Train teachers to tackle teen sex assaults
More victims at schools and uni
SEXUAL offences between teenagers will continue to rise if schoolteachers do not get better training, say campaigners.
The NSPCC wants Government support after more cases of sex assault and harassment were reported.
Spokeswomen Hayley Clark said: “We’ve had increasing calls over the past year around harmful sexual behaviour where there are young people abusing other people.
“Numbers of reports are going up. If there’s better sex education it could potentially reduce offences.”
More than 54,000 anonymous testimonies about sexual violence and harassment in schools and universities have been shared via the website Everyone’s Invited since March 2021.
Site founder Soma Sara said teacher training is vital for dealing with “peer on peer” offences, adding: “The problem will continue if teachers aren’t able to deliver sex education. They need to be comfortable with the content themselves.
“They need to be really confident and teaching in an accessible and engaging way to have an impact on young people’s behaviours.”
In a survey, (46%) of 1,034 teachers said they did not feel confident about teaching sex education.
Older staff are more confident but “don’t necessarily have the right information”, says Ms Clark, who wants young people to have “space to talk about issues”.
One teacher, who asked not to be named, said: “I’ve never been trained, and I’ve always delivered this curriculum with a large group of students, most of whom I do not know. Not having a rapport makes it harder to teach sensitive topics meaningfully.”
The Department for Education was contacted for comment.