Y6 agression - how to handle assaults at young age ?

[Ziko1980]

Hi parents , i had witnessed a very appalling worrying behaviour today at priory park from young boy kids towards a group of young girls but when a friend of mine interfered she was shocked by how the young kids age 11 were very agressive !
Nothing big had happened but it was a sexual assault like in the making ! Nobody is hurt.

I was thinking how such behavior is in the neighbourhood and from that young age . Surprised and disappointed by the other kids who walked away. And puzzled about how an adult should react! It was quite a situation that raised many red flags . Hope everyone is safe

Nothing you can do really, the kids are not yours to deal with. I would not be taking pics / posting on FB groups as you may do more harm than good.

Tell their school?

If you can tell which school they were from, then make the school aware so they can do an assembly on why the behaviour isn't good?

There was a thread about this. That many young boys are now operating as groups to attack girls. Cant find the thread but it is on the increase. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/feb/17/toxic-online-culture-fuelling-rise-in-sexual-assualts-on-children-by-other-children-police-warn

And this more recent one https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4grzkkpdwdo

In a discussion I heard about the film Adolescence, a woman who works in schools thinks that it doesn't deal with what is going on. Yes there is the internet, and learned behaviour from adults males in the family, but also the impact of what could be called "gang culture" where boys encourage each other to sexually assault girls or even rape them, because it is part of becoming part of the group, and their place in the pecking order. She felt that it was only because she works in school she became aware of it and that those outside of schools have no awareness of it. And just to add in case anyone thought this, she wasn't talking about inner city schools.

Not saying this is true of all schools, but as with trends and influences one she thought most adults had no idea of.

Or would dream that their young DS could be if not part of one, but be influenced by the attitudes and behaviours expressed.

I would contact their school if you know which one it might be. Age 11 is primary. And there have been recorded sexual assaults on primary school premises by children. It could be part of a bigger jigsaw puzzle.

if not I’d consider sending an email to several local schools actually and the local authority.

schools should be taking note. Whilst they can’t do anything about this incident it may nudge towards more thought about what they can do across the school.

it sounds OTT but it’s witnessing these sorts of things and passing on information that could help tackle a wider cultural issue in and outside schools. We cannot be silent anymore, especially as I bet they all had mobile phones etc.

Personally I think that an adult intervening probably tells the girls more than the boys in this situation that it’s not acceptable, but that is vital too. That girls are spotting these things and encouraged by adults to draw their boundaries. Some of the boys could take note.

thank you all i appreciate it . I know the school and i know the parents too . (Sadly or luckily idk)

Defo just raise it with the school and not with the parents directly unless you know them exceptionally well and that they’d receive the information in good faith

yep agree

sharing info may have been other indications, concerns or instances that have been recorded by the school that could trigger more interventions and support. Small piece of a bigger jigsaw

Another route might be as it happen in a public park that you could contact whichever councillors are responsible for:

parks and green spaces - ie safety
education - ie what steps are schools taking to ensure young boys aren't being sucked into believing violence against women and girls is acceptable
your ward - to let them know how concerned you are by this behaviour that seems to be on the increase and does the Council / LA have a strategy

In addition or alternatively you could write to your local paper (if there is one) to outline as you have in OP what happened and what a concern it is for the safety of young girls, and what seems to be the indoctrination of your boys. Ask that it is annonymous, of course!

This might in fact make other adults who have similar concerns or experience share what they have seen. Which at least is a way of assessing how common this behaviour is. (No doubt you will get a fair few responses saying boys will be boys.)

While I think school, parents and local council are good, it’s also not unreasonable to tell the police. Sounds like this is criminal behaviour by children who have reached the age of criminal responsibility. Increasing the police’s awareness of when girls are targeted is important in pushing them to do more to prevent assault and improve prosecution.