Children's Commissioner's Report Says Child-On-Child Abuse Is Shocking

An official report by the Office of the Children's Commissioner for England says that "shocking" sexual violence is being carried out by children against other children. The report says that the perpetrators could be 12 or 13, and rape is seen as "normal and inevitable" in some areas, especially among gangs. It also claims that bullying and sexist attitudes exist across the whole country.

The Research conducted by the University of Bedfordshire into sexual violence in gangs (It's wrong but you get used to it) suggested two-thirds of young people questioned (65%) knew of young women who had been pressurised or coerced into sexual activity. 


The report is the result of a two-year inquiry by the children's commissioner into child exploitation and gangs. It is being published alongside research on young people's understanding of consent to sex, and a study on the pressures on young people who have been raised in gang-affected neighbourhoods. It says legislation is there to protect children but agencies from the police to social services need to become far better at spotting children at risk and providing them with the necessary protection.

Concerns Over Children's Advertising Continue

A year after an official review into the way advertisers market 'inappropriate' products to children, parents are still concerned by the issue.

A survey by the Chartered Institute of Marketing found that 90% of parents expressed worries over advertising and most had no idea about the Government's dedicated complaints site, called Parent Port.

A short video about this issue is availabe to view on the BBC News website here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18337194

Qualitative Study Of Children, Young People & Sexting

Jessica Ringrose, Institute of Education, and others for the NSPCC have conducted a small scale qualitative study to improve the understanding of sexting (the “exchange of sexual messages or images” and “creating, sharing and forwarding sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude images”) and the use of mobile technology by young people.

The researchers conducted focus groups with 35 young people aged 12 to 14 years from inner city London schools. Participants were asked to become friends with the research team on Facebook so their activities online could be mapped. The findings reveal that sexting does not refer to a single activity but covers a range of activities experienced by young people. The key messages from the research are: the primary technology-related threat comes from peers, not 'stranger danger'; sexting is often coercive; girls are the most adversely affected; technology amplifies the problem by facilitating the objectification of girls; sexting reveals wider sexual pressures; ever younger children are affected; sexting practices are culturally specific; and more support and resources are vital to redress the gendered sexual pressures on young people.

The report sets out recommendations for schools, parents, internet service and site providers, child welfare professionals and future research and is available to read here: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/resourcesforprofessionals/sexualabuse/sexting-research-report_wdf89269.pdf

Girl's Attitudes & Role Models Explored

A new report by Girlguiding UK highlights a role model deficit among girls and young women, shedding light on how the narrow range of positive examples available to girls and young women aged 7 to 21 is linked to a limited range of aspirations for their futures.

The report, prepared from focus group research, says that girls who think it right to refrain from sex while still far below the legal age of consent are no more than “a significant minority”. Several of those surveyed admitted taking risks and pushing themselves beyond their comfort zone in order to feel accepted – drinking alcohol, partying and having underage sex. They justify their actions by referring to the abundance of TV shows that are seen to normalise such behaviour.

The full report is available here:
http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/pdf/GirlsAttitudesExploredRoleModels_FINAL.pdf [PDF 5.55MB]

Protecting Children From Commercialisation & Sexualisation

The Government has set out new measures protect children from commercialisation and sexualisation in society.
Ministers welcomed progress to date in implementing the recommendations of the independent Let Children Be Children report by Reg Bailey, Chief Executive of Mothers’ Union – but said that industry still has plenty of work to do.

The Bailey review found that increasingly we live in a society full of sexualised imagery, where families don’t feel in control and children can’t be children. It said that parents are worried about their children being exposed to inappropriate material and that although families want to take responsibility, all too often they don’t know how.

The new measures include:

• Consulting on whether the current age rating system should be extended to cover more music DVDs and Blu-ray discs - to protect children from inappropriate material. Most are currently exempt from the Video Recordings Acts 1984 and 2010 as are sports, religious and educational products;
• Working with the music industry, online retailers and video services, to have clear warnings on explicit videos where they are shown online. Many online video services already do this, and by the end of the year, YouTube will provide the music industry with the ability to label their videos "explicit," giving parents a straightforward way of checking whether they are going to be suitable for their children.
  
• Taking forward the final stage of legislation needed so that the planned new system of age classification and labelling for videogames giving clearer age ratings and advice for parents can start in July.  The new system will extend the statutory backing to cover games rated PEGI 12 as well as to those rated 16 and 18; and
• Asking the Advertising Standards Authority to consider whether more should be done to spell out the commercial intent of ‘advergames’ to young people and their parents.

You can read the Department for Education's full press release, plus links to other resources on this issue here: http://www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/inthenews/a00208703/protecting-children-from-commercialisation-and-sexualisation-next-steps-on-bailey