We're empowering all 13-24 year old girls, young women, and non-binary people with knowledge and confidence to help their friends
Through the Your Best Friend project we’ll help each other understand young people’s relationships, what happens when they become unsafe and provide you and other young people with the knowledge and confidence to help yourself or your friends.
So you’ve seen something worrying in a friend’s relationship? But now what?
We know that it can be intimidating treading the fine line between opening a friend’s eyes and being worried about damaging your friendship. Self-doubt and fear are totally common when you you care about someone and want to do the right thing to help them.
That’s why, through the Your Best Friend project, we’ve been working with young people on the #FriendsCanTell campaign. You will see content across socials and on this page you'll find tips, trusted services who will support you when you need it, and a list of resources that you can share.
That’s why, through the Your Best Friend project, we’ve been working with young people on the #FriendsCanTell campaign. You will see content across socials and on this page you'll find tips, trusted services who will support you when you need it, and a list of resources that you can share.
EMERGING THEMES
These themes emerged from listening to hundreds of girls, young women, and non-binary people. They are so important to understanding what young people witness their friends experiencing in all types of relationships, what stops young people recognising toxic behaviours, what assists and stops young people helping their best friends, and what would make friends intervene and seek professional advice. Over the next few months, we will be working with young people to produce ideas that help solve these problems. In the meantime - you can explore the themes below and read our Discovery Report too.
Why we need to solve this!
Anyone can find themselves in a toxic relationship – no matter what their background is or where they live.
To create the solution we need to understand how you talk to your friends about relationship concerns and what solutions you’d like to see. To do this we have run workshops, focus groups, interviews, and surveys.We have synthesised all the insights from our discovery work so far and you can find them here.
Interested in learning more about this project? Contact yourbestfriend@safelives.org.uk
Follow online at #FriendsCanTell
To create the solution we need to understand how you talk to your friends about relationship concerns and what solutions you’d like to see. To do this we have run workshops, focus groups, interviews, and surveys.We have synthesised all the insights from our discovery work so far and you can find them here.
Interested in learning more about this project? Contact yourbestfriend@safelives.org.uk
Follow online at #FriendsCanTell
Your Best Friend will give you honest, practical information you can trust to keep your friends safe from toxic relationships, or get them to safety.
Working with 13-24 year old girls, young women and non-binary people, and experts, we'll give you and your friends what you need to be safe in relationships - this includes supporting at least 40 organisations to help you through financial grants and projects.
What will Your Best Friend do?
Over the next 2 years, we'll put girls, young women, and non-binary people together with some of the country’s leading experts on safety from toxic relationships. We'll then go where you are, online and in real life, so we can get you the right information and be able to provide you with the support you need to help yourself or your friends.
At every step the whole project will be led by young people and their real experiences, hopes and dreams.
At every step the whole project will be led by young people and their real experiences, hopes and dreams.
How will Your Best Friend do it?
11 organisations are joining forces with girls, young women
and non binary people to give you the language and
information you need to:
and non binary people to give you the language and
information you need to:
Doing this together means doing this better
Know what's ok
Know how to talk about it
Know how to stay safe and find safety
Protect your friends and yourself
Join us on this mission...
If you want to help us spread the word, you can download our resources and campaign pack from the #FriendsCanTell campaign page, and use them in any way you want. You can also join our movement below - we'll send you helpful information to help your friend, and quick tasks that you can do to get this information out to wherever girls, young women and non-binary people they spend their time (online or offline).
We will only use your email to get in touch with you with news and updates. By subscribing to our mailing list you agree to our privacy policy.
We're teaming up to make this happen
Through the Your Best Friend project we want to empower young people with the knowledge, support and confidence to keep themselves and their friends safe.
Early relationships for young people can be a time of great risk and we know young people just want to talk to someone they trust, a friend, about what is happening.
Through the Your Best Friend project we want to empower young people who identify as girls and young women with the knowledge, support and confidence to keep themselves and their friends safe.
Through the Your Best Friend project we want to empower young people who identify as girls and young women with the knowledge, support and confidence to keep themselves and their friends safe.
Tilda Publishing
Galop is a part of the Your Best Friend Project because we want to empower all young people to better understand the needs of LGBT+ young people who are experiencing abuse.
We are proud to be a part of a project that is informed from the voices of young people and led by their perspectives. We believe that this work will help young people to respond to their LGBT+ friends in a way that feels okay for them.
We are proud to be a part of a project that is informed from the voices of young people and led by their perspectives. We believe that this work will help young people to respond to their LGBT+ friends in a way that feels okay for them.
Tilda Publishing
Hafan Cymru is involved in Your Best Friend as we believe everyone has the right to:
- A life free from abuse
- Be able to access the right support at the right time
- Receive quality services enabling them to feel safe and empowering them
- A life free from abuse
- Be able to access the right support at the right time
- Receive quality services enabling them to feel safe and empowering them
Tilda Publishing
To support all young people find their voice, feel safe and be confident. Muslim Youth Helpline is involved in translating the needs of young Muslims into something practical and beneficial.
Tilda Publishing
PODS joined the SafeLives partnership for the Your Best Friend project as we found young people are likely to seek advice from their friends before speaking to an adult about any difficulties they may be facing. We feel this project will help to bridge the gap between young people and services as they will develop a deeper understanding of support services available, as well as create their own help seeking resources.’
Tilda Publishing
We are involved in YBF because we are deeply passionate about equipping BAME young people with the tools and confidence which will enhance and enrich their lives and the lives of those around them.
Tilda Publishing
At Llamau we believe that no one should ever have to experience domestic abuse. We want to ensure that everyone feels safe and can live free from harm.
We believe the ‘Your Best Friend’ project will empower young people with the knowledge and confidence to keep themselves and their friends safe, which in turn will break the cycle of domestic abuse.
We believe the ‘Your Best Friend’ project will empower young people with the knowledge and confidence to keep themselves and their friends safe, which in turn will break the cycle of domestic abuse.
Tilda Publishing
The Mix believes in a world in which every young person is heard and is supported to deal with the ups and downs of life, including their relationships. We know young women and girls often turn to their best friends for this support. Therefore, empowering young people with reliable, trustworthy information and signposting will help to break the cycle of domestic violence and toxic behaviour.
This important project will give young women and girls the resources they need to keep themselves and their friends safe.
This important project will give young women and girls the resources they need to keep themselves and their friends safe.
Tilda Publishing
We are journalists, technologists, digital storytellers and development practitioners. We work with marginalised communities to amplify their voices and share their insight.
We co-created drawtheline.uk when we discovered that young people are most likely to speak to friends if they are worried about harmful and toxic relationship behaviours.
We want to make sure that friends have the knowledge and confidence to identify toxic behaviour, and can help to navigate themselves and their friends to safety.
We co-created drawtheline.uk when we discovered that young people are most likely to speak to friends if they are worried about harmful and toxic relationship behaviours.
We want to make sure that friends have the knowledge and confidence to identify toxic behaviour, and can help to navigate themselves and their friends to safety.
Tilda Publishing
Healthy Relationship Education is a big part of our work at Project YANA, we are excited to be on board the YBF mission.
Tilda Publishing
We know the power of people helping each other. Every young person deserves the support and answers to the very real problems they may be experiencing - either in their own relationships or their friends' relationships. We're so motivated to work with incredible organisations and young people to make this happen.
Tilda Publishing
We want to thank the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport - the 'Your Best Friend' project would not be possible without substantial funding from the Tampon Tax Fund.
Supported by
Join us on this mission...
If you want to help us spread the word, you can download our resources and campaign pack from the #FriendsCanTell campaign page, and use them in any way you want. You can also join our movement below - we'll send you helpful information to help your friend, and quick tasks that you can do to get this information out to wherever girls, young women and non-binary people they spend their time (online or offline).
We will only use your email to get in touch with you with news and updates. By subscribing to our mailing list you agree to our privacy policy.