Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is calling on schools to give compulsory lessons to children about preventing domestic violence against women.
Ms Cooper told The House magazine that a massive cultural change was needed to stop domestic abuse against women. She has accused the government of refusing to carry out the work needed to educate boys about the effects of domestic violence on families and how to prevent it.
Ms Cooper was speaking in the wake of the Rotherham sex abuse scandal, in which more than 1,400 teenage girls and boys were sexually abused by gangs of local men.
A report into the Rotherham sex abuse scandal by Professor Alexis Jay found that the police and social services largely failed to take action to prevent the abuse because many of the abusers were of British Pakistani origin and there were fears that tackling the issue might lead to a breakdown in social cohesion.
It is also thought that because some of the female victims believed their abusers were their boyfriends, police found it difficult to intervene.
The Shadow Home Secretary is calling for lessons in preventing domestic violence to be added to the school curriculum to make sure boys are educated on the subject – and to prevent victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence being blamed for the abuse they suffer.
“If you look at the Jay report and the descriptions of the attitudes of police officers and social services, there was this idea that if somehow girls were involved in sexual activity that they must have consented, that it must be their fault,” Ms Cooper said.
“We need a massive culture change on this.
“The reason we want mandatory reporting is also to have the law changed to kick start that culture change.
“But it's much wider – that's why it has to be about attitudes, and sex and relationship education going right the way up through school.”
Ms Cooper’s comments coincide with news that students arriving at Oxford and Cambridge universities for Freshers’ Week will be given classes in the difference between consensual sex and non-consensual sex.
The Daily Mail reports that Cambridge University is offering first years a 30-minute workshop on the subject, while Oxford University is hosting classes on the topic in 20 colleges.
The universities have introduced the classes after a rape case against a former President of the Oxford Student Union was dropped by police.
Students will not be forced to attend, but it is reported that the classes are being organised to compensate for a lack of sex education in schools.
Amelia Horgan is helping to organise the workshops at Cambridge University and told the Daily Mail:
“We are sending out a very clear message with these workshops that sexual violence is not welcome within the university community.”
Duncan Lewis Domestic Violence Solicitors
Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of specialist domestic violence solicitors and can advise victims of domestic violence on how to seek help under the law – including domestic violence against both men and women in the home, child abuse in the home and elder abuse in the home.
Duncan Lewis is one of the UK’s leading providers of Legal Aid services and can advise on domestic violence and family law under both UK law and Islamic law.
For confidential and expert help with domestic violence, call the Duncan Lewis Domestic Violence Solicitors Helpline on 07920 077054.