This student voice focuses on your views and concerns regarding Peer on Peer (child of a similar age to you) sexual abuse
The reason we are asking you to participate in this activity is due to an awareness that sexual harassment and online sexual abuse is happening to children and young people.
Schools, parents and Ofsted are concerned that for some children, incidents are so commonplace that they see no point in reporting them. In a recent review of this issue by Ofsted students your age told inspectors; that sexual harassment occurs so frequently that it has become ‘commonplace’. The frequency of these harmful sexual behaviours means that some children and young people consider them normal.
Explanation of Peer on Peer sexual abuse:
The term ‘peer-on-peer' (child on child) sexual abuse includes:
• sexual violence, such as rape, assault by penetration and sexual assault
• sexual harassment, such as sexual comments, remarks, jokes and online sexual harassment, which may be
stand- alone or part of a broader pattern of abuse
• upskirting, which typically involves taking a picture under a person’s clothing without them knowing, with
the intention of viewing their genitals or buttocks
• sexting (also known as ‘youth-produced sexual imagery’ / ‘dick pics’ / ‘tit pics’ / ‘nudes’)
Children and young people, especially girls, told Ofsted that they do not want to talk about sexual abuse for several reasons, even where their school encourages them to. For example, the risk of being alienated by peers or getting peers into trouble is not considered to be worth it for something perceived by children and young people to be commonplace. They worry about how adults will react, because they think they will not be believed, or that they will be blamed. They also think that once they talk to an adult, the process will be out of their control.
We hope you wish to participate in this survey, by doing so we will work to better support you and your peer group and work towards a safer culture and community whereby there is consistent, zero tolerance and consequence, to any form of sexual abuse and harassment.
** Please note, to make this survey more user friendly we have not used the term peer. Instead we have used the terms friend, child your age or another student.
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