Porn culture leaves girls at primary school facing sexist abuse
A CULTURE of hardcore pornography and sexual pestering of girls is prevalent in schools, the Government admits today.
Primary school children are learning about sex through porn while some headteachers are allowing the sexual harassment and abuse of girls to become ‘accepted as part of daily life’.
In an official response to a report by MPs, ministers paint a bleak picture of a prevailing culture in schools which seemingly condones sexual harassment as being ‘just banter’. This is leading to ‘very disturbing evidence about the sheer volume of sexually predatory and abusive behaviour experienced by young girls’.
And teenage boys are ‘beset with social and cultural messages that encourage them to act in sexually dominant ways and to collude with other males who do so’.
The hard-hitting warnings are contained in the Government’s response to the Women and Equalities Select Committee report on sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools.
Last night it was revealed that Ofsted inspectors have now been asked to check for evidence of sexist abuse in primary and secondary schools. But the Government resisted demands to make sex and relationship education compulsory in all schools, stating that the issue was already ‘actively under review’.
The MPs’ report, published in September, said primary school children were learning about sex through exposure to hardcore porn, with some even becoming addicts by the age of nine. And it said that many girls faced the regular torment of pestering and cat-calling amid shocking levels of abuse in corridors and classrooms.
The Government’s response says: ‘Sexual harassment and sexual violence is unacceptable. The scale and impact of sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools set out by the inquiry shines a light on a worrying picture: sexual harassment and abuse of girls being accepted as part of daily life; primary school-aged children learning about sex and relationships through exposure to hardcore pornography; and a prevailing culture in schools which seemingly condones sexual harassment as being “just banter”.
‘ It is clear that action is needed to make sure that all schools are equipped to... tackle these issues.’
The Government stresses that young people are ‘influenced by the behaviours and attitudes they experience in all aspects of their lives, including in school’. Its response says: ‘Prevailing stereotypes about traditional gender roles – where men are expected to be powerful and sexually assertive, while women are judged on their physical appearance and sexual availability to men – form the basis of unhealthy relationships.
‘In a school environment, where young people often seek social status through the assertion of more “adult” identities, where peer pressure and group norms can be felt intensely,
‘The scale is worrying’
and where many have yet to develop maturity and resilience, this can result in group norms and individual behaviours that are disrespectful at best and abusive at worst.’
Girls ‘may also collude with or contribute to negative social norms, but they are far more likely than boys to experience sexual harassment’. Other forms of harassment such as cyber- bullying as well as antisemitic, Islamophobic and other hate crimes also ‘appear to be on the rise’ and contribute to a ‘cultural context in schools where intolerance feels more prevalent’.
The response reveals that, since September, Ofsted has amended its school inspection handbook to ‘ explicitly’ address sexual harassment.
It says: ‘As part of the inspection, inspectors will request that the following information is available at the start of the inspection: records and analysis of bullying, discriminatory and prejudicial behaviour, either directly or indirectly, including racist, sexist, disability and homophobic bullying, use of derogatory language and racist incidents.’
Previous handbooks simply referred to racist, disability and homophobic bullying.
The Government will also set up an advisory group to review existing Department for Education guidance and consider what ‘further advice’ should be issued to headteachers to tackle ‘sexual violence’.
It will help schools to produce new codes of practice to combat bullying of any kind. Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, accused Ofsted of ‘intruding into childhood’ by looking for evidence of sexist abuse.
He said: ‘There’s a danger, particularly in primary schools, that perfectly innocent comments can be taken out of context or can be taken as sexist or racist or homophobic when the intention is not there. If a fiveyear-old girl says “I’m Tinkerbell and you’re Peter Pan” that could be seen as sexist.’
But the MPs who produced the original report claimed the Government is not doing enough ‘ to ensure schools tackle this serious problem’.
And the Girlguiding charity’s advocate panel said: ‘We are among the girls and young women across the country who have been severely led down by the Government’s response.’
A Government spokesman said last night: ‘Schools should be safe places and fortunately crime is rare, but no young person should suffer harassment or violence.’