes
Tab Content: For Partners and Engagement
The report revealed that three quarters (75%) of children and young people affected by the Manchester Arena attack were psychologically injured by what happened to them, but more than one in four (29%) have never received any professional support in the six years since. Four in ten (40%) of these say it was never offered to them.
While 93% of young survivors felt they needed support in the aftermath of the attack, 70% received no professional help within the first month and 31% received no professional help within the first year.
Taking part in the research allowed the young survivors to have a voice - to turn their significant personal challenges into positive change. Young survivor and co-designer of the research project, Ellie Taylor said:
“We never knew how challenging it would be trying to not only find the support but find help that wasn’t more damaging and triggering. This project has given me hope that young survivors will never feel ignored, invalidated, and disregarded ever again. I have met some of the most amazing people and together we are hoping to change history.”
Other survivors that were part of this project have commented:
“I have often felt selfish for feeling overlooked as a victim of the Manchester Attack, when there were 22 casualties and many more injured. However, this project has helped me come to terms with the trauma I faced, and how this should have been dealt with at the time. Nobody should be ignored.”
“The project is so incredibly important as young people deserve to be listened to. I believe that future survivors deserve better, and therefore something must change. The positives must be maintained, and the negatives must be improved on. I am grateful to be involved in this project as I have been able to give myself a voice. I am glad that this conversation is starting and that this could be the start of change.” Ava Turner
Mhairi Sharp, CEO, National Emergencies Trust, said:
“There has been a glaring gap in knowledge about how UK disasters affect children and young people. Bee The Difference offers valuable direction for emergency funders like us and means we can build on the good work that the We Love Manchester fund started in 2017. We can raise awareness with our partners so that there is less onus on future survivors to seek out support. We can also offer funding to those who would like to set up peer support groups.”
The report received extensive media engagement, including a recorded and live broadcast on BBC Breakfast, Live interviews for Sky News, ITV Lunchtime News, Granda Reports, BBC NorthWest Tonight, Articles in The Guardian, Independent and Times.
One week after the release of the report, the UK Government announced further funding to support people who witness disasters and additional support for children and young people who know victims. The Home Office have used the data to inform an internal review into victims of terrorism and recognised that it was the only data that they had specifically on children and young people.
Tab Content: For Academics
Cath reflected that the project has provided learning on working in a collaborative way and that when dealing with a sensitive topic it can take a lot of time and emotional effort. Working alone or with other academics can be relatively straight forward as there are cultural norms of academia to follow, however this process was different. Ensuring that she understood the competing priorities of the charity was important and being flexible and caring when working with young people was essential.
What went well? Cath loved the learning from others and how it became such a team effort. The research team quickly decided that communicating via Whatsapp was better than email and learnt to play to each other’s strengths. Working in partnership with the university media team was really beneficial and without their help and support, the research project would not have got the coverage it did.
What could have been done differently? To be more realistic about the time the project would take. For example, the project went through two different ethical processes to ensure that the project was ethically sound. Whilst this was important, that process can take time and there are committee deadlines that need to be adhered to. Patience was needed to ensure we dotted every I and crossed very T!
The learning continues - to make sure the proposals in the ‘Bee the Difference,’ report are taken forward. For this to happen Cath said she needed to understand, ‘how to engage with policy makers and those than can influence change in the education, healthcare and charity sectors to act on the research findings and really make a difference.’
Dr Hill has been awarded a Churchill Fellowship, in response to the Bee the Difference Project. The fellowship will allow her to explore the subject further and observe how other countries (Israel and Norway) support young people affected by terrorism and mass violence/disaster.
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