4.8 Child on Child Sexual Violence & Sexual Harassment
Child on Child Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment
Keeping Children Safe in Education Part Five: Child on Child Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment sets out how schools and colleges should respond to all signs, reports and concerns of child-on-child sexual violence and sexual harassment, including those that have happened outside of the school or college premises, and/or online.
Sexual violence and sexual harassment can occur between two or more children of any age and sex, from primary through to secondary stage and into college. It can occur also through a group of children sexually assaulting or sexually harassing a single child or group of children.
Sexual violence and sexual harassment exist on a continuum and may overlap; they can occur online and face-to-face (both physically and verbally) and are never acceptable.
Sexual Violence
Child on child sexual violence refers to sexual offences under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 as described below:
Rape: Person A commits an offence of rape if: he intentionally penetrates the vagina, anus or mouth of another person (B) with his penis, Person B does not consent to the penetration and A does not reasonably believe that B consents.
Assault by Penetration: Person A commits an offence if: s/he intentionally penetrates the vagina or anus of another person (B) with a part of her/his body or anything else, the penetration is sexual, Person B does not consent to the penetration and A does not reasonably believe that B consents.
Sexual Assault: Person A commits an offence of sexual assault if: they intentionally sexually touch another person (B). B does not consent to the touching and A does not reasonably believe that B consents.
NOTE- Schools and colleges should be aware that sexual assault covers a very wide range of behaviour so a single act of kissing someone without consent, or touching someone's bottom/breasts/genitalia without consent, can still constitute sexual assault.
Sexual Harassment
Child on child sexual harassment means 'unwanted conduct of a sexual nature' that can occur online and offline and both inside and outside of school/college. Sexual harassment is likely to: violate a child's dignity, and/or make them feel intimidated, degraded or humiliated and/or create a hostile, offensive or sexualised environment.
Sexual harassment can include:
- Sexual comments, such as: telling sexual stories, making lewd comments, making sexual remarks about clothes and appearance and calling someone sexualised names;
- Sexual 'jokes' or taunting;
- Physical behaviour, such as: deliberately brushing against someone, interfering with someone's clothes. Schools and colleges should be considering when any of this crosses a line into sexual violence - it is important to talk to and consider the experience of the victim;
- Displaying pictures, photos or drawings of a sexual nature;
- Upskirting (this is a criminal offence); and
- Online sexual harassment.
This may be standalone, or part of a wider pattern of sexual harassment and/or sexual violence. It may include:
- Consensual and non-consensual sharing of nude and semi-nude images and/or videos. Taking and sharing nude photographs of under 18s is a criminal offence. Sharing nudes and semi-nudes: advice for education settings working with children and young people provides detailed advice for schools and colleges;
- Sharing of unwanted explicit content;
- Sexualised online bullying;
- Unwanted sexual comments and messages, including on social media;
- Sexual exploitation, coercion and threats, and
- Coercing others into sharing images of themselves or performing acts they're not comfortable with online.
It is essential that all victims are reassured that they are being taken seriously and that they will be supported and kept safe. A victim should never be given the impression that they are creating a problem by reporting sexual violence or sexual harassment. Nor should a victim ever be made to feel ashamed for making a report.
See also: Addressing Child-on-child Abuse: a Resource for Schools and Colleges (Farrer and Co.) which is intended to be used as a resource and reference document for practitioners.