U.K. citizens have reported 30,000 instances of child-on-child sexual abuse in the last four years, with annual report numbers increasing by 71 percent, national figures show.
The data comes from 38 police departments across England and Wales that responded to freedom of information requests, The Westmorland Gazette reported. It shows that “peer-on-peer” sexual offenses by children 10 and under have more than doubled from 204 in 2013-14 to 456 in 2016-17. Of the 30,000 total reports, however, 74 percent were never pursued by police.
Many families of alleged victims have complained about the lack of action.
“It’s not what actually happens that has the worst effect on you, it’s what comes after it. It’s the being disbelieved – it’s the people failing you,” one unidentified minor told reporters.
“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,'” another said.
U.K. law requires school officials and teachers to report any instances of an adult sexually abusing a child, but there is no such requirement for child-on-child abuse. As a result, the reporting of these crimes must be made by parents, if the child even alerts his or her parents to the event.
Hundreds of students have also been suspended temporarily or even permanently for watching pornography or sharing pornographic images with classmates.
A total of 2,625 sexual offenses were reported to have happened on school premises, including nearly 230 rapes, according to TES.
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