Burnham urged to ‘break cycle of abuse’ as child-on-child sexual assault cases surge
A coalition of almost 90 academic and advocacy groups has written to Prime Minister Keir Burnham urging “decisive action” to end violence against women and girls after a Guardian investigation disclosed the scale of…
Source: Guardian Education · October 6, 2026 at 5:02 AM · AI-assisted report
Single-sourceKUALA LUMPUR, 6 OCTOBER 2026 —
A coalition of almost 90 academic and advocacy groups has written to Prime Minister Keir Burnham urging “decisive action” to end violence against women and girls after a Guardian investigation disclosed the scale of child‑on‑child sexual abuse in schools across England and Wales.
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The letter, signed by 87 organisations including the End Violence Against Women Coalition, Rape Crisis, Women’s Aid, Refuge, the National Education Union and Everyone’s Invited, calls on the Labour government to redouble efforts to meet its manifesto pledge to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) and to “end this cycle of harm once and for all”.
The Guardian’s analysis of police data for the 2021‑2025 period found an average of close to five sexual crimes against children aged 12 and younger recorded each day in primary and secondary schools. The figures include almost 2,000 reports of rape and attempted rape, meaning police received roughly one allegation of rape at a school every day, with more than a third of the victims under the age of 13.
In total, at least 8,500 sexual offences against under‑13s were recorded as having occurred on school premises or nearby, equivalent to 4.7 reported offences per day.
Most police reports did not specify the age of the alleged perpetrator, but lawyers and experts said the offenders are likely to be fellow pupils. The majority of victims were girls. The coalition’s letter states that the data “shines a light on the harrowing reality of sexual violence in education and among young people” and warns that the figures represent only “the tip of the iceberg” because most abuse goes unreported.
It adds that sexual violence can devastate victims’ physical and mental wellbeing and, in a school setting, affect attendance, educational attainment and outcomes.
Awareness of child‑on‑child sexual abuse in schools has been growing since a 2016 inquiry by the Women and Equalities Committee found sexual harassment and violence to be endemic in English schools.
The coalition notes that “there is a long history of governments being alerted to such crises”, citing Women and Equalities Committee reports from 2016 and 2023, mass testimonials collected by the Everyone’s Invited movement in 2020, and an Ofsted review that concluded every school and college leader should act on the assumption that sexual harassment and online abuse are problems for their children and young people.
The letter argues that these should have been watershed moments that led to meaningful change and urges the prime minister to act now.
A Department for Education spokesperson described the scale of abuse and harassment shown in the figures as “truly appalling”. The spokesperson said no child should ever feel unsafe at school and affirmed that every school must take its legal duty to act on sexual violence and harassment “incredibly seriously”.
The statement added that Education Secretary Lucy Powell had set out a new whole‑school approach to tackle misogyny in the last month, promising that schools will receive “practical tools, training and support … to challenge harmful attitudes and push back against toxic influences before they take hold”.
The coalition’s appeal arrives as the UK government prepares to implement its whole‑school strategy, which is expected to involve updated safeguarding policies, mandatory training for staff and pupils, and stronger reporting mechanisms. While the letter does not detail specific timelines, it underscores the urgency of translating the data and past inquiries into concrete policy actions that can protect children, particularly girls, from sexual abuse in educational settings.