A new report by Everyone’s Invited has named over 1,600 primary schools across the UK and Ireland where testimonies of rape culture have been submitted—some describing incidents from children as young as five. The revelations, which include accounts of harassment, inappropriate touching, forced penetration and the use of violent, misogynistic language in playgrounds and classrooms, have ignited fresh concerns about how early harmful gender norms are taking root in children’s lives.
The campaign group says rape culture is now endemic in primary schools. Many of the testimonies come from adults looking back, but some are more recent. Others were submitted with the help of therapists or parents on behalf of children who are still under 11. According to the report, nearly half of schoolchildren under seven are already displaying misogynistic behaviours. Teachers have reported a rise in disturbing incidents, and 60% said children under nine had been exposed to pornography—often accessed via smartphones or tablets, sometimes in school.
One child testified that a classmate started calling her “sexy” when she was five, following her into the toilets and physically attacking her. When she told a teacher, she says the incident was downplayed and both were made to sit in the same room. “The boy wasn’t expelled,” she wrote. “I left school, and learnt that he did it to another girl after I had left.” Another reported being ten years old when a group of boys threatened her with rape. When the incident reached the headteacher, she was allegedly told, “As women, we have to accept what men say to us.”
While the term rape culture has often been used in discussions around secondary schools and universities, this new report shifts the spotlight onto a younger demographic. It challenges the idea that primary-aged children are too young to be part of these conversations, and raises questions about the assumption of innocence when it comes to children’s knowledge of sex, power and violence.
The testimonies span both state and private schools, urban and rural settings. Teachers say they are ill-equipped to respond: 80% of those surveyed by Everyone’s Invited admitted they didn’t feel prepared to address these incidents. Many have only received the legal minimum safeguarding training. Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said sexist behaviour is becoming more common in primary schools and is influencing how girls feel about themselves and their place in the world.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council recently reported a 400% rise in child sexual abuse and exploitation since 2013. Everyone’s Invited says the data shows the urgent need for early education on sex, consent and relationships. Their founder, Soma Sara, speaking to The Times, has warned for some time that waiting until age nine—the current baseline in most schools—is already too late. “The internet has transformed childhood,” she said. “We’re not blaming children, but we are failing them if we don’t educate them before secondary school.”
The charity has called for relationship and sex education (RSE) to begin in nursery or reception. While some parents may find the idea of teaching young children about consent and boundaries uncomfortable, Sara argues that avoidance does not protect children—it leaves them unprepared. “One of the biggest misconceptions is that abuse is mainly adult-on-child,” she says. “But so many of the testimonies we receive are from child-on-child abuse, often mimicking what they’ve seen online.”
Much of the harm stems from easy access to unregulated content. Children with smartphones are exposed to violent pornographic material long before they’re emotionally equipped to process it. These scripts—based on domination, humiliation and objectification—are then acted out on peers. Teachers have also noticed the impact of misogynistic influencers and online male supremacist content. In classrooms, this shows up as name-calling, objectification, or dismissive attitudes toward girls and female teachers.
Everyone’s Invited also found that harmful body image issues are now starting at primary school. By age six, 62% of girls reported feeling ashamed of their bodies. Nearly 70% of boys said the same by age nine. “Children are under intense pressure to conform to distorted ideas of beauty and masculinity,” Sara says. “Girls are being taught that their value lies in their appearance. Boys are being taught that dominance equals strength.”
In response to the report, the government said it is reviewing the relationships, sex and health education curriculum and will be introducing a mandatory reporting duty for professionals working with children. But campaigners remain concerned that without bold, structural change—including earlier and better education—schools will continue to be sites of harm.
Sara has been encouraged by public figures like Gareth Southgate speaking out, but says more male voices are needed. “We need men—especially fathers—to talk about this. The message hits differently when it comes from them.”
What Everyone’s Invited is calling for isn’t abstract or ideological. It’s based on thousands of lived experiences. The reality is that rape culture is no longer a problem confined to teenage boys or university campuses, and perhaps it never has been. It’s in the corridors of primary schools, on playgrounds, and in group chats between eight-year-olds. Pretending otherwise is no longer an option.
