PHOTO: TRIBUNE
The data released by 38 of the 43 police forces in the UK and Wales showed reports of so-called “peer on peer” abuse rose from 4,603 in 2013 to 7,866 last year – an increase of 71 per cent, The Guardian reports.
10% increase in child abuse cases in Pakistan
But 74 per cent of the incidents reported to 36 forces between April 1, 2013, and May 31, 2017, resulted in no further action, according to the figures obtained by BBC’s Panorama.
The investigation further revealed that 2,625 reported sexual offences, including 225 alleged rapes, carried out by under-18s on other children happened on school premises, including primary school playgrounds, across 31 force areas.
Figures from 30 forces showed reports of sexual offences by children aged 10 and under more than doubled from 204 in 2013-14 to 456 in 2016-17.
Some children who were interviewed spoke about how they felt bullied, let down and isolated after reporting the abuse.
“It’s not what actually happens that has the worst effect on you, it’s what comes after it,” said one. “It’s the being disbelieved – it’s the people failing you.”
Another said, “We’d be on the bus, they’d throw things at me or shout things and make comments. It’s not always even him, it’s his friends.”
Abused children and their parents also spoke of struggles to get help from schools or the authorities.
One victim said, “There was no talk about the police or telling his parents or taking it further, it was only really, ‘oh block him’, or ‘stay away from him in lesson’.”
For the sake of the children
Government guidance tells teachers they have a legal duty to report allegations of sexual assaults on children by adults.
But Panorama claims there is no such duty when a child is accused of the sexual assault, with schools advised to follow their own child protection procedures.
The Department for Education told the programme, “Sexual assault is a crime and any allegation should be reported to the police.”
An investigation by the Press Association earlier this year revealed that children as young as five had been excluded from school for sexual misconduct.
The data released by local authorities showed hundreds of school pupils had been permanently or temporarily kicked out of the classroom in the past four years after being involved in sexual acts, including watching pornography and sharing indecent images.
This article originally appeared on the Guardian.
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