How to address sexual abuse and harassment in further education

This is something Children and Young People Now previously reported on.

At Nacro we are aware of the normalisation of sexual harassment, gender stereotypes and abuse as a growing and urgent problem.

Our small classes and holistic approach mean young people often feel in a safe place to disclose abuse or harassment. It is then up to us to kickstart the multi-agency response and to support the young person through the process.

The pandemic has further exacerbated this already well-established problem. Young people have been spending more time isolated and online. Social media and video conferencing are playing an increasing role as young people become used to engaging with people through cameras in their homes. Boundaries are constantly blurred and there is a false sense of security from behind a screen.

Pressure to send nudes, sexualised name calling, heteronormative bullying are all things that are increasingly common in the lives of our young people. By the time many of the young women get our centres at 16, they are sadly resigned to this as ‘just a part of life’.

It is our job to break down that way of thinking.

Poorly delivered sex ed

Most young people come to us after a disjointed education career, some will have had some sex education, some won’t have had any, some will be quite streetwise. It’s a real mix and we need to find out where everyone is at before we can start to engage with them on the issue.

Unfortunately, by the time they come to us it's already too late to be starting these conversations. We have to work to remove some of these already ingrained behaviours. Early intervention is key and that needs to happen at school.

So, what works?

Senior leaders need to understand the root causes of sexual violence, such as misogynistic behaviours and attitudes, equality and discrimination and put in place a whole-organisational approach to address them and to reinforce a culture where sexual harassment and online sexual abuse are not tolerated, this includes delivering high quality training so that staff are confident to deliver pastoral sessions addressing issues of harassment and abuse, promoting positive relationships, and self-image.

Staff need to be able to recognise the signs of abuse and harassment and be trained on what to do in response. They need to understand the different technology that is being used by our young people and how that can lead to exploitation. This is vital and time consuming and it’s not something we are directly funded to deliver. To support this delivery we often bring in external agencies, for example the police, or the local authority’s health team to deliver sessions.

It is important that our staff set an example. Young people need positive role models. Showing them how to communicate respectfully, it sets the tone. Dealing with young people who are the perpetrators of abuse or harassment is complicated but you can’t just take a punitive approach. You

have to understand what is fuelling their views and behaviour and deal with the root causes. That is the only way you will see true progress.

It takes time and it takes commitment but harassment and abuse can stop someone’s education in its tracks so it is vital we don’t shy away from these difficult issues. We owe it to the young people we support.

Lisa Capper, MBE, is director of education and skills at Nacro

Nacro is a national charity and one of the country’s largest charitable further education providers. The learners we support everyday are typically faced with multiple disadvantage and have usually experienced a broken or interrupted academic career. Nearly half have some kind of identified learning disability and 70 per cent access either the bursary or free school meals. Nacro are currently running their Learn Without Limits campaign calling on the government to remove barriers to education for disadvantaged young people.