More than a third of girls have experienced sexual harassment at school, a shocking new report has revealed.
The study by the National Education Union (NEU) and UK Feminista found sexism is rife within mixed-sex schools.
The two organisations have called on the government to tackle the growing problem, as teachers reportedly feel ill-equipped and lack the confidence to deal with cases of harassment.
Researchers spoke to 1,508 students and 1,634 teachers and discovered nearly a quarter of female students have been subjected to unwanted physical touching of a sexual nature while at school.
Almost one in three teachers in mixed-sex secondary schools said they see sexual harassment in school on at least a weekly basis.
The type of harassment experienced in schools is often targeted at girls, the report found. Just six per cent of boys fell victim to harassment compared with 37 per cent of girls.
“Some of the boys make comments on a lot of the girls' in our years bodies and the girls just have to ignore it because no one thinks it’s a big deal," one female student said.
"The boys also slap the girls' butts and touch their breasts without any consent [SIC]."
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary at the National Education Union, explained that the report has come at an important time.
“As we come to the end of 2017, we’ve lived through a year in which sexual harassment of women and girls has been at the forefront of the public eye," he said.
“This study shows us how normalised and pervasive it is for young people also. Sexual harassment and regular sexist remarks are patterns that most girls and young women come to view as ‘normal’.”
“This sets up expectations about peer relationships and gender which can lead to real harm for girls’ and boys’ self-confidence and aspirations about life.”
Read More
The report also covered accounts of sexist language and stereotypes used in schools but found that teachers lacked the confidence to tackle a sexist incident as an issue.
When asked why they did not feel confident enough, 74 per cent said they did not think they would be supported by school leaders – something the NEU and UK Feminista have offered guidance on.
Maria Miller, chair of the Women and Equalities Committee is launching the report in the Houses of Parliament on December 12.
In a response to the research, she said that the study's findings mirror those in a committee report from over a year ago and has called on the Government to “take action”.
“Without doubt, there is clear evidence that sexual harassment is blighting the lives of girls in our schools. It is worryingly ‘normalised’ and often goes unreported.”
“Fourteen months on from our report, schools seem no better placed to tackle the problem than they were then.”
“Negative stereotypes, sexist attitudes, expectations about relationships and sexual harassment and violence not only impact on children’s lives, but create problems later in life.”
