A HARD-HITTING poster designed by an Ayrshire student will take the fight against stalking into every secondary school, college and university in the UK.

 

Leonie Smith won a contest organised by Ayrshire College and backed by former Evening Times Scotswoman of the Year Ann Moulds.

Ann, who has campaigned successfully to change stalking laws across Europe since enduring her own stalking ordeal, visited the college earlier this year to launch the competition.

She explained: "For this year's National Stalking Awareness Campaign, which runs from April 18 to 22, we wanted to get a message out there to young people that stalking is not something that simply affects adults.

"As well as encouraging young people to seek help if they are being stalked, this campaign is about urging young people to stand together, to unite as a strong collective voice against stalkers."

Leonie, 25, from Catrine, near Mauchline, was delighted when judges announced she had produced the winning design. The original entries were whittled down to a shortlist of four - Leonie, David Dickie, Andrew McIntyre and Natalie McLean.

"I didn't think I would win it, the competition was very tough," said Leonie, who is in her third year of an HND in graphic design and illustration.

"Ann came to talk to students about stalking and she was very inspiring. Her message - that we should stand together to stop stalking - stuck with me, and that was what made me think of the design I came up with."

Leonie's powerful design, which incorporates a silhouette of a head covered in text, impressed the judging panel which included Ann Moulds, Sergeant Mark Hornby, South Ayrshire's police liaison officer and Councillor Ann Galbraith, chairperson of the South Ayrshire Multi Agency Partnership tackling violence against women.

The panel also included Callum Hendry, co-ordinator of White Ribbon Scotland, a male-led initiative aimed at ending violence against women. Callum is working closely with Ann Moulds and her charity Action Scotland Against Stalking to distribute Leonie's poster across Britain.

Ann said: "The standard of all the entries was extremely high and it was very difficult to choose an overall winner. Leonie's excellent design does exactly what we wanted this poster to do - it sends a clear message to young people that stalking is something we can all tackle together."

Ann Moulds, who was named Evening Times Scotswoman of the Year for 2013, said the success of Ayrshire College's poster competition built on the groundbreaking work already being done in the area.

A recent anti-stalking DVD for schools, piloted by South Ayrshire Council, won a prestigious award and is now in demand nationally.

Friend Request, which was written and developed by senior pupils from all eight South Ayrshire Council secondary schools in conjunction with production company, Film School, triumphed in the Early Intervention and Education category in the Safer Communities Scotland Awards 2015.

It focuses on the story of a young girl who accepts a friend request from a fellow pupil on a social media site, which then develops into something much more sinister that has a significant impact on the young girl's home life and mental health.

Councillor Ann Galbraith said: "This was a fantastic project and the pupils were incredibly enthusiastic, so to win the award was a real tribute to their hard work.

"We have had a great response from South Ayrshire schools and we are now receiving requests for the DVD from local authorities around the country."