Sex attacks in schools triple due to net porn
SEX crimes in schools have more than tripled in four years, fuelled by pupils’ easy access to online porn, police and child protection experts have warned.
While most of the victims were pupils, teachers are also being targeted, with one in ten offences committed against adults.
Reported sexual offences in schools rose from 390 in 2012 to 1,386 last year, according to figures from 24 police forces that provided comparable data. Last year’s figure is a rise of 18 per cent on the 1,176 offences reported in 2015.
Experts say the increase could be due to rising numbers of children viewing porn on tablets and smartphones.
Jon Brown, of the NSPCC, said yesterday: ‘We think the realterms increase could be due to the ease of availability of pornography online.
‘For some young people, that can have undue influence in terms of sexually abusive and sexually aggressive behaviour.’
He added: ‘The majority of young people who do view pornography online are able to make a clear differentiation between viewing that and their real-life sexual behaviour.
‘But for some young people, they are not able to do that, so we think that could be a driver.’
Norfolk chief constable Simon Bailey, senior officer for child abuse issues at the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said it was ‘clear the increased availa- bility of sexualised material, such as online pornography, poses a threat to young people’.
He added increased awareness and reporting might also partly explain the rise.
The Mail has campaigned vigorously for tougher measures to prevent children from having access to porn online.
The data came from 32 police forces after a freedom of information request by the Times Educational Supplement. Twothirds of the 24 forces that provided comparable figures saw a rise in sex offences in schools last year compared with 2015.
In some areas of the country, the number of reported sex crimes more than doubled. And in Warwickshire, police reported the figure almost trebling from 18 to 52 reported offences.
However, the overall the biggest year- on-year rise in the past four years was from 2013 to 2014, when the number of reported crimes rose by 64 per cent from 555 to 912.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: ‘School leaders will be horrified. They will feel all the more need to make sure these things are dealt with in terms of sex education and disciplinary policies.’
Lucy Russell, of the children’s charity Plan UK, said the figures back up its research. She added: ‘ Young people were saying, “This has become a culture in our classroom, in the corridors and behind the buildings. We don’t feel safe in schools.” [They felt] it was just something you had to put up with.’
In September, the Commons Women and Equalities Committee said sexual harassment and abuse of girls in schools is ‘being accepted as part of daily life’, adding that children are learning about sex and relationships through hardcore pornography.
The Department for Education said: ‘Schools should be safe places and we issue safeguarding guidance to protect pupils’ welfare.
‘We think the right laws are in place to enable teachers to take swift action to deal with underlying behaviours and stop it escalating but we will work with schools on whether further support is needed.’