Sexual harassment in UK

Sexual harassment part of daily life for British girls, says Girlguiding UK

Up to 60% of girls and young women aged 13 to 21 report sexual harassment at school or college, according to the Girls’ Attitudes survey. More must be done to tackle this widespread problem

According to the Girlguiding UK survey, three in four girls aged 11 to 21 know girls their age who self-harm or suffer from depression. Photograph: Datacraft Co Ltd/Getty Images

Girls as young as seven are experiencing sexual taunts from boys, says new research from Girlguiding UK. The charity’s report reveals that sexism and harassment are becoming a part of daily life for British girls, with almost 60% of girls and young women aged 13 to 21 reporting sexual harassment at school or college and 20% experiencing unwanted touching (a form of sexual assault). The Girls’ Attitudes survey, which polled more than 1,400 girls and young women across the UK, warns that such experiences are coming to be seen as just “a normal aspect of being a girl”.

I spoke with Girlguiding member Ashvini Rae, 16. “I’ve seen it happen a lot,” she said. “It’s got to the stage where girls sometimes don’t feel comfortable going to school. Secondary and even primary school students experience it, and they might feel it’s something they have to get used to because it’s happening on a daily basis for most people. A boy in my class told a rape joke recently. Even though he’s a nice, sweet guy, it’s just so normal that so many people say it.”

Perhaps even more worrying was the revelation from the report of the participation of authority figures in this normalisation. More than half of girls aged between 11 and 16 say that teachers and staff sometimes – or always – tell girls to ignore incidents of sexual harassment or dismiss it as a bit of “banter”. Eighteen-year old Isla Whateley, a Girlguiding member from Glasgow, warned that this response “teaches girls what’s happening is normal and they shouldn’t be reporting it or angry about it”.

The survey also looked into the state of girls’ mental health and wellbeing, and the results were worrying. Three in four girls aged between 11 and 21 know girls their age who self-harm or suffer from depression, and two in three know someone with an eating disorder (66%). The report makes it clear that girls feel frustrated by media reinforcement of negative attitudes and misconceptions about violence against women: 58% feel that when a woman is attacked or raped, the media often blames her behaviour or appearance. Whateley says: “This is internalised by young girls who start to think that they are responsible, that it is their fault if something happens. It definitely makes them feel more worried or self-conscious about reporting.”

In light of the survey’s finding that 35% of girls aged 11 to 21 know girls and young women their age who have experienced controlling or bullying behaviour from a partner, this situation – and the response it provokes in girls – is disastrous. A quarter of those surveyed know someone who has experienced violence from a partner.

According to Emma Cooper, a member of Girlguiding’s youth panel, Advocate, girls are genuinely and rightly angry that not enough is being done in schools to combat these widespread problems. Cooper, 23, told me: “I think most adults wouldn’t realise young girls experience sexual harassment at school. It’s so widespread, but people don’t know about it.

“The government has a responsibility to make sure schools take a stricter line, and that’s why we’re asking them to introduce guidelines for dealing with sexual bullying and harassment in schools as part of ourGirl’s Matter campaign. If teachers had a framework to work within, it would improve the problem.”

All the girls I spoke to suggested that leadership needs to come from the top, and where better than in school? They think better personal, social and health education (PSHE), particularly around sex and relationships and mental health, would help to tackle the problem. As Amy Callaghan, a 16-year-old Girlguiding Advocate, says: “Every day, many girls’ lives are made a misery by sexist comments, sexual harassment and abuse at school. What’s worse is that it’s not being treated as a serious issue.”!!!!!