Campaigners have welcomed the government’s “belated but critical” move to issue advice to schools on preventing and responding to incidents of sexual violence and harassment between children.
The guidance, published last month, covers what sexual violence and harassment is, schools’ legal responsibilities, whole-school approaches to safeguarding and child protection, and how to respond to reports of sexual violence and harassment.
It comes 14 months after an investigation by MPs found that sexual harassment had become a “normal part of school life” for many female students and that schools were failing to tackle the issue effectively.
The MPs on the Women and Equalities Select Committee found that one in three 16 to 18-year-old girls have experienced unwanted sexual touching while at school and were alarmed at the inconsistent nature of how schools responded to incidents.
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