AIBU to contact the police. Possible trigger warning

[NameyMcnamechanges]

If you found out your 16 year old child had their trousers/skirt forcefully pulled down along with their underwear. Exposing them to other students in school. Would you contact the police or wait for the school to respond baring in mind it's the summer holidays.

For context it happened a month ago. They have been too traumatised by it to say anything until now. My child is SN in a mainstream school FWIW. Posted here for the 'quietness'.

Was this done by other children (presumably)? And as far as you know, no adult saw it?

I would hope a secondary school would have somebody monitoring e-mail and voicemail for anything serious of this nature, even in the holidays. So I would definitely contact them (I guess you have?)

I think I would also be inclined to contact my local police station to report it and for advice: see if they have a unit that deals with sensitive stuff like this. You don't want your poor DC to be traumatised even further by it, but you also want them to know it is not acceptable and is to be taken seriously. If an adult did it to me I would consider it a sexual assault, so I imagine the police should take it very seriously and be able to advise on best ways to take it forward with the school and the children concerned - this isn't 5 year olds messing around innocently. If the school isn't responsive they may also have ways to make contact more urgently than you do.

Yes, contact the police. Ask specifically for the team that deal with child sexual assaults/abuse as they will be much more sensitive. Please do not be fobbed off with giving a statement to an untrained constable, as they may not ask the right questions or carry out the inverview in the best way. This is extremely serious and you should not allow the school to play it down in any way.

PS - for full disclosure, this was a trigger for me. So I may have over-reacted. Other posters can advise on that.

Yes it was another child, my child is 15 soon to be 16, the other child was the same age.

I emailed the school over 24 hours ago and I've not has a response. I don't feel like I can just leave it.

Try your local council's safeguarding officer also.

I definitely wouldn't just leave it. Apart from anything else your DC needs to see you taking it seriously. Hope your DC is doing OK, what a horrible thing to have happen to them.

If school aren't responding then I'd contact police. You might find school do it anyway, tbh, to cover themselves. It might just be that no-one's picking up messages at school, because I hope this would be a priority. I agree with SpringerLink. Behaviour like that needs stopped in its tracks and other kids need to know it's totally unacceptable, regardless of who it's done to. Hope your DC is coming to terms with it.

See if you have a SARC in your area - Sexual Assault Referral Centre. I asked their advice, on DD’s behalf and they were very good (in our area anyway)!