Sexual harassment at school: new film co-created with young people supported by latest data

A new survey by the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW) finds 80% of girls think schools need to do more to tackle sexual harassment and support young people’s sex and relationships education, as a new campaign film co-produced with young people exposes girls’ experiences of sexual harassment at school.

The film, co-produced with girls, young women and non-binary people following focus groups, aims to spark conversations about the national crisis of sexual violence in schools and drive long-term change.

The film depicts a series of all too common experiences of sexual harassment in schools – including the pressure to share intimate sexual images, sexist name calling and unwanted sexual touching.

“Almost every girl I know has witnessed or experienced some form of sexual harassment.” 

– Young person from EVAW’s focus group

Girls and young women are facing sexual harassment and assault in education settings on an alarming scale. Survey data released today found:

• 80% of girls think schools need to do more to support young people’s sex and relationships education, and to tackle sexual harassment in school
• Nearly three-quarters (72%) of young women say sexist behaviour makes them feel uncomfortable
• 62% of young women say comments about their body or uniform have made them feel uncomfortable
• 30% of young women don’t feel safe from sexual harassment in school 
• Almost a third of girls (32%) think schools wouldn’t take reports of sexual harassment seriously
• 58% think racism is a problem at their school and 40% of those who have witnessed sexual name calling (and 46% of Black girls) have heard it reference race
• 60% think homophobia is a problem at their school, and 55% of those who have witnessed sexual name calling have heard it reference sexuality
• 1 in 4 girls have shared a sexual image of themselves (24%) and of those, a quarter (24%) said they felt pressured into it, and almost a third (31%) initially wanted to but later regretted it. 
• Almost 1 in 4 (24%)  girls in mixed sex schools say they have been the subject of unwanted sexual touching at school.

Misogynist influencers and the impact on young people

“Consent is a really serious thing but people talk about in the playground like it’s a joke. There needs to be more education for the boys, on seriously what consent actually is.”

– Young person from EVAW’s focus group

Recent public attention has focused on online misogynist influencers promoting violence against women and girls and their worrying impact on boys and young men’s attitudes and behaviour. Too often, it is schools and colleges left to deal with the aftermath of what is promoted to young people by tech companies. So addressing this issue in schools has never been more urgent.

Nearly 3 in 4 young women say sexist behaviour makes them feel uncomfortable. Young people are often the first to take up new technologies and as such, are on the frontline of misogyny online as well as gender-based violence mediated by technology, such as cyberflashing and image-based sexual abuse.

“When you joke about it you are normalising it…rape jokes are a fluent language to them.”  

– Young person from EVAW’s focus group

Black girls and others who are marginalised are at the sharp edge of this abuse, with racism and other forms of discrimination compounding the abuse they face. 58% think racism is a problem at their school, and 40% of those who have witnessed sexual name calling (46% of all Black girls surveyed) have heard it reference race. EVAW’s survey of young people shows that homophobia and ableism compound young people’s experiences of sexual harassment and abuse at school.

These issues came through strongly in our focus groups with young people, and is why our new campaign film seeks to centre the experiences of Black girls.

Inadequate response from schools

“I reported sexual assault that happened to me, I got a lot of blame for it. It’s quite hurtful – you’ve just reported and it makes you doubt what you’ve been through.” 

– Young person from EVAW’s focus group

“A lot of systems in schools are so invalidating and completely downplay experiences of sexual harassment and assault.”

– Young person from EVAW’s focus group

Our latest findings underline what experts in violence against women and girls have long known: that schools both misunderstand and minimise the harassment and abuse girls experience. An alarmingly high 80% of girls saying that schools need to do more to to tackle sexual harassment in school and support young people’s sex and relationships education.

This echoes the 2021 Ofsted review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges, which found schools’ responses to be inconsistent, with many teachers underestimating the scale of the problem or being unaware it is happening between their pupils, and feeling unclear about what constitutes unacceptable behaviour.

Andrea Simon, Director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), said:

“We’re really proud to launch this new film which we hope will spark desperately needed conversations among young people, and communicate through storytelling the impact of sexual harassment on young women and girls at school.

Their experiences are backed up by our latest survey data, which shows the extent of sexual harassment and abuse in schools – as well as the inadequacy of schools’ and the government’s response. Girls are facing unprecedented pressure to share sexual images of themselves, and to deal with online abuse and the fallout from the increasing popularity of misogynistic influencers and their worrying effect on young men’s attitudes and behaviour.

It’s also clear that the sexual harassment that some girls experience is compounded by other types of discrimination such as racism, ableism and homophobia. It’s really important to acknowledge the different ways that girls and young women are targeted and expect a response to all of this abuse. 

With 4 in 5 girls saying that schools need to do more to tackle sexual harassment in school and support young people’s sex and relationships education, it’s about time that school leaders take this seriously, and the government makes sure that teachers are equipped with the training and resources they need to support a more equal school environment – and society – for the next generation.”

ENDS

Media contact

Sinead Geoghegan, Communications Manager, EVAW: 07960 744 502 media@evaw.org.uk 

Notes

• No case studies available beyond quotes provided
• Spokespeople are available for interview
• The film will be live on this webpage from 5.30pm on Wednesday, 25th January 2023: https://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/campaign/abouttime/ 
• Methodology: nfpResearch conducted an online survey of 1000 young women and 500 young men aged 16 – 18 between 3rd and 14th November 2022.