A survey of 16-21 year-olds in 2014 found that nearly a quarter were 12 or younger when they first saw porn online, and 7% were under 10.
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Groping, name calling and bullying is part of “everyday life” for schoolgirls but is dismissed by teachers as “just banter”, a Commons committee found.
A report published today by the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee exposes the shocking scale of sexual harassment and sexual violence that is not being tackled effectively in British schools and colleges.
That same survey found that 90% of young women aged 13-21 agreed that the Government should make sure all schools are addressing sexual harassment and bullying in schools.
The report noted statistics showing that 5,500 sexual offences were recorded in United Kingdom schools between 2012-15, including 600 rapes.
“There are some examples of excellent work being done by schools and third sector organisations to prevent sexual harassment and sexual violence”.
“The most important recommendation is for SRE to be made statutory to recognise the changed way we live and the way young people accessing pornography form their attitudes towards sex and relationships”, she said.
“A failure to get to grips with this issue now and educate young people about healthy and respectful relationships is likely to have long lasting consequences in the fight for gender equality and an end to gender-based violence”.
It warned that the type of pornography many children were exposed to was often “more extreme” than adults realised and it was having a “negative impact” on youngsters.
The committee heard evidence from the NASUWT union that found pupils were “filming themselves masturbating and sharing images” and there were regular incidents of “girls sending nude pictures to their boyfriends who then forward the images on to their friends”.
Comparing sexual harassment in schools with how (now illegal) harassment in the workplace was treated two decades ago, Miller asked: “It is right for young girls as young as 11 have to dealt with sexual harassment and even sexual violence at school on an everyday basis?”
Kevin Courtney, the general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, welcomed the report, and claimed government education policies were hindering the ability of schools to tackle sexual harassment and bullying because they “left no time for pastoral care or PSHE within the curriculum or school day”.
Evidence shows that the majority of perpetrators of this abuse are boys, and the majority of victims are girls.
Committee chair Maria Miller MP said: “Our inquiry has revealed a concerning picture”.
The group of MPs has warned many teachers dismiss sexual harassment as “banter”, while parents struggle when it comes to supporting affected children.
“It is hard 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”. Failing to reinforce what is acceptable behaviour could well be fuelling the “Lad Culture” that the Government has already identified as a problem in colleges and universities.
Schools should be legally required to tackle sexual harassment and sexual violence and inspected on their effectiveness in this area, an influential group of MPs has said.
One secondary school teacher told the MPs: “Pornography is easily available on mobiles and I have caught pupils watching it during break times”.
A lunchtime supervisor at a middle school said she heard “constant sexual language”, particularly from boys, among Year 7 and 8 pupils in the playground.
“We also recommend that the Department for Education remind all school governors of their legal obligations to address sexual harassment and sexual violence in school”, the report said. “Government needs to provide real leadership on this issue and widen their vision of the objective of education”.
Over the past four years, there has been an 88% increase in the number of child sexual exploitation offences being reported to police.
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“Of course it makes you very anxious and you don’t feel like school’s a safe place when that sort of thing is going on”.
