Sexual Bullying Workshop
Has Sexual Bullying Taken Root in Your Institution?
Bullying of any kind is terrible for those on the wrong end, but when it is accompanied by unwanted sexual behaviour or verbal abuse it can be particularly traumatic. Sadly, sexual bullying is happening right now in ordinary universities, colleges and schools throughout the UK, often leaving those affected, whatever their gender, feeling they have no-one to talk to and no way out of their situation.
In some cases, students have moved universities or schools to escape the bullies while others have contemplated suicide. This can’t be allowed to go on.
2020 Dreams have responded by creating a hard-hitting yet enjoyable Sexual Bullying Workshop. Designed to maximise engagement, this workshop will provide students with the practical skills to defend themselves against the bullies and the knowledge of how to get help.
Key Stats*
- 45% of teenage girls have had their bottom or breasts groped against their will (National Union of Teachers, NUT 2007).
- 39% of teenage girls have had their bra strap pulled by a boy within the last week (Girlguiding’s Girls’ Attitudes Survey 2017).
- 37% of teenage girls hear ‘slag’ used often or all the time (National Union of Teachers, NUT 2007).
- 24% of female students and 4% of male students at mixed-sex schools have been subjected to unwanted physical touching of a sexual nature while at school (UK Feminista 2017).
Behind the Sexual Bullying Facts
The sexual bullying facts above are bad enough, but the stories behind the statistics are often truly harrowing. They include incidents of explicit private images being circulated among peers in the aftermath of a teen relationship breakdown; teens coercing others into sexual acts using inappropriate text messages (sexting) and prolonged hate campaigns where homophobic bullying is combined with sexual bullying.
Booking a 2020 Dreams Sexual Bullying Workshop could be the first step to improving the culture in your institution before it becomes embedded.
Through 2020 Dreams’ sensitively designed drama-based role-plays, teenagers will get to put themselves in the position of a victim or perpetrator of sexual bullying or inappropriate behaviour and rehearse strategies that will either stop the unwanted behaviour in its tracks or empower the target to seek appropriate help.
This format of learning often does more on its own than any number of shocking sexual bullying facts and can even help current or would-be perpetrators to stop and think about what effect their actions have on others.
2020 Dreams Sexual Bullying and Inappropriate Behaviour workshops supplement the sexual bullying facts and role-plays with facilitated open-forum discussions. These lively debates allow young people to open up about their opinions, feelings and experiences around sexual bullying.
Almost all will at least know someone who has been victimised. These forums provide a positive and supportive space from which students are able to make suggestions for effective solutions to the sexual bullying problem.
Sexual Bullying and the National Curriculum
It is important that schools present a full picture when they teach PSHE and Sex and Relationship lessons in line with National Curriculum guidelines. Ignoring sexual bullying leaves young people vulnerable to victimisation while presenting the sexual bullying facts in isolation will not equip students with the skills they need to prevent it from happening to them.
A 2020 Dreams Sexual Bullying workshop can work alongside your general PSHE or Sex and Relationships programmes to nip any problems in their bud and promote healthy, positive relationships. We can tailor our workshops to be appropriate to a younger, primary school cohort or to serve the needs of non-school institutions.