Sexualistation of Young People

Sexualisation of Young People Review
20
Performance against these outcomes is
measured by a set of National Indicators,
which cover key areas relevant to the
sexualisation agenda including supporting
children’s emotional health and reducing
the rate of conception for under-18s.
Some progress has been made. Over
the last decade the number of incidents
of domestic violence has more than
halved while the conviction rate has
risen significantly; however, there is still
much work to be done. Recent research
carried out by the NSPCC and Sugar, 61 a
magazine targeted at teenage girls, found
that 45 per cent of girls surveyed had
been ‘groped’ against their wishes. Another
NSPCC study, this time carried out with
the University of Bristol, 62 showed that
a third of girls aged 13–17 had suffered
unwanted sexual acts within a relationship
and a quarter had been victims of physical
violence. These findings form just a tiny
part of the growing evidence for what
the NSPCC’s Head of Child Protection
Awareness Chris Cloke has described
as a ‘culture of confusion about what is
acceptable among girls and boys living in
today’s highly sexualised landscape.’ 63
The Home Office
Violence Against
Women and Girls
strategy
The Together We Can End Violence
Against Women and Girls consultation
was launched in early 2009. The decision
to undertake this review as part of the
consultation reflects the importance of the
issue and growing perception that young
people (and in particular young women
61 Published in Sugar magazine, 23 May 2006
62 Barter, McCarry, Berridge and Evans (2009)
63 NSPCC press release, 22 May 2006 www.
nspcc.org.uk/whatwedo/mediacentre/
pressreleases/22_may_2006_unwanted_sexual_
experiences_wdn33559.html
and girls) are increasingly being pressured
into appearing sexually available, and that
this pressure is having a negative impact
on both attitudes and behaviours. During
the public consultations held by the
Home Office in spring 2009, many parents
expressed concern about the pressure on
teenagers – and even younger children
– to appear sexually available and about
the sexualisation of young people and its
possible links to violence.
Views expressed in recent surveys suggest
that violence against women and girls
is becoming increasingly ‘normalised’. 64
According to a UK opinion poll carried
out in February 2009 65 16 per cent of
people think it is sometimes acceptable
for a man to slap his partner if she nags
him, while 20 per cent believe that it is
OK under certain circumstances to hit a
women if she is wearing revealing or sexy
clothing. As stated above, the NSPCC/
Bristol University study 66 found that
experiences of sexual abuse and violence
within relationships were commonplace
among teenage girls.
The international
context
The issue of sexualisation is raised in a
number of international laws, protocols
and initiatives, including the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
(1979), the Beijing Platform for Action
(BpfA) (1995), and the Palermo Protocol
(2000).
CEDAW calls on all signatory states
to take decisive action to tackle the
objectification of women and girls. Article
5 requires that measures are put in place
to modify the social and cultural patterns
64 Barter, McCarry, Berridge and Evans (2009)
65 www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/violenceagainst-women-poll?view=Binary
66 Barter, McCarry, Berridge and Evans (2009)