‘Everyone’s Invited’ Exposes The Rape Culture Going On Amongst Young People in Education Today

TW: This article discusses sensitive topics of sexual abuse, sexual assault and rape culture and allegations. 

Anonymous allegations of sexual assault and abuse amongst children and young people have seen record numbers. 

“now the site has had 14,404 anonymous testimonies.”

A website started in June 2020 by Soma Sara aims to tackle rape culture and sexual abuse, where individuals can submit their own experiences anonymously. 

Everyone’s Invited started with founder Soma Sara sharing her own experiences of rape culture on social media. Subsequently within a week, she had received over 300 responses and now the site has had 14,404 anonymous testimonies. 

Amongst the testimonies, topics of sexual assault, rape, forms of abuse and violence have all been discussed with some including sharing the names of schools and universities. 

In response, the education secretary Gavin Williamson took to Twitter: “No school – whether an independent or state school – should ever be an environment where young people feel unsafe, let alone somewhere that sexual abuse can take place. The allegations that I have heard in recent days are shocking and abhorrent.” 

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No school – whether an independent school or state school – should ever be an environment where young people feel unsafe, let alone somewhere that sexual abuse can take place.

The allegations that I have heard in recent days are shocking and abhorrent.

— Gavin Williamson (@GavinWilliamson) March 29, 2021

In another tweet he added, “Any victim of these sickening acts that we’ve seen reported should raise their concerns with someone they trust, whether that’s a family member or friend, a teacher, social worker, or the police. We will take appropriate action.” 

Rape Culture

Soma Sara has spoken on the recent uptake in testimonies saying, “The testimonies expose rape culture and the scale of sexual violence amongst young people in the UK.” 

Defined by Bold Voices, “A rape culture exists when sexual violence is condoned and normalised through societal attitudes, actions and structures.” This kind of culture includes all forms of unwanted and non-consensual sexual behaviour and violence. 

What’s apparent from the submissions is that these acts of unwanted sexual behaviour are happening in school and university structures. Amongst the schools named, many were independent and fee paying private schools with Soma Sara commenting: “If we start pointing fingers at certain demographics or singling out individuals or institutions, we risk making these cases seem like anomalies… when really this problem is pervasive , it exists everywhere.” 

Government Action

“The government recently announced a review”

Due to this, Ofsted are launching a number of inspections in the schools named on the website to check that correct safeguarding provisions are in place. Chief Inspector of Ofsted, Amanda Spielman said: “Schools have a crucial role to play in teaching young people about sexual consent and respect for women and girls. They must also be places where all children feel safe, and where they are able to report any incidents of abuse or harassment and be confident that what they say will be acted upon.”

The government recently announced a review and is also working with the NSPCC to launch a dedicated helpline on the 1st April, for children and adult victims of sexual abuse within educational environments. 

The sheer number of young people coming forward to share their experiences has prompted many questions surrounding the welfare of young people and the importance of education for young people surrounding sexual consent. 

More information on rape culture can be found here. 

If you need support or advice, the NSPCC helpline number is 0800 136 663 

Neve Gordon-Farleigh

Featured image courtesy of Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.