It is 10 years since a report first revealed the epic scale of sexual bullying, harassment and abuse girls faced in England’s schools on a daily basis. The report, by MPs on the women and equalities committee, showed the horrifying normality of child-on-child abuse in schools. The need for government action was “overwhelming”, said the committee chair, Maria Miller.
Ofsted duly investigated, recommendations were written, promises were made and a new sex education curriculum was rolled out. A decade later, and six years after the Everyone’s Invited movement began to collect anonymous testimonies from victims, a Guardian investigation has shown the problem persists unabated at schools in England and Wales. In many ways it may be more pernicious as a result of the rise of social media, misogyny and the mass consumption of online pornography by teenage boys.
The freedom of information investigation captures only the most serious incidents; those reported to and recorded by police. Interviews with experts, lawyers and campaigners suggest many more cases never get reported, often because the children involved are under the age of criminal responsibility and the assault is dismissed as “age-related exploration”. Andrew Lord, a partner with Leigh Day solicitors and a specialist in abuse claims, has dealt with cases of child-on-child sexual abuse in private and state schools, inner-city schools, rural schools, primary, secondary and boarding schools for more than a decade.
He says the impact on victims can endure for years and many suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. In many instances, however, schools were still struggling to deal with it appropriately. When you are talking about sexual assault, it’s a different matter.” Lord is currently representing a secondary school pupil who reported being subjected to a number of sexual and physical assaults by fellow pupils in a changing room.
The family is seeking a claim for negligence and breach of human rights against the school for its failure to protect the child. Lord also represents a number of primary school children, including a boy who reported being seriously sexually assaulted by another child on school premises. He was scared he would be hit if he did not comply.
While most victims of sexual abuse in schools are girls, boys are also targeted. Bethany’s* eight-year-old son was sexually abused on three occasions by a classmate during play dates at her home. She only discovered what had happened when he began crying at bedtime.
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