“I was groomed when I was 12 by a 16 year old and haven’t told any of my closest friends and it’s been four years and I’ve been repressing it for so long that it doesn’t feel like it should matter anymore but it does and it still affects me every day because I feel like it was my fault.”
“I was on my way to school by school bus which had students from other schools. I was sitting at the back minding my own business sitting down next to a student from another school where I suddenly felt a leg stroke hard against mine. I didn’t say anything and pretend that I did not even feel it or wanted to react. Another time on the same school bus I was sitting opposite this same person and they kept on showing a lot of their “assets” which you could clearly tell I was ignoring. In the end I changed my route back from school.”
“In year 11 I sent nudes naively to a boy I was talking too. The next day I wake up to find him and his mates were actually selling them on Snapchat. He’d not only screenshot them without my knowledge he’d gone on to profit off them. They had used me. The worst part is the school was informed of what had happened and all they did was tell them “not to do it again”. I was told “it’s just how boys are” and “I brought it on myself”. I’ve suffered from depression and self harm because of it and only now two years on am I starting to heal and realising I am not to blame.”
Source: Everybody’s Welcome website
Recently the subject of sexual abuse, particularly in schools, has grabbed the headlines. Settings have been urged to ask, pointedly, given the recently reported experiences of so many young people, whether they have a ‘rape culture’.
What is rape culture?
Rape culture has been defined as existing when:
‘… behaviours, & attitudes in a society or environment have the effect of normalising and trivialising sexual violence. When behaviours like ‘upskirting’ or the nonconsensual sharing of intimate photos are normalised this acts as a gateway to criminal acts such as sexual assault and rape. Behaviours such as misogyny, slut shaming, victim blaming, and sexual harassment create an environment where sexual violence and abuse can exist and thrive. All behaviours, attitudes, thoughts and experiences in this culture are interconnected.’
Source: Everybody’s Welcome website
So what has happened to bring this issue once more to the fore?
In January 2021 the Government announced its Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy which aimed to galvanise a whole-system response to tackle child sexual abuse, including peer abuse. It has been recognised for several years that around a third of child sexual abuse is believed to be carried out by under 18s. Therefore schools were told that they would in the future be inspected on how they responded to reports of peer sexual abuse. Part of their inspection would also include assessment of how they were providing relationships education on personal privacy, respect and consent, to ensure that more young people have a better understanding of how to behave towards their peers, including online.
During the summer of 2020 the organisation ‘Everyone’s Invited’ had invited victims of sexual abuse to share their stories online anonymously. In March 2021, just two months after the government’s announcement to commit to tackling child sexual abuse, the ‘Everybody’s Welcome’ website published the results of their request. Over 10,000 of mostly young people had shared their experiences, in most cases specifically their experiences of sexual abuse perpetrated by other young people on them. More than 100 schools were named in the harrowing testimonies, including top private schools like Eton, Dulwich and Westminster. Each person on the website had their own unique shocking story, but there were several recurrent themes. Some revealed they were raped, but did not realise until later as they were too ashamed or part of a culture where that was regarded as normal. Many said they were forced into sending nude pictures of themselves to boys at school who then spread them around. There are many accounts of teachers turning a blind eye or ignoring continual assault, harassment and misogyny at school. Headteachers, politicians and commentators revealed their horror at the testimonies. Metropolitan Police reported that they had been contacted and had started their investigations into a number of different offences. There was a public outcry. What was being done about this? Was living in a ‘rape culture’ a common reality for most children and young people?
Also in March 2021, the International Watch Foundation published shocking research that documenting how internet sex predators are targeting children to have them abuse their siblings and friends, as well as themselves, on camera. The report evidenced that a disturbing number of child abuse images are currently being created and shared online by children, after they have been groomed, bullied, or blackmailed to abuse other children whilst live streaming images by an adult.
As a result of the new research and widespread concern, the government announced that they were launching a national review into sexual abuse in schools. The government asked Ofsted to undertake an immediate review of safeguarding policies in state and independent schools in England, looking at the extent and the severity of the issue.
Ofsted has now published its terms of reference for the review of safeguarding policies in state and independent schools and colleges in England in relation to sexual abuse. The review will look at:
- safeguarding and curriculum, and how relationships and sex education can be used to safeguard against peer sexual abuse;
- the quality of multi-agency safeguarding arrangements; and
- the extent to which the voices of victims are heard in reporting, and whether inspection arrangements are sufficient in regard to assessing this effectively.
A sample of schools and colleges will be visited where peer sexual abuse cases have been highlighted. Inspectors will talk to school and college leaders, pupils and students, and will look at how well systems of support and response are working. The review will not report on individual schools or cases, but present a picture of good and poor practice across the country, and will conclude by the end of May 2021.
The Ofsted Inspection Handbook was amended in April 2021 to include this new paragraph:
‘302. If inspectors cannot corroborate the evidence that they gather about the effectiveness of the school’s arrangements to safeguard pupils, by talking to pupils on inspection, then safeguarding will likely be judged ineffective.’
And finally, in April 2021 Department for Education also announced a new helpline to support potential victims of sexual harassment and abuse in education settings. The helpline, run by the NSPCC, aims to provide children and adults who are victims of sexual abuse in schools with support and advice including how to contact the police and report crime, as well as providing support to parents and professionals. The dedicated NSPCC helpline number is 0800 136 663.
How can you assess if your setting has a rape culture?
To help settings self-assess how their culture measures up, I recommend downloading a toolkit which will provide them with practical ideas on how to go about an internal audit. ‘Beyond Referrals: levers for addressing harmful sexual behaviour in schools’ is produced by the Contextual Safeguarding Network, and sets out a full range of practical ideas for self-assessment methods, including:
- Student Survey
- Staff Survey
- Parents’ Survey
- Reviewing Policies and Procedures
- Reviewing Safeguarding and Behaviour Logs in Schools
- Hotspot Mapping Guidance
Download the toolkit here:
Useful resources and further reading on peer sexual abuse
Just before the UK was going into its first lockdown in April 2020, I wrote a newsletter to my subscribers on the growing concerns of child-on-child sexual violence, or peer sexual abuse. I highlighted the fact that in the light of increasing concerns about sexual violence committed by children, the statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education now contained new detailed information on how settings should manage child on Child Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment (Section 5). Essential advice for every member of the children’s workforce on managing child on child sexual violence in that document states:
- sexual violence and sexual harassment is not acceptable and will not be tolerated – it’s not ‘banter’, ‘part of growing up’ or ‘having a laugh’.
- victims should be reassured, taken seriously, supported and kept safe – and never told they are creating a problem by reporting or made to feel ashamed.
- all staff should be trained to manage a disclosures of child on child sexual violence.
- where abuse is online, staff should be aware of searching, screening and confiscation advice, plus advice on sexting (staff not to view or forward illegal images of a child).
- risk and needs assessments should be made of everyone involved: the victim, the alleged perpetrator; and all the other children (and, if appropriate, adult students and staff).
- the designated safeguarding lead should then ensure they are engaging with children’s social care and specialist services as required.
The supporting guidance, Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Between Children in Schools and Colleges 2018 contains information what sexual violence and sexual harassment look like; important context to be aware of; related legal responsibilities for schools and colleges; and advice on a whole school or college approach to preventing child on child sexual violence and sexual harassment.
To support parents and carers to educate their children, the Lucy Faithful Foundation has update the ‘Stop It Now!’ toolkit. This succinct guide sets out a massive range of ideas and resources to prevent and combat harmful sexual behaviour.
Download the toolkit here:
A practical campaign toolkit entitled ‘Step Up, Speak Up!’ has also been produced by the online safeguarding Childnet to address the issue of online sexual harassment amongst young people aged 13 – 17 years. Almost half of 13-17 year olds have witnessed their peers editing photos of someone to make them sexual e.g. placing sexual emojis over them or adding different faces to pornographic images. This toolkit includes a range of resources for young people and the professionals who work with them, including teachers, pastoral teams, senior school leadership and police forces. Further details can be found here: https://www.childnet.com/resources/step-up-speak-up
Dai Durbridge of Browne Jacobson has written two really helpful blog posts covering issues like managing reports, statements for press, parents, stakeholders, insurance considerations, data protection issues, policy, procedure and staff training:
1: https://www.brownejacobson.com/education/training-and-resources/legal-updates/2021/03/everyones-invited-managing-reports-of-child-on-child-assault-and-harassment
2: https://www.brownejacobson.com/education/training-and-resources/legal-updates/2021/04/everyones-invited-ofsted-to-review-safeguarding-policies
The professional resource organisation for online safety, ThinkUKnow, has published a blog about victim-blaming when teaching about online harms. ‘Victim-blaming happens when the victim of a crime is held entirely or partially at fault for the harm they’ve experienced. Victim-blaming can be direct and explicit, for example, telling the victim it was their fault. It can also be indirect and unconscious, for example, questioning what a victim could have done differently, or how they may have reacted differently in the victim’s shoes.’ The post looks what victim-blaming might look like in the classroom and how teachers can challenges those attitudes. You can read the full article here: https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/professionals/our-views/challenging-victim-blaming-attitudes/
BBC iPlayer is currently streaming an excellent documentary entitled ‘Revenge Porn’. It presents in a very thoughtful and empathetic way the real life experience of a young woman reality TV star who had suffered from this now illegal practice: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p096h12v/zara-mcdermott-revenge-porn
– and finally – Mandy Parry Training offers a range of safeguarding training and consultancy that address key themes that every member of the children’s workforce needs to be aware of. In particular, I offer a three hour online course in managing a Child’s Disclosure of Abuse which has been extremely well received. Please contact me for more information on how I can help.