All children have the right to be safe at school. However, an increasing number of students, primarily girls, are reporting routine sexual harassment and abuse by male peers. Schools have become frontlines for Harmful Sexual Behaviours (HSB) with increasing rates of peer-on-peer offending.

Girls report being subjected to touching, sexist taunts, body shaming, sexual moaning, gestures and intimidation, rape threats and image-based abuse. Recent research identifies child sexual abuse by known adolescents as the most common form of sexual offending against children, with adolescent males offending at the highest rates.

Early pornography exposure has been identified as a significant factor driving attitudes that fuel this abuse. AI weaponization, nudifying/undressing apps, deep-fake nudes and sextortion have introduced new forms of abuse and sexual intimidation.

Adding to these challenges, the dynamics of complex familial abuse may be played out at schools with younger girls at risk of being groomed by older male peers. This can also result in trafficking into criminal sex trade activities, including through technology-facilitated exploitation and abuse.

Schools have a duty of care to protect students and must adhere to legal and moral obligations to ensure an educational environment free from sexual harassment and abuse. Meeting these obligations presents significant challenges, and schools may face legal liability when harm occurs in their settings.

Masterclass Overview:
This session aims to promote the capacity of educators, policymakers, and safeguarding professionals to address HSB and create safer school environments. .
This unique 2-hour masterclass will provide you with knowledge and tools to better:
● Understand:
○ The nature, severity and prevalence of HSB in schools, drawing from first-person accounts of young people, lived experience and global research.
○ The coercive underpinnings which pervade HSB in the form of grooming, gaslighting and emotional abuse.
○ Vulnerability and re-traumatisation.
● Engage:
○ With children who are subjected to HSB and their families
○ With children who engage in HSB towards others, and their families
○ Through understanding the coercive nature of HSB/Sextortion/Trafficking – you will be able to engage more powerfully and identify the ‘hook,’ and then adequately respond
● Respond:
○ The legal obligations of schools and other institutions, and the challenges in addressing risks and incidents of HSB
○ Safety Planning
● Prevent/Protect
○ Practical strategies and policy recommendations to protect students from HSB
○ Risk management and critical incident response
○ Accountability
○ Confidentiality
○ Media Management