There have been calls for urgent action to be taken in order to tackle abuse in education. These follow an influx of over 11,000 anonymous testimonials were submitted to the ‘Everyone’s Invited’ website, sharing instances of all types of abuse in schools, colleges and universities.
The type of abuse contained within the testimonials included being drugged and raped at parties, unwanted sexual comments, being groped and explicit images being shares over messaging platforms.
The NSPCC have been working alongside the Department of Education to establish the helpline ‘Report Abuse in Education’, which launched on 1 April 2021.
The helpline aims to provide support to:
- All children and young people making current and non-recent disclosures of abuse
- Any children or young people who want to talk about being involved or witnessing any incidents
- Any adults who have experienced non-recent abuse
- Parents and carers who have any concerns about their own or other children
- Professionals who work in schools and need support in this or related issues
It was suggested that sexual assault allegations have previously been played down by education institutions. As a result, the helpline provides guidance on how to ensure concerns can be properly reported and dealt with. This greater assistance relating to reporting will inevitably lead to more allegations being made against individuals, including young adults, adults and professionals. Allegations of this nature, whether true or false, can be life-changing and have detrimental consequences, especially for your reputation and career. Having the correct legal advice and representation to defend your case is vital.
Here at Stephensons, our criminal defence department have a combined 200 years of experience of successfully representing people facing similar allegations. We offer confidential pre or post interview conferences with one of the solicitors who specialise in this area as well as arranging representation at the police station or at court. If you do require our assistance please do not hesitate to contact someone from the department on 0161 696 6188 or complete an enquiry form.
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