Experts say kids as young as three should get sex education to stop them from being molested
'IF they're old enough to be abused, they're old enough to be educated,' specialists say
CHILDREN should be taught sex education as early as possible to help prevent them being abused by their own families, experts told MPs today.
Sex education specialist Lynnette Smith told the Commons’ Women and Equalities committee if children were “old enough to be abused” they are “old enough to be educated”.
MPs heard children in nursery and reception class should be educated about sex to protect them from being molested.
They also heard evidence kids aged 5-7 had admitted in class they’d seen porn.
Dr Fiona Vera-Gray, a Durham University law professor, told the committee: “Some parents are going to be sexually abusing their children and sometimes that’s going to be happening within the family unit, outside of school.
“So we need to start talking to the kids as soon as we can when they’re very young, to give them the spaces to start talking about what they may be experiencing outside of school.”
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Lynette Smith of Big Talk Education, added : “The way we approach it is, if a child is old enough to be abused it’s old enough to be educated.
“So at nursery, it’s exactly the time. We also go into children’s centres and educate parents of children even younger than nursery.
“So as soon as you’re changing the nappy you’re using the correct vocabulary. It can’t be too early.”
MPs were told girls had been forced to wear shorts under their school skirts to avoid being harassed by boys in the playground.
Experts said a “normalised culture of sexual harassment” in schools meant girls were having to change their behaviour.
Susie McDonald, of the healthy relationships charity Tender, said teachers needed extra training to help them tackle the growing problem.
She said: “Many teachers are victim-blaming at the moment. They’re looking at sexual harassment as horseplay or something that’s just going on in the corridors.”
MPs launched an inquiry after shocking figures published last year showed 5,500 sexual offences were recorded in UK schools over a three year period - including 600 rapes.
It followed a YouGov poll of 16-18-year-olds in 2010 that found almost a third of girls experienced unwanted sexual touching at school.
Almost three quarters said they heard sexual name-calling of girls daily or a few times per week.
Shock new research commissioned by the MPs has found pupils were being forced into sex acts and assaulted and harassed on a daily basis.
Sex education is currently compulsory in schools from age 11 onwards.