A coalition of nearly 90 organisations has written to the prime minister calling for “decisive action” on violence against women and girls after a Guardian investigation revealed the scale of child-on-child sexual abuse in schools in England and Wales.
The groups urged Labour to redouble efforts to deliver on its manifesto promise to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) and “end this cycle of harm once and for all”.
Guardian analysis of police data for 2021-25 found that an average of close to five sexual crimes against children aged 12 and younger were recorded by police every day in primary and secondary schools in England and Wales.
The figures include reports of almost 2,000 rapes and attempted rapes, which equates to police receiving an average of one allegation of rape at a school every day. More than a third of the rape victims were children under 13.
It also showed at least 8,500 sexual offences against under-13s were recorded by police as having occurred on school premises or nearby between 2021-25, equivalent to 4.7 reported offences a day.
While most of the police reports did not specify the age of the alleged perpetrator, lawyers and experts say they are likely to be fellow pupils. Most of the victims were girls.
The letter to the prime minister said: “The publication of this data once again shines a light on the harrowing reality of sexual violence in education and among young people.
“All children should have the right to access education without facing abuse, and this data is only the tip of the iceberg given that most abuse is unreported.
“For far too many children, particularly girls, their childhoods are adversely affected in what should be a place of safety. And this doesn’t even account for child sexual abuse in the home, which represents the majority of cases.
“We know that sexual violence can devastate victims’ lives, influencing their physical and mental wellbeing, and at school, their attendance, educational attainment and outcomes.”
Awareness of child-on-child sexual abuse in schools has been growing since an inquiry in 2016 by the women and equalities committee established that sexual harassment and violence was endemic in English schools.
Lawyers and campaigners condemned the “horrifying” scale of child-on-child sexual abuse revealed in the Guardian’s research.
The letter to Burnham has been signed by 87 academics and campaign organisations working in the field, including the End Violence Against Women Coalition, Rape Crisis, Women’s Aid, Refuge, the National Education Union and Everyone’s Invited.
“There is a long history of governments being alerted to such crises,” the letter said. “We have women and equalities committee reports dated from 2016 and 2023, mass testimonials from young people via the Everyone’s Invited movement in 2020, and the subsequent Ofsted review, which concluded that every school and college leader should act on the assumption that sexual harassment and online abuse are problems for their children and young people.
“Once we know better, we must do better,” it went on. “These should have been watershed moments that led to meaningful change, and we are urging you to make this difference today.”
The Department for Education has been contacted for comment.
