Schools should be putting sexual harassment on the curriculum – and parents can help
Published Filed under Education2, Family. Total of no comments in the discussion. Polly Neate / Chief Executive of Women’s Aid /
Earlier this year, the women and equalities select committee found that more than half of girls in British schools and colleges have faced sexual harassment.
Following an inquiry, it concluded that sexual bullying has become a common (indeed, an expected) part of girls’ everyday lives, and that almost a third of 16 to 18-year-olds have experienced unwanted sexual touching at school.
Put simply: sexual abuse is rife in schools; it be could happening to your daughter, niece, cousin, sister, goddaughter and her friends.
As Maria Miller, the committee’s chair, said at the time: “The evidence of the endemic nature of this abuse is overwhelming. The report’s findings should horrify every reader, and the recommendations should be no less than top of the political agenda.”
Yet, the Department for Education has just announced it isn’t taking forward the recommendations to tackle this serious issue.
It will not prioritise the main action urged by the women and equalities select committee: to introduce statutory, age-appropriate sex and relationships education (SRE) into all schools.
This despite admitting, in a new report published today, that sexual abuse of girls in schools is “accepted” and that the rise of “lad culture” means teachers are effectively “condoning sexual harassment”. And despite conceding that boys are surrounded with messages that encourage them to act in “sexually dominant ways, and to collude with other males who do so”.
The Government report says that Ofsted will consider “adapting” its training to ensure that inspectors are able to recognise cases of “sexual harassment and violence” in schools. While teachers will be surveyed further, because there is currently “limited evidence available in this area”.
Women’s Aid, the charity I lead, is deeply disappointed at this lukewarm response.
Contact your school – there’s nothing stopping them from providing sex and relationships education
If we don’t address the root causes of violence against women and girls through education on healthy relationships – and equip young people to tackle the sexist and disrespectful attitudes that underpin it – we have no hope of ever preventing it.
A sobering new statistic, released last week from the Femicide Census showed that between 2009 and 2015, a staggering 936 women were killed by men in England and Wales.
But education can help us reduce these terrifying statistics. Statutory SRE is needed to keep girls safe now – and to prevent violence against them in the future.
So what can parents do?
There are steps worried mums and dads can take.
Do you know what is going on in your own child’s school? Teenagers are not exactly famed for confiding in their parents, and the shame and stigma of sexual harassment will keep many silent.
The first thing is not to be put off. Contact your school and make clear that there’s nothing stopping them from providing high-quality sex and relationships education – despite the lack of a clear Government directive.
Girls are the worst off, but it hurts boys too…. read more here
Utah Standard News depends on the support of readers like you.
Good Journalism requires time, expertise, passion and money. We know you appreciate the coverage here. Please help us to continue as an alternative news website by becoming a subscriber or making a donation. To learn more about our subscription options or make a donation, click here.
To Advertise on UtahStandardNews.com, please contact us at: ed@utahstandardnews.com.
Comments - No Responses to “Schools should be putting sexual harassment on the curriculum – and parents can help”
Sure is empty down here...