Researchers offered school pupil ‘sex survey’ data

The data of a controversial survey that asked about young experiences below 14 years of age to school students have been advertised by external researchers, without the clear consent of children or parents, BBC Scotland learned by BBC Scotland Is.

The health and well -being census of the Scottish government made headlines in 2021 after highly individual questions of more than 130,000 school children, expressing concern among education experts and families.

Parents said that they were not already told the nature of questions and they were not asked to agree that their children’s personal information could be shared.

A Skottish government spokesperson stated that it was “clear” that data – once shared with them – would only be used for data and research purposes and that students would not be identified by results.

Health and well -being census was organized by the Scottish government, but half of the 32 councils of Scotland took out after concerns about the consent on oblivion and lack of concerns for the students.

Finally, 16 councils proceeded: Angus, Clackmanshire, Dummfrees and Gallow, Dundi, East Rainfresires, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow, More, North Aireshire, Perth and Kinaros, Renfresheer, Scottish Border, Shetland, South Arshire and Starling.

The students answered online questions in classes and on the survey form, they were told that the information will not be shared.

“What happens to my answers?” It says: “The local authority will not tell anyone your answer, not your teacher or your family.”

However, data is now being publicly introduced to external researchers through the website of research data Scotland, with the aim of making it easier to use data around health and goodness with a charity created by the Scottish government in 2021.

The Scottish government had a section on its website stating that “individual level of data could be shared for research objectives”.

But many parents claim that they were unaware that answers could be used in this way – especially because the survey and communication about it was handled by individual councils.

At the time of survey, campaigners warned that it should protect the rights of children of secrecy and give informed consent.

However, the consent was made on a “opt-out” basis, which means that parents or students had to refuse to participate exclusively.

The UK Information Commissioner Office has guidelines on consent that it should be “opt-in”.

The guidelines states, “There is no such thing as ‘opt-out consent’.”

“Failure to exit does not consensus because it does not include a clear positive work.”

Many parents said that they did not see the letter informing about the survey and who said that it does not tell about the detailed questions about sexual history, relationships with parents, mental health and alcohol intake. Is.

Differently asked questions for different age groups, but S4 (age 14 and 15 years) was asked about their sexual relations and contraception.

A question asks: “People have different degrees of sexual experience. How much, if any, you have sexual experience?”

Multiple replies include “oral sex” and “vaginal or anal sex”.

It goes to ask if he or other person used condoms, which he had sex in recent times.

Some parents came to know that their children had participated without their knowledge, but when they asked to scrub their data, they were told that this would not be possible.

A parent from Scotland, who did not want to identify, told the BBC that he had serious concern about how to collect children’s data and now how it was being shared.

“Many parents do not even know that their children participated in it,” he said.

“134,000 children participated, not with the consent of any active parents and many parents never received letters.

“He never opened an email or the letter fell into the bottom of the school bag.”

Sonia said that the health and well -being census did not seem risky or sensitive in the beginning.

“It was only once when you were looking at many layers when you realized that it was a great exercise,” he said.

“They will not let the parents see questions.

“I think, once we are starting to keep mystery from parents and mystery from children and we are not asking parents to actively agree then we raise a new level risk And we begin to break the trust between schools and parents. “

Educationists say that there are serious concerns about sharing data without consent and connecting it to other datasets, as it increases the risk of identifying children and their answers.

Lindsay Patterson, Professor of Education at the University of Edinburgh, said that connecting the information with other large datasets, including ethnicity, meant that individual children would be very easy to identify – especially in small rural schools.

He said that he had serious concern about the “immoral” way that the data was now being shared.

He told the BBC, “No child and any parents have not received permission to pass data.”

“This does not mean that individual researchers are immoral, but the issue is that moral security is for a good reason because sadly some people will get access to data and misuse privacy, which should be believed.”

One of the biggest concerns raised at the time of the survey was that it included the individual candidate number of students – through which children could be potentially identified.

In the email viewed by the BBC, the Information Commissioner’s Office warned the Scottish government in 2023 that the way they had gathered, stored and transferred that the data was identified by the potential risks by “third and wicked actors” Can

It says that it has attached to help the local authorities and the government to help implement the measures to protect the data, and that the work continued to monitor the work.

Rose McCal, a spokesman of Scottish orthodox children and young people, said: “It is unacceptable that despite the assurances given by SNP ministers, the trust of young people has been cheated in such a way that it will be kept confidential.

“They should immediately explain why this data is shared and if there is a plan to conduct a similar survey in the future.”

A spokesperson of the Scottish government said: “All the participants in the survey had the opportunity to give up questions that they did not wish to answer and the councils were responsible for advising them to get out.

“It was clarified that the data provided to the Scottish government, and later made available to external researchers, would only be used for data and research purposes and therefore not identified by any result.”