Pupils call for more lessons from outside agencies on online sexual abuse
Fiona Simpson
Thursday, November 14, 2019
School pupils have called for regular lessons surrounding online sexual harm from outside agencies rather than their teachers, a new report from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) shows.
Just 28 per cent of secondary school students surveyed by the inquiry deemed their own experience of education about online sexual harm “very relevant” to what they had encountered themselves.
Less than half (43 per cent) of primary school pupils polled said they had found lessons at their schools “very helpful”.
The inquiry surveyed 213 young people aged 10 to 18 years old and held a focus group with 45 young people aged 14 to 16.
Researchers also interviewed nine 13- to 20-year-olds who had experienced online sexual harm while under the age of 18.
When asked “in an ideal world” who they would like to deliver education into online sexual harm, 65 per cent of young people said they would prefer to be taught by someone other than their teachers.
Of those surveyed, 43 per cent specified that they would prefer classes to be delivered in school but by a young person with experience of or expertise in online sexual harm “because it is coming from someone who knows what they are talking about”.
Issues of credibility related to teachers’ familiarity with the current social media landscape were also raised by young people.
The majority felt that they had more extensive online experience than most teachers educating them on the topic.
“I feel like by having other young people talking to you about it, they can connect on a more personal level than an older person who doesn’t know the internet as well as a younger person,” one 16-year-old girl said.
When asked where existing provisions could be improved, 39 per cent of 11- to 18-year-olds involved in the study said they would like more information on the nature of online sexual harm.
Ten per cent asked for more information on how to respond if they encountered issues online, information on who to report abuse to and how to deal with possible repercussions on their mental health.
One teenage girl said: “[Tell us] how to deal with it! And not just telling a teacher or a mate. Just tell us how to deal with it mentally”.
More than 60 per cent of 11- to 13-year-olds asked thought education surrounding online sexual harm should begin between years four and six.
An 11-year-old girl said as part of the inquiry: “I got a mobile phone [at primary school] and I was using the internet more, and so I think it’s better when you start going on the internet as you’re more vulnerable to sexual harm.”
A 13-year-old boy added: “Sexual harm can happen to anyone at any age so as soon as a child has access to online.”
Young people involved in the study called for lessons on online sexual harm to be made an ongoing part of both the primary and secondary school curriculum.
Forty six per cent said lessons should be provided annually while 39 per cent called for information to be provided more than once a year.
“I just don’t think it’s pushed enough,” one 14-year-old girl said.
Dr Helen Beckett from the University of Bedfordshire, which conducted the research, said: “Rather than providing them with a list of ‘do’s and don’ts’, we need to properly engage with children and young people to understand the realities of their online lives and how we can better protect them.”
In June the Department for Education published guidance on teaching online safety in schools.
From September 2020, relationships education will be compulsory for all primary pupils, relationships and sex education will be compulsory for all secondary pupils and health education will be compulsory in all state-funded schools in England.
