Sexualistation of Young People

Sexualisation of Young People Review
76
High levels of sexist bullying in schools
suggest that schools must do more
to meet the ‘Be healthy’ and ‘Stay safe’
outcomes of Every Child Matters, 414 to
fulfil their duty to promote well-being and
to safeguard their pupils. There is evidence
which suggests teachers do not feel
confident to challenge the discriminatory
attitudes and behaviours that underpin
violence against women and girls. Teachers
should therefore be given a much greater
level of support and guidance. I therefore
recommend that:
• The Department for Children,
Schools and Families (DCSF) issues
statutory guidance for schools on
gender equality, in order to raise the
profile of the issue. The new guidance
should be comprehensive, including:
how to address gender equality and
violence against women and girls in
the school Gender Equality Scheme;
the school ethos; in anti-bullying
policies; safeguarding strategies; the
wider curriculum; staff training; and
the services and information that
schools provide.
• Schools should ensure that all
incidents on sexual bullying are
recorded and reported separately to
other forms of bullying.
ii) Statutory Personal, Social, Health and
Economic (PSHE) education and Sex and
Relationships Education (SRE)
As part of the Violence Against Women
and Girls consultation, I recommended
that PSHE education, which includes
SRE, become a compulsory part of
the curriculum. Ministers have already
indicated that this is their intention. SRE
provides important opportunities for
children and young people to develop the
language and skills they need to be safe
and to understand personal relationships.
SRE should begin in primary schools and
continue throughout secondary school.
414 www.everychildmatters.gov.uk
It should include setting personal
boundaries and understanding what is safe
and appropriate touching and behaviour. It
should also look at issues like body image
and violence in relationships and aim to
help young people develop an awareness
of the gap between pornography and real
sexual relationships. It is imperative that
all children receive this level of education
and guidance including children with
learning difficulties, who often miss out
because of their special educational needs.
It is also important that teaching staff are
equipped to deliver high-quality teaching
about personal relationships which tackles
sexualisation and that responds to the
realities of children and young people’s
lives. I therefore recommend that:
• Clear reference is made to
sexualisation, gender stereotypes and
pornography within the Department
for Children, School and Families’
revised Sex and Relationships
Education (SRE) guidance which is
currently out for public consultation.
• Practical ‘How To’ guidance on
tackling sexualisation is disseminated
widely to schools through
Teachernet, the PSHE Association,
the Sex Education Forum and other
agencies. This would pull together
illustrative material of good practice;
demonstrate how sexualisation can
fit within the existing curriculum
including SRE, PSHE education,
Citizenship and Media Studies; and
detail what resources are available
and links to relevant organisations.
• New SRE resource materials are
made available for teachers who
work with children with special
education needs and learning
difficulties.
In many schools, effective work is already
under way in the areas of violence against
women and girls and gender equality.
This includes lessons given as part of the