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.
