(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) 15-year-old Aylin and Mae come from a school in Bicester, Oxfordshire, England. They are both members of the school's "Little Feminist Book Club". During a group discussion, the club learned that students from other schools were trying to push for a ban on the sale of school uniforms in adult stores. In all kinds of pornographic videos, school girls dressed up can be seen everywhere. "Everyone had a consensus at the time: We wanted to go further," Eileen said in an interview with Deutsche Welle. "We wanted to completely ban any elements of school uniforms in pornography." In order to draw more people to pay attention to this issue, they launched a petition.
The petition mentions that many girls at the same school have had bad experiences wearing uniforms. Some people even said that they had been molested as early as 11 years old. These experiences leave many girls feeling panic, shame and insecurity. "After I left school, I didn't dare wear the uniform at all," May told DW. "I was very disgusted with wearing it outside of school."
Survey shows: One-third of female students have experienced harassment
In their petition, the girls also cited data from a 2018 survey by Plan International. The survey covered 1,004 respondents aged 14 to 21, 35% of whom said they had encountered unwanted sexual harassment glances and actions while wearing school uniforms; 8% revealed that strangers had secretly photographed them without permission, or had been photographed up their skirts.
"A piece of clothing that is supposed to represent innocence and a sense of collective belonging has now changed in public opinion," Mei said. "It is these disgusting media contents that have distorted the public's understanding of the original meaning of school uniforms."
Most schools make it compulsory to wear uniforms
In many countries around the world, uniforms are enforced in schools. This approach aims to reduce family economic disparities, reduce school bullying, and enhance collective cohesion. In the UK, school uniforms are compulsory in almost all primary and secondary schools and even preschools, which means that minors from 4 to 16 years old must wear them almost every day. This also makes it impossible for girls to avoid those malicious eyes outside of school. "We just want to prevent anyone from looking at children and school uniforms in such a distorted light," May said. "I really hope this ban will eventually be written into law."
Although the road ahead is long, the two girls remain hopeful. As of now (October 9), the petition has collected approximately 27,000 signatures and attracted widespread media attention due to a report in The Times. Now, May and Eileen hope that the British Parliament will formally take up the issue. Two congressmen have already expressed their clear support for them.
At the same time, girls are well aware that some people think that simply making their skirts longer will solve the problem. “I think this idea is dead wrong,” Erin said bluntly. “Instead of blaming the victims, we should hold those who take it for granted that they ‘sexualize victims’ accountable.”
