It’s time for stronger action to protect our children

Today’s NSPCC ChildLine report has shown a hard truth – about how children and young people today are exposed to shocking levels of pornography. They are under pressure like never before to engage in sexual activities at a young age, and face harassment and bullying through digital and social media the likes of which we could never have imagined growing up. We are failing to support them as they face these challenges. We are letting down a whole generation.

Last week in Parliament the Labour Women’s Safety Commission launched its latest report on the outcomes from the Girls’ Safety Summits. The Girls’ Safety Summits were a series of round-tables held across the country with schools, colleges and organisations working with women affected by domestic and sexual violence. We heard from young women and men about how the digital era is influencing the relationships young men and women have with each other, and the impact that cultural influences are having on young people’s attitudes towards relationships, sex, and domestic and sexual abuse. Girls we spoke to told us:

“Boys judge girls’ appearances based on what they see in porn.”

“A girl had sent her picture to an ex-boyfriend who in revenge after they split had put it on a website. It then went round so many young people… via social media, and everyone knew who it was.”

“It seems that men in general can’t take ‘No’ – boys need to be educated more.”

Young people today have a different world to navigate than previous generations. Our Report concluded that young women and girls are concerned about attitudes towards gender and how they are affecting both the empowerment of young women and the attitudes of boys towards girls at school; and that they don’t always feel that schools or other authorities effectively support them to challenge those stereotypes, negotiate the complex modern world or address harassment when it occurs.

The message from young people and conclusions we reached were unequivocal – that relationship and sex education is often too late and not of the quality needed to give young people the tools and resilience to be able to confidently navigate the challenges presented by the modern world, like the pressure to “sext”, and how to know the difference between abusive and normal relationships. It is also vital to raise awareness amongst adults about the reality of young people’s lives and send a strong message that there is no cultural excuse for violence against women and girls.

We also need to re-focus both on how quickly we are able to respond when incidents happen but also to have a better strategy for prevention. With rising levels of reporting of domestic and sexual abuse as well as child sexual exploitation, we need to start to shift the culture that is normalising violence in relationships; to intervene early and ensure schools, local authorities and the police have the policies and training to be able to respond.

That is why a Labour Government will put prevention at the heart of our strategy to tackle violence against women and girls and include a Violence Against Women and Girls Bill in our first Queen’s Speech.

The findings of our Report were reinforced by the NSPCC ChildLine Survey which shockingly reveals that one in ten children in this country aged 12 or 13 has been involved in creating sexually explicit material; and a similar number fear they are addicted to pornography. Violent, abusive and sexual images are only ever a few clicks away. Many young people find the images upsetting and feel that exposure to such aggressive content is having an impact on their understanding of what is normal and acceptable in relationships. This has also affected the ability of young people to understand what is happening around them and to seek support in times of difficulty.

That is why Labour is firmly committed to delivering age appropriate compulsory sex and relationships education in our schools, addressing what a healthy relationship looks like, the patterns of abusive behaviour and ways to keep safe online. It’s what parents and young people have called for – and a measure that both the Conservatives and Lib Dems have repeatedly voted against.

Seema Malhotra MP is the Shadow Minister for Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls