Treat abusers nicely and they won’t hurt you is a message being given to four-year-olds in Scotland.
The Scottish Book Trust (SBT) included Brenda is a Sheep in their pack of books given to every Primary 1 child. In a chilling subversion of ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing’, a wolf called ‘Brenda’ dons a woolly jumper (which looks very like a dress) and joins a flock of sheep. The sheep learn lots of new games from Brenda, and ‘think that she is probably the best sheep they have ever met’. After Brenda shows them a recipe for mint sauce, the sheep cook up a feast of meals made from grass. Diverted from eating them, Brenda joins in the sheep party because after all ‘Brenda is a sheep’.
Many critics of the book noted that pacifying an abuser to prevent an attack is a common way of life for those who are victims of domestic abuse. The phrase ‘be nice’ is flung at those who campaign for women’s safety.
Other critics saw the illustrations of a wolf called Brenda wearing a dress as a man who identifies as a woman. ‘Be nice’ is also said to those who don’t support the idea that a man can change into a woman.
Sex or gender
The SBT have replaced sex with ‘gender’ as a protected characteristic under Equality Act legislation on their website, which may in part explain why Brenda has been distributed.
en contacted 'For Women Scotland' after discovering the error on the SBT website. On the broader issue of switching sex to ‘gender’, they said: ‘Too many organisations are collecting data on gender, which is not a protected characteristic under the Equality Act nor defined in law, as opposed to sex which is protected. By choosing not to collect data on the specific protected characteristics, organisations cannot collect the data needed to ascertain whether or not they could be discriminating on protected grounds in recruitment. This could be vital in an industrial tribunal. Sex is defined in the Act as Male or Female, there is no third option.’
