One in five women suffered 'unwanted sexual contact' in school
Three in five never reported it (Picture: Getty Images)
One in five British women were exposed to unwanted sexual contact when they were in school.
According to a new survey from charity Plan UK, 22 per cent reported experiencing sexual touching, groping, flashing, sexual assault or rape when they were ‘in or around’ school.
Disturbingly, three in five of those said they never reported the incidents to a person in authority, such as a teacher.
‘Our findings show that schoolgirls have been suffering in silence for decades,’ Tanya Barron, from Plan UK, said. ‘This is a global problem. Girls and boys need clear messages that unwanted sexual contact in or around school is not acceptable.’

Should sex education be compulsory in all UK schools?

  • Yes, definitely
  • No, if parents don't want their kids in sex ed that's their choice
The problem is not exclusive to girls. One in three adults of both genders, between the ages of 18 and 24, said they suffered unwanted sexual contact in school.
Plan UK conducted more than 3,700 interviews with British people aged 18 or over. More than 2,000 of those surveyed were women.

A Government spokesperson said: ‘No young woman should be made to feel unsafe or suffer harassment in any circumstance.
‘Sexual assault is a crime and must always be reported to the police. Sex and relationship education is already compulsory in all maintained secondary schools and we expect academies and free schools to teach it as part of the curriculum.

‘We are also working with leading headteachers and practitioners to look at how to raise the quality of PSHE teaching, which includes sex and relationship education.’
Although sex education is compulsory in all state-maintained secondary schools, it is not currently mandatory in faith schools or academies.