Given the sexual assault statistics we need to move back to single sex schools

[jeaux90]

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/oct/04/child-on-child-sexual-abuse-schools-england-and-wales

We could have a debate about the causes of course but the current government won’t ban porn for example so my view, we need to completely segregate at secondary school now if the government is serious about stopping VAWG.

Nope. Separating them will make it worse. Better to have them together and properly educated boys about how to treat others with respect.

The answer to dealing with sexual assaults is not by removing girls and placing them into a single sex environments. The answer is dealing with the criminal behaviour of a small minority of children. In any case, only 2/3 of the victims stated in that article were female. What about the other 1/3? Do the other, presumably male, victims just have to put up with the behaviour in single sex boys schools?

Boys who commit sexual offences aren’t going to suddenly turn into delightful adults at the age of 18. That behaviour will continue and females will have to deal with mixed sex environments.

As a society, we need to look at why there is an increase in these offences. Too many boys especially are left to their own devices on screens, with parents unwilling to actually parent and lay down ground rules from a young age. Boys need to be out doing activities such as sport, not spending hours holed up in their rooms on social media. Parents who blindly let their sons, and daughters, onto the likes of Tik Tok and You Tube shorts baffle me. What do they think is going to happen if their sons are watching revolting content? Every parent knows the dangers of these platforms and yet many are happy to let their children use them. Why?

Oh yeah. That’ll benefit women. I hope you are joking??

I'm not a fan of separatism. It reinforces the 'them & us' attitude that some men hold and reinforced seeing women as some different species to be treated as an 'other'.
This kicks the problem for women & girls down the road.

I do however completely accept that single sex education is better for girls progression.

I don't think the answer is clear cut, but choice should be given to girls and boys need positive role models and serious consequences for misogynistic behaviours.

Unfortunately men hold the key to changing socially acceptable behaviour amongst makes - there's little incentive to do that, they can't be arsed.

As I said, mixed in primary,
SS for secondary. Mixed for 6th form

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

over my dead body

Agree in principle but nothing is being done that improves this and the stats have got worse not better.

I get it but that isn’t happening the stats are getting worse.

Everyone needs to be actively taught respect, boundaries and consent.

And criminal behaviour, inside school or outside school, needs to be treated as such. Teachers have been saying for a long long time now that police are refusing law enforcement duties and trying to make criminal behaviours the responsibility of schools. Unfortunately, schools don't have any enforcement powers and so, effectively, young people are being sent the message that they can get away with it.

Criminal age of responsibility in England is 10. Criminal behaviours should be reported to the police and they should then enforce the law. All data around this should be publicly available.

That's how you fix it.

I think the sexes need to learn to live together and see each other as human beings. And I think mixed sex education helps that. I'm not wild about the amount of focussing we do on 'You're a girl so it's so great you're good at maths' that we seem to be doing. I think it focuses too much on identity characteristics. I'm glad to have grown up in the 90s when it was more, 'Foolish people in the past thought this way, but let's actually focus on you being you rather than worry about the boxes you tick. Being a very STEM type girl was just me being me, not striking some sort of blow for feminism, I really didn't think about it.

There should be options for state non grammar non religious single sex schools in every area, but they shouldn't be the only options. Some girls may feel safer/happier in single sex, some may prefer mixed. The key to this is choice, there is no 1 size fits all.

I was sexually assaulted repeatedly in year 7-8 (middle school), threatened that my ND older brother would be badly hurt if i reported. I was also bullied in year 8 by a group of girls. I turned down the single sex private option for upper school as to me the sexual assault was by 1 bad person, it didn't mean all boys were bad. And going to an all girls school increased the risk of bullying. But someone else may feel differently. The important thing is choice.

So logically you also support sex segregation in work?

Leisure?

Religeon?

Why stop at schools?

I wouldnt send my child to single sex school. The local all girls school here is a bullying hotbed and I know girls personally who have been left suicidal.

Seperating boys and girls doesnt teach them anything. We need firm control over behaviours ecpectations and mutual respect

How will that help? The most entitled, clueless men ime went to single sex schools. In the real world men and women work and socialise together. Delaying mixing will.lead to more problems than it solves.

Teach children to work well together - it’s part of life. When selecting schools for DT’s (b/g) we only included co ed in our short lists. Rejected any which were single sex.

So women should dress conservatively so as not to inflame men's desire?

Gosh - i have 2 sons and the girls are after them both! my boys were quite shocked and embarrassed by how forward girls are, even in primary school. my eldest in year 6 had at least 5 girls asking him out at the same time and he didnt know what to do! Now my youngest is in year 5 and is being told girls like him all the time and he doesnt know what to do either. And we live in a nice quiet village in a lovely area!

Maybe all you girl mums need to stop blaming boys - i actually feel like the world has gone too far the other way lately - and i am all for women standing up for themselves but lets not act like girls are completely helpless. Don't get me wrong - some boys are also too much but its not specific to boys or girls!

As for same sex schools - each to their own but maybe all these "predator" boys will hunt them down there too and wait outside the gates for them!! 😳

Yeh. to stop violence against women apparently.

Of course not, just an opportunity for girls to have a secondary education without being sexually assaulted. I mean I think my OP is clear.

No thank you

No, I was horrendously bullied by other girls, single sex schools would have been a nightmare for me. If anything, having boys around distracted the bullies.

Statistics tell us males commit over 95% of sexual offences. ONS. so just stop with this “not my nigel” nonsense.

I agree with choice. I am so sorry for your experience.

While I agree that single sex is often best, “Everyone’s Invited” had people from single sex schools telling stories too. Eg girls taking the same route home as a local boys school.

Removing girls will not improve the situation. By having girls only schools, there would then need to be boys only schools. Teaching boys together, without any females, is not the best way of teaching them how to respect females.