Roundup: Teenage girls face shocking levels of sexual harassment, violence in English schools: MPs

Almost a third of girls aged 16 to 18 say they have experienced unwanted sexual touching at schools, a report reveals Tuesday.

The report by the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee exposes a shocking scale of sexual harassment and sexual violence they say is not being tackled effectively in English schools.

The committee, made up of Members of Parliament (MPs) say their report outlines evidence that 59 percent of girls and young women aged 13-21 had faced some form of sexual harassment at school or college in the past year.

Nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of all 16-18 year old boys and girls say they hear terms such as "slut" or "slag" used towards girls at schools on a regular basis.

The politicians, sitting at Westminster, heard evidence from young people who told them that sexual harassment has become a normal part of school life with "calling women bitches and stuff like that ..."

The report highlighted an alarming inconsistency in how schools deal with sexual harassment and violence, which is mostly targeted at girls, a disregard for existing national and international equality obligations, and a lack of guidance and support for teachers.

MPs heard many schools are under-reporting incidents and often failing to take them seriously.

The committee was told by young people that their reports would be "forgotten about really easily and no action will be taken about what happened."

Academics and specialists working in schools warned that sexual harassment and sexual violence was too often accepted as the norm by both staff and students.

The MPs stated in their hard-hitting report: "Despite calls from parents, teachers and young people for action to address sexual harassment and sexual violence in schools, the committee found that neither OFSTED (the official schools' standards inspectorate) nor the government's Department for Education has a coherent plan to tackle the issue and to monitor the scale of the problem."

Maria Miller MP, who chairs the committee, said: "Our inquiry has revealed a concerning picture. We have heard girls talk about sexual bullying and abuse as an expected part of their everyday life; with teachers accepting sexual harassment as 'just banter'; and parents struggling to know how they can best support their children."

"It is difficult to explain why any school would allow girls to be subjected to sexual harassment and violent behavior that has been outlawed in the adult workplace. The evidence shows it is undermining the confidence of young women. Failing to reinforce what is acceptable behavior could well be fueling the 'Lad Culture' that the government has already identified as a problem in colleges and universities," said Miller.

Miller said despite this, the Department for Education and OFSTED have no coherent plan to ensure schools tackle the causes and consequences of sexual harassment and sexual violence.

"The government must take a lead and make it clear that sexual harassment in schools is completely unacceptable and support schools, teachers, parents and young people to tackle this widespread problem," she said.

"Our report sets out clear recommendations for how this can be achieved and we hope that the government will implement them immediately," she urged.

They have demanded a national solution to the problem including giving every child at primary and secondary school access to high quality, age-appropriate relationships and sex education delivered by well-trained individuals. They want sex and relationships education a statutory subject in schools. Endit