Commenting on the passing of Motion 18 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“According to research by Ofsted, 92% of girls say that they had been sent unsolicited explicit pictures or videos. A report from Plan International UK showed that one third of adolescent girls have been sexually harassed while wearing their school uniform.
“Ministers have acknowledged the problem, but they are failing to deliver resources to support schools in tackling what is becoming an endemic issue. The NEU has stepped in with its own toolkit, It's Not OK – Preventing and Challenging Sexism and Sexual Harassment. The toolkit shows how to develop a whole school response to sexism and sexual harassment. It includes posters and resources supporting schools to work with boys and young men to tackle sexism, to support students in making change and to increase professional rights at work.
“Empowering schools to take steps to challenge misogyny towards women is essential. It is a necessary response to the climate of fear generated by the latest scandals about Metropolitan Police officers and the Child Q case, which have left women and girls, especially Black women and girls, feeling unprotected and unsafe. As educators we want schools and colleges to be safe spaces, free from sexual harassment, sexual violence and misogyny - which is why we are saying ‘It’s Not OK.’”
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2023-057-NEU