‘I’m worried about Mum’ – Nairn Academy pupil designs Women’s Aid domestic abuse leaflet

By Nicola Sinclair

January 31 2022, 5:00 pm

Nairn Academy pupil Skye Carroll with the Inverness Women's Aid team.

A Nairn schoolgirl has created a powerful new domestic abuse brochure for Inverness Women’s Aid.

Skye Carroll came up with the winning design, which will now go out to secondary schools across Inverness, Nairn and Badenoch and Strathspey.

Skye was 15 when she took on the project as part of her Higher in graphic communications. Inverness Women’s Aid worked with the Higher class and talked to the pupils about the impact of domestic abuse.

Skye Carroll was 15 when she created the powerful leaflet for Inverness Women’s Aid.

The charity tasked pupils with creating a new brochure to raise awareness and highlight the support it can offer. They asked students to consider the worries and types of language young people might express in this situation.

Skye came up with the heart-wrenching slogan “I’m worried about Mum,” which Inverness Women’s Aid say resonates strongly with youngsters.

Nairn Academy tutor Liza Anderson says it was the pupils themselves who voted for Skye’s design, which shows how relatable they found it.

One young client of Inveness Women’s Aid described the worries she has for her Mum. “I hate it, I don’t want everything to be hush, hush secrets anymore. I just want a father that can be there for me at all times and love me as who I am. Not one that likes to hurt and bring my mother down every single day. I feel so alone and tired. I wish this was a made-up story that I was telling you, but it’s my life.”

Giving young people a voice

Skye says that winning the project not only increased her understanding of domestic abuse, but also boosted her confidence. The project inspired her to study graphic design at Napier University in Edinburgh. She looks set to have a bright future ahead, with local printers Lucid Raccoon saying they thought the leaflet was designed by a professional agency.

The new Inverness Women’s Aid brochure will go out to secondary schools from 1 February.

Inverness Women’s Aid will begin distributing the leaflet to secondary schools in the area from 1 February. Manager Elaine Fetherston says the project is a fantastic example of collaboration with local schools.

“Having young people closely involved in the development process means this leaflet will really speak to the children and young people using it,” says Elaine. “Many children and young people in our area experience the impact of domestic abuse so it is vital that they have guidance and information about their rights and have a voice.”