Calls for earlier sex education for pupils

Shadow Women and Equalities Minister Sarah Champion has launched her Dare2Care report, which calls for earlier sex education for pupils as part of a range of measures to tackle child abuse and violence in teenage relationships.

The report has been officially launched in the House of Commons and Champion, whose Rotherham constituency was at the centre of a child sexual exploitation scandal, and it calls for age appropriate compulsory resilience and relationships education for all children from Key Stage 1.

A survey of more than 1,000 children cited in the report found that half of children aged 11-16 had been exposed to online porn, with 94 per cent seeing it by the age of 14.

Dare2Care argues that the current statutory guidance for sex and relationship education to begin at key stage 3 is too late and more needs to be done provide age appropriate education before children are exposed to it online.

In addition to earlier sex education, the report also calls for a public health campaign about spotting the signs of abuse and training on abuse for all frontline professionals working with children.

Javed Khan, Barnardo’s Chief Executive, said: “All children are at risk of sexual abuse, whether they’re on the internet, in the playground, or in their own bedroom. Much, much more must be done to prevent this vile crime.

“Compulsory lessons on sex education and healthy relationships from an early age are essential to help children understand consent and respect. We also know through our specialist child sexual exploitation services that parents and professionals need help to recognise the signs of grooming and abuse and grasp the technology their children use, so they can keep them safe.

“Building strong relationships between children, parents and other adults can help prevent abuse by enabling difficult discussions around potential abuse to take place. Children’s centres can help develop these bonds by building parents’ and carers’ skills and confidence and knowledge of where to go if they have concerns.”

Matthew Reed, chief executive of The Children’s Society, said: “Internet access opens up a whole new world of opportunities for children and young people’s education and development, but it has many risks as well as benefits. In the worst cases it can present a serious threat to their safety. Some young people we work with tell us that contacts they meet online have gone on to exploit them for sex and coerced them to share inappropriate sexual images. The internet also provides access to pornography which is reshaping young people’s views of what constitutes a safe and healthy relationship. This too can put them at risk of abuse or exploitation, not only from online predators, but also from classmates and other young people their own age.

“This important report highlights the urgent need for age appropriate sex and relationship education in every school. Classes should be compulsory and cover both online and offline relationships to combat grooming, exploitation and violence. Given that many victims of sexual offences are aged 16 and 17 it’s vital that older teenagers in further education are able to learn about how to stay safe from sexual abuse as well.”