Schoolchildren in Wales are being advised how to call out sexual harassment and “inappropriate behaviour” by other pupils at school. Schools inspectorate Estyn said schools don’t deal with sexual harassment well enough, don’t do enough to prevent it and don’t give enough time for pupils to learn about and discuss healthy relationships and sex.
Its new guidance to pupils, published on Wednesday, follows a report last year showing girls are regularly pressured to share nude photos and half of secondary pupils have experienced peer on peer sexual harassment. Pupils told inspectors that catcalling, being asked for nude pictures, people making hurtful or homophobic comments and body-shaming have become "a major problem".
The December 2021 report 'We don’t tell our Teachers', which included comments and experiences from 1,300 pupils aged 12 and 18, showed peer on peer sexual harassment happens mostly online and outside school, but children said it’s important that staff understand how common it is. Only two in 10 pupils who have experienced sexual harassment tell a teacher, half tell no-one at all and it happens so often that it’s viewed by many as “normal” behaviour, Estyn’s findings from 35 schools showed.
