What is Peer-on-Peer Sexual Harassment?
Peer-on-Peer sexual harassment refers to sexual abuse that happens between young people of a similar age or stage of development.
This can occur in variety of settings such as:
- School
- Home or someone else’s house
- In Public spaces
- Online
- It can take place in spaces which are supervised and unsupervised e.g. in spaces such as toilets , the playground, corridors and when young people are walking home.
Take a look at the scenario below:
What are your thoughts about the scenario above, was it peer-on-peer sexual harassment?
Yes, the scenario above is a form of peer-on-peer sexual harassment. Leo claims that he only sent the media file over to get Ivy’s attention but sending that file basically forced Ivy’s hand, she responds out of fear of exposure. Leo essentially coerced her into responding to him by indirectly threatening to leak explicit images that Ivy shared with him privately. If Leo continues to use that media file to get Ivy to respond to him or do things for him (including asking her to perform sexual acts) then that would be a form of sexual exploitation.
What is sexual harassment?
Sexual harassment refers to any unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature that makes you feel distressed, intimidated, or humiliated.
Sexual harassment can include:
- Your body being stared and leered at
- Being subjected to sexual jokes or propositions
- Someone displaying sexually explicit pictures in your space or a shared space, like at work
- Someone making sexually degrading comments or gestures
- E-mails or text messages with sexual content
- Physical behaviour, including unwelcome sexual advances and touching
- Offers of rewards in return for sexual favours
How can we recognise peer-on-peer sexual abuse?
Identifying whether a young person is displaying appropriate, inappropriate, problematic, or abusive sexual behaviour can be very difficult.
Examples of sexually abusive behaviour may include:
Sexual consent
There are people who struggle to understand what sexual consent is in definition and in practice. Some make claims that there are blurred lines when it comes to sexual consent. This is false, when it comes to sexual consent there are no blurred lines! Consent is defined as “free agreement”, essentially meaning that you have given permission and that someone has given you permission to engage in any intimate activity for sex. Any sexual consent without consent is illegal regardless of the age of the people involved. The age of consent for sexual activity is 16 in the UK.
The act of covering the crime of rape provides a list of situations where consent or ‘free agreement’ is deemed to be absent. This includes:
- When the victim is asleep or unconscious
- When the victim agrees or submits to the conduct because of violence or threats of violence used against them, or any other person.
- When the victim is incapable of consenting because of the effect of alcohol or any other substance
Please see below for useful organisations for support:
- Refer to Learning Curve Group policies if you have any concerns: https://www.learningcurvegroup.co.uk/key-policies
- If you want guidance or have any questions about the content of this update, email our designated Safeguarding and Prevent team dspo@learningcurvegroup.co.uk
- If you wish to make a referral, you can contact: keeplearnerssafe@learningcurvegroup.co.uk or call 01388 777129.
- You can also download the Learning Curve Group Safeguarding app to report a concern and access additional information on IOS and Android app stores.
Thank you for reading this month’s safeguarding topic.
Please see below for information on LLC’s Safeguarding Officers:
