Written submission from Rape Crisis England and Wales (SVS0059)

Executive Summary

• Sexual harassment and sexual violence are routine and every day in schools across England and Wales and take place in the context of a highly sexualised and sexist culture.

• These are gendered problems, with the overwhelming number of perpetrators being men and boys (both staff and students), and the overwhelming number of victim/survivors being women and girls (both staff and students). A gendered response rooted in the principles of equality and human rights is therefore required to effectively address the problem.

• Rape Crisis Centres work in schools in all areas providing specialist support for victims/survivors, delivering workshops and lessons, providing staff training and developing practical materials. None of the local Centres we spoke to in developing these submissions were funded by the school for their services.

• The Department for Education needs to work with sexual violence experts, including Rape Crisis England and Wales, to develop a ‘whole school approach’ to sexual harassment and sexual violence, linked to the national violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy led by the Home Office.

1. About Rape Crisis England and Wales

1.1 Rape Crisis England and Wales (RCEW) is the national umbrella and membership body for 46 independent Rape Crisis Centres (RCCs) that provide specialist sexual violence services[1] to women and girls who have experienced sexual violence and/or sexual abuse at any point in their lives. This includes but is not restricted to: rape, sexual assault, child sexual abuse, sexual harassment, rape within relationships, forced marriage, “honour”-based violence, female genital mutilation, sex trafficking, child sexual exploitation (CSE), adult survivors of CSE and institutional sexual abuse. RCCs provide crisis support through to longer term recovery, through advocacy, help and support line, emotional support, group work, sexual violence counselling, practical support, preventative work and young people’s support.

1.2 Local RCCs regularly work in schools across England and Wales providing specialist support to victims/survivors of sexual violence and harassment, delivering staff training, awareness raising programmes, workshops with young people as well as providing written materials including lesson plans, see Give and Get Consent resource for Key Stages 3 and 4 developed by Rape Crisis South London. These submissions are grounded in the experience of our practice-based evidence from the frontline which is supported by a growing body of research.

2. The scale of the problem

2.1 How much sexual harassment and sexual violence currently occurs in primary and secondary schools?

Sexual harassment and sexual violence are at epidemic levels in primary and secondary schools across England and Wales. They take place both online and offline, on school premises, on the way to and from school as well as on school trips. They include rape, sexual assault, child sexual exploitation, sexual harassment/bullying, image-based sexual abuse including ‘revenge porn’ and coercive or abusive sexting, harassment and abuse via social media and pornography. In addition, children may be experiencing sexual abuse in the family setting or elsewhere not connected to school which raises child protection issues for the school to address. This takes place in the context of a highly sexualised and sexist media (‘sexualised sexism’[2]) which provides a conducive context for harassment, violence and abuse.

The statistics below give an indication of the scale of the problem:

• Between 2012 and 2015, more than 5,500 alleged sexual offences in UK schools were reported to police according to a BBC Freedom of Information request. This included more than 600 rapes.[3]
• 30% of female rape victims are under 16 according to new police figures published by the ONS.[4]
• The 2014 Girls’ Attitudes Survey found that 59% of girls and young women aged 13-21 had faced some form of sexual harassment at school or college in the past year.[5]
• A study for the NSPCC found that nearly a quarter (24.1%) of young adults aged 18-24 reported having experienced sexual abuse by an adult or peer in childhood. Teenage girls aged 15-17 reported the highest past year rates of sexual abuse. The majority of perpetrators were known males, either adults or young people.[6]
• More than 4 in 10 teenage school girls in England have suffered sexual coercion.[7]
• Young women and girls affected by gangs experience high levels of sexual violence including sexual exploitation, sexual assault, individual rape and multiple perpetrator rape.[8]

• In a poll on sexual harassment for End Violence Against Women (EVAW) more than a quarter of respondents were under 16 when they first received unwanted sexual attention and unwanted sexual touching.[9]
• Young black women may experience racialised sexual harassment. See ‘I’d just like to be free’ film produced by Black Feminist organisation Imkaan and EVAW.[10]

Education policymakers at all levels and individual schools must therefore assume that in all schools there will be both perpetrators and survivors, within the staff and school community. 

2.2 Who are the targets of harassment and who are the perpetrators?

Whilst policies and work with young people are often gender neutral, the evidence clearly shows that the overwhelming majority of perpetrators of sexual harassment and sexual violence, whether in school settings or elsewhere, are men and boys and the overwhelming majority of victims are women and girls. In a school environment, this includes both students as well as teachers and can be perpetrated from one student to another, from a student to a teacher, from a teacher to a student, and from one teacher to another.

The BBC FOI request found that at least a fifth of offences were carried out by children, but details about the rest of the assaults were not known. This highlights the need for better recording of allegations both by schools, police and other authorities as well as central government.

2.3 How often are teachers the victims of sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools?

We know that female teachers routinely experience sexual harassment, both from male colleagues as well as from male students. Teaching unions are best placed to provide evidence on this.

2.4 Are levels of sexual harassment and sexual violence increasing in schools?

Unfortunately, due to poor recording and data collection of these issues, there is no baseline evidence against which to measure, however developing technologies and the increasing accessibility of technology to children at younger ages through which much sexual harassment and abuse is perpetrated suggests there is likely to be a significant increase in schools.

One Rape Crisis worker who works in schools feels that ‘the sexualised culture is increasing because of image-sharing.’ This creates an unhealthy environment in which children develop and learn. For one rape survivor who was assaulted by her boyfriend and his friend it was the ubiquity of rape jokes that made going back to school very difficult.

2.5 How well is the problem being recorded and monitored?

Discretion in the education system allows for huge variation from one school to another but on the whole, recording and monitoring of sexually abusive behaviour, including criminal offences, in schools are poor. The Department for Education has responsibility for the welfare of children in schools, yet it does not centrally collect the information it needs in order to fulfil these welfare obligations, nor does it require schools to collect the information that they need to carry out their own obligations.

3 The Impact of sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools

The impact of sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools is significant, both to individuals, schools and the wider community. Victims/survivors can experience feelings of guilt, shame and have long-term mental health problems. Physical impacts can include physical injuries, STDs as well as teenage pregnancy.[11]

These issues also have a serious impact on children’s social and formal education. Victims/survivors may need to take time away from school, and can have problems resettling back in after an incident, particularly if the perpetrator is at school or in class. Behavioural problems as a result of the sexual abuse may not be recognised as such and can lead to the survivor being punished or at risk of exclusion. Three quarters of respondants in the Girlguiding survey say anxiety about sexual harassment negatively affects their lives – whether it’s their choice of clothing (51%), their body confidence (49%) or their freedom to go where they want on their own (43%).

When a perpetrator’s behaviour goes unaddressed it means that he is a risk to other children both at school and elsewhere and sexually abusive behaviour can escalate. Harm is caused to the social fabric of the school if sexist and sexually abusive behaviour is tolerated or normalised with both boys and girls receiving clear messages about their roles and value to society.

4 What can be done to reduce sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools?

4.1 What measures are currently in place to address this issue? How adequate are they?

An absence of leadership from the Department for Education in addressing this child protection issue has meant that measures differ from one area to another and from one school to another ranging from schools that work proactively and positively with outside agencies such as Rape Crisis Centres to deliver training, workshops, lessons and support to those that don’t. The first response to a victim/survivor of disclosure is critical to how she seeks support in future and yet children in some schools receive less support, less information and less protection than in neighbouring schools. 86% of respondents to the Girlguiding survey said that adults often don’t recognise the pressure young people are under.

Local Rape Crisis Centres say that it is not uncommon for teachers to minimise or dismiss allegations of assault. They say the lack of clear messages from schools reinforces the notion many young people have that it is normal to be touched by peers in school. Girls may be afraid to tell their peer to stop harassing them or tell anyone else for fear of losing friends.

This is backed up by a 2013 Joint Inspectorate study of young sex offenders almost half of the cases contained documented evidence of the young men and boys exhibiting previous “concerning sexualised behaviour” that was either not identified at the time or was subject to disbelief, minimisation and denial by professionals and families - crucially missing the opportunity to intervene and prevent abuse.[12]

4.2 What evidence is there of schemes proven to reduce levels of sexual harassment in schools in the UK or elsewhere?

There has been very little focus on this issue, with very patchy and short term funding for programmes and little evaluation. It is essential that the Home Office, Department for Education and other relevant departments develop a programme on prevention, including research and evaluation, similar to the Department for International Development’s action in this area abroad.

4.3 Can schools tackle this problem individually or is national action needed to reduce levels of harassment?

Schools cannot continue to be left to tackle this issue on their own. All children deserve to have a consistent approach to safeguarding and child protection.

Schools want and need national support in developing clear policies that sit within the broader VAWG framework, linked to national level monitoring and evaluation. Furthermore, on a practical level school within and across local areas need to be joining up work. Sexual harassment and sexual violence may involve students or staff from different schools (eg an unconvicted teacher perpetrator who moves from one school to another, a family perpetrator whose children are at different schools, a child sexual exploitation ring targeting children at different schools).

4.4 What role can OFSTED play in monitoring and enforcing action on reducing sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools?

Ofsted has a vital role to play in monitoring and enforcing action. As part of the inspection framework, inspectors should be looking at how schools monitor and record incidents, whether they have adequate policies in place, whether they work with specialists agencies such as Rape Crisis Centres to deliver training, workshops and to provide support to survivors and crucially whether children feel safe at school and in the school environment.

Ofsted can scrutinise school exclusions and disciplinary actions in relation to both perpetrators as well as to victim/survivors who may be punished for behaviour problems as a result of assault.

4.5 What role can other stakeholders, including teacher training providers, teaching unions, governors and parents, play in tackling this problem?

All stakeholders have a role to play. Sexual violence and sexual harassment should be a core part of ongoing teacher training, unions can play a role in developing policies and awareness raising with their members who themselves may be both perpetrators and victim/survivors. Governors can ensure that the school has adequate policies and agree funding for specialist sexual violence agencies to deliver work in their school. Parents have a critical role to play in supporting their children as well as holding the school to account in delivering on its safeguarding obligations.

4.6 What action would be most effective in reducing levels of sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools?

• The Department for Education should work with specialists in the VAWG sector to develop template policies and evidence-based guidance for schools that sit within the national VAWG strategy. Current guidance on issues such as Safeguarding and Bullying are ungendered and unevidenced and all too often the Department works with generic providers on issues around sexual consent. Sexual bullying and harassment needs to have the same focus as other bullying.

• Every school should be required to develop a ‘whole school approach’[ref] which includes clear policies, ongoing training for staff, age appropriate learning across the curriculum including in SRE and PSHE, funding for specialist agencies to provide support for survivors and deliver prevention programmes.

• All staff and policymakers need to be clear what constitutes sexual harassment and assault so that children feel safe at school and have the same level of protection that is expected in the workplace.

• Policies for dealing with alleged perpetrators need to be clear, whether or not the matter is referred to social services or the police. Schools are often under the misunderstanding that victim/survivors cannot receive counselling until any court proceedings have finished. This is not the case and delaying this kind of support is harmful for the victim/survivor. Furthermore, the focus should not be on requiring the victim/survivor to change her behaviour, her route into school, her timetable. Risk assessments should consider the safety of other children at school and the community.

• Leadership is critical. One local Rape Crisis Centre found that it was only when there was a change of Headteacher did the response change to a girl who had been raped and was at risk of exclusion.

• Age-appropriate SRE should be compulsory but the content and delivery is key. Some schools deliver work on healthy relationships but without discussing sexual consent and it can be passed down to a member of staff with no expertise or training to deliver it. If it is badly taught it risks reinforcing victim-blaming messages that girls are responsible for saying ‘no’ to sexual activity and for keeping themselves safe from sexual abuse and sexual exploitation. The Department for Education should develop a national framework with experts on sexual violence including Rape Crisis. See EVAW’s ‘gold standard’ of sex and relationships education[13].

• There need to be ongoing campaigns to change harmful attitudes and behaviours which is linked in to work in schools. It is not effective or good policy making to produce good campaigns such as This Is Abuse/Disrespect Nobody and not to ensure that children in all schools have access to a package of materials and workshops to embed the messages.

• There should be a legal duty on local authorities to develop local VAWG strategies which are based on gender equality and human rights. A key objective of the strategies should be the prevention of all VAWG including sexual violence and sexual harassment in schools.

• We would like to see schools allocating appropriate resources to buying in expertise from local women’s groups such as Rape Crisis Centres, both to deliver awareness raising and prevention programmes and to support victims/survivors in the aftermath of incidents occurring. It is essential that support is provided alongside awareness-raising and prevention work as this will lead to disclosures.

5. What can schools do to support students to deal better with online harassment and violence

5.1 How adequate are schools’ current responses to sexting and online sexual harassment?

Sexual harassment online is seen as ‘banter’. Spreading of sexual rumours, photoshopping images, ‘sexting’, name-calling are accepted and tolerated in schools according to frontline Rape Crisis workers. They say that many local schools do not understand the full impact of sexually abusive and coercive sexting and online sexual harassment or treat it as abusive behaviour. Too often the focus is on telling the victim, usually the girl, to change her behaviour rather to tell the abuser, usually the boy, to change his.

5.2 What can schools do better to support their students to deal with sexual harassment and sexual violence online?

As with all forms of sexual harassment and sexual violence, schools need to be far more aware of what constitutes harassment or abusive behaviour and its overlaps and connections with sexual abuse offline. Better support should include clear policies on the way that technology is used at school, what is acceptable and what isn’t, where students can seek support, ensuring that the response from the school is appropriate and not victim-blaming. Dealing with issues of respect and consent through SRE and elsewhere in the curriculum should cover both online and offline, work around media literacy is essential so that children are better able to navigate the bombardment of sexualised and pornographic images they receive throughout the media.

5.3What impact is pornography having on levels of sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools?

Pornography plays a significant role in young people’s lives, referred to by almost all young men who took part in research for the Children’s Commissioner about sexual consent as a source of guidance about sex.[14] It is part of a broader continuum of sexualisation that forms a conducive context to sexual violence against women and girls.[15] It shapes young people’s developing sexuality in ways that reinforce unequal gender norms. In a survey for the 2014 BBC documentary ‘Porn, what’s the harm?’, young people reported that online pornography influenced their perceptions of sexual relationships and partners in gendered patterns: young women are expected to prioritise young men’s sexual pleasure and expect to be treated as sexual objects.

Rape Crisis workers say that for girls there is no escape from pornography because it is constantly shared. Girlguiding research from 2015 shows that girls feel very strongly about the negative impact of pornography:  14% of girls aged 13-21 years old include the influence of pornography on relationships in their list of top concerns and 60% of girls aged 11 to 21 say that they see boys their age viewing pornography on mobile devices such as phones or tablets.

Pornography is used by boys to harass girls in school, and also influences coercive and abusive ‘sexting’. Girls report being pressured and ‘nagged’ by boys to send sexualised photos, yet being judged as ‘sluts’ if they do.[16] Sharing intimate images without consent – often called ‘revenge porn’ but better described as ‘image-based sexual abuse’[17]- is pervasive within schools and causes considerable harm to victims.

5.4 What can be done by schools and other stakeholders to tackle the impact of pornography?

There is an urgent need for action to tackle the harmful impact of pornography including:

• Work with young people in schools, including through SRE and media literacy classes, to discuss pornography in an age-appropriate way.

• Funding for Rape Crisis Centres and other specialist agencies that support survivors of sexual violence in all its forms.

• Public campaigns targeted both at younger people but more widely also to highlight the harms of pornography.

• Effective age-restrictions for online pornography and that accessed through social media similar to restrictions in place for pornography in films.

• Coordinated work between the Department for Education, the Home Office and the Department for Culture Media and Support, and work with specialists in the VAWG sector to develop policies.

May 2016