Schools in Wales are being told they must have clear rules on mobile phone use by pupils to help tackle the massive problem of “routine” peer-on-peer sexual harassment. Girls are regularly asked for nude photos and sexual harassment in secondaries is rife, a series of investigations in the last 12 months have found.
Now the Senedd’s Children Young People and Education Committee says the problem is “probably common” in primaries too. Increased use of mobile phones and online platforms during the pandemic has made the problem worse, members were told.
After holding its own inquiry into peer-on- peer sexual harassment in schools the committee has advised the Welsh Government to commission a review into sexual harassment among primary children. It should also publish an LGBTQ+ plan for schools, “acknowledging the scale and impact of sexual harassment on LGBTQ+ learners”. You can get more education news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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Those are among a raft of recommendations in the committee’s final report into sexual harassment in schools following the inquiry it launched in the wake of online testimony by victims last year and an investigation by education inspectorate Estyn.
Sexual harassment among primary school children happens especially in years five and six when children have access to mobile phones and online platforms, the 119-page committee report warns. During evidence this year the committee heard from the National Education Union that the pandemic has led to a "huge increase” in activity on social media, using cameras and phones to upload videos and images. The Welsh Local Government Association and the Association of Directors of Education in Wales told the inquiry there had been “a significant increase in the use of platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat during the lockdown, which has made sharing of sexual images easier.”
While Estyn’s inquiry found sexual harassment was routine in secondaries the CYPE committee inquiry also found sexual harassment is “probably common” in primaries and colleges too. Barnardo’s told the committee that it receives “many calls” raising concerns about children who are as young as eight or nine years old. Causes of peer on peer sexual harassment include pornography, social media, and the Covid-19 pandemic, committee chair Jane Bryant MS warned.
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The CYPE committee launched its inquiry after the report from education inspectorate Estyn, which spoke to 1,300 learners and found sexual harassment was “routine” in Welsh secondaries. Half of high school pupils are affected in an out of school, the inspectorate found.
Estyn ran its investigation after 91 schools in Wales were named in testimonies published online last year. The schools were named by former pupils who posted details about abuse they suffered on a website called Everyone’s Invited which collates experiences of victims of what it calls “rape culture”.
In a forward to the report, committee chair Jane Bryant MS said the problem “is so commonplace in schools that it has become normalised.” She said young people don’t feel like they can talk to school staff about it, and schools are “struggling to respond” when they do.
“Estyn found that 61% of female pupils and 29% of male pupils have experienced sexual harassment. Our inquiry told us that those figures are probably a significant underestimate. Estyn didn’t consider sexual harassment in primary schools or colleges. Our inquiry told us that sexual harassment is probably common in both.
“Estyn found that LGBTQ+ pupils are particularly at risk of sexual harassment. We heard the same, and that so are learners with additional learning needs. Whilst we don’t have robust data yet, we heard that other groups of learners are likely to be at a high risk too. The causes of peer on peer sexual harassment are complicated. They include deep-rooted societal attitudes amplified by pornography, social media, and, in recent years, the Covid-19 pandemic. These are embedded, cultural matters that stretch beyond the remit of this committee.”
As part of its inquiry the Senedd committee heard from pupils: “Time and time again, we heard that sharing sexually explicit images - often without consent - is commonplace. Fitzalan High School held focus groups to discuss peer on peer sexual harassment, and found that: … pupils in lower years tend to be unwilling recipients of sexual imagery through their access to online gaming. More girls than boys say they have received unsolicited images.
“As pupils get older, girls say that this happens regularly. The issue largely occurs outside the formal education setting and often online.”
Colleges Wales told the committee inquiry that colleges “are certainly seeing things around stalking, unwanted attention, inappropriate touch, online bullying and harassment, and we’re seeing relationship issues between young people.”
Younger children are also affected: "“Undeb Cenedlaethol Athrawon Cymru and the National Union of Head Teachers (suggested) that sexual harassment takes place in years five and six particularly, when many pupils have mobile phones and access to online platform just like their older peers.”
The committee’s report acknowledges different views on how schools should manage mobile phone use during the school day and that sexual harassment also takes place outside school.
“We acknowledge Estyn’s finding that most sexual harassment takes place online and outside school hours, which is unaffected by schools’ approaches to managing phones during the school day.
“Nevertheless, some sexual harassment does take place during the school day, and any steps that may reduce that harassment should be taken by schools. We therefore agree with the evidence we heard from trade unions that, whatever the nuances of each school’s position on mobile phone use, schools should have clear, well-enforced policies that are widely understood by learners, parents and staff."
"We understand that is the case in most schools. Nevertheless, we ask the Welsh Government and local authorities to write to schools to ensure that it is.”
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “Any form of sexual harassment is completely unacceptable and should not be tolerated. The safety of children in our schools is a priority.
“We will consider the recommendations of the report and respond in due course. From September, developmentally appropriate Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) will be taught to every child in every primary school in Wales. RSE will help learners form and maintain a range of healthy relationships, all based on mutual trust and respect.
“Any form of sexual harassment is completely unacceptable and should not be tolerated. The safety of children in our schools is a priority.
“We will consider the recommendations of the report and respond in due course. From September, developmentally appropriate Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) will be taught to every child in every primary school in Wales. RSE will help learners form and maintain a range of healthy relationships, all based on mutual trust and respect.”
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