The Extent
Much like the last blog, this blog series is not about creating panic. It’s about raising awareness of what is going on with teens.
The average parent today is raising their child in a world very different from the one in which they grew up. Almost every child now has access to social media, influencer culture and even online pornography. Unfortunately, research has found that the latter is how the majority of young people are learning about relationships and consent, often long before adults in their immediate environment are aware it’s happening. Even more worryingly is the increase in schools reporting harassment from male to female students, as well as a rise in misogyny and sexist attitudes and peer-on-peer abuse.
So, what exactly is going on? And what are the current measures that are in place aiming to prevent this worrying trend?
Prevalence
Starting with teenage peer-to-peer pressure, the statistics are deeply troubling.
- 51% of UK girls report that nude or semi-nude images of them have been shared without consent (UK Government, 2022).
- 62% of teenage girls have received unwanted sexual content online, primarily via Snapchat and WhatsApp (Ofcom, 2023).
- 1 in 3 girls aged 13–18 report being pressured to share sexual images (Girlguiding UK, 2023).
Even though these figures may not seem immediately pressing, Ofsted (2021) has found that pupils will rarely report digital sexual harassment due to fears around shame and retaliation. So, there is a risk that it is being underreported.
Pornography Exposure and Escalation
In an ideal world, access to pornography would not happen before the age of 18. As mentioned last week, thanks to platforms like X (formerly Twitter), this is no longer the case.
- One-third of children have viewed pornography by age 10 (Guardian, 2023).
- 79% of UK boys aged 16–17 viewed pornography in the past month; the average first exposure is age 13 (Ofcom, 2023).
- 67% of 18–21-year-olds saw violent pornography before age 18 (Guardian, 2023).
Does this matter? Well, in a word, yes, as it has a direct impact on behaviour, especially among teenage boys. Boys who watch pornographic material weekly are 2.6 times more likely to endorse coercive or sexist beliefs, as well as being 3.1 times more likely to report aggressive sexual behaviour by the age of 18 (Campbell et al 2023).
Also, the type of pornography being viewed by these young boys shows a violent trend.
A Stanford Internet Observatory (2023) analysis of 5,000 porn videos found that 33% depicted violence or degradation toward women and that violent content received 25% more engagement, driving algorithmic amplification. So, in other words, this is what is being clicked on and so, when the site is revisited, the algorithm pushes similar content.
A deeper dive into this explores the rise in strangulation porn. In 2025, the UK police recorded an almost 50% rise year on year in non-fatal strangulation reports after criminalisation (CPS, 2025). Teen interviews also showed that teenagers now describe choking as a standard expectation in casual sex. Also, teachers have reported that teens are increasingly asking how to “safely strangle” a partner when discussing sex in class. (Institute for Addressing Strangulation, 2025).
This is having a seemingly direct impact on the stats in other areas.
- Two-thirds (≈66%) of recorded child sexual abuse in Western countries is child-on-child (Campbell et al., 2020).
- 90–97% of young people who engage in harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) are boys aged 10–15 (Finkelhor et al., 2009; Hackett et al., 2016).
- 91% of child sexual abuse material reports in 2024 involved self-generated imagery, increasingly driven by AI tools (NCA/IWF, 2025).
So, harmful sexual behaviour, or HSB, has gone from being something that only a few kids would engage into something that is fast becoming a safeguarding and public health issue, which requires a complete system-wide response, not isolated lessons in schools.
What Works?
Here is a simple breakdown of what schools are currently offering to help children learn about sex and relationships, as well as how to stay safe online.
Government reviews across the UK, Australia and Canada support a three-tier continuum:
- Universal RSE and digital safety (whole school)
- Targeted small-group interventions for emerging risk
- Specialist clinical services for entrenched cases
It should be noted that many schools are often overly reliant on RSE and digital safety and are lacking small group interventions, which, if there is a risk, have been noted to be the most effective.
Skills-based interventions, rather than one-off lessons, have been found across the board to be the most beneficial for teenagers. Lösel found that RNR or Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) programmes, when properly implemented, reduce reoffending by up to 60% when related to sexual offences.
Trauma-informed, developmental models (e.g. Australia’s New Street, TTO) report over 90% goal-attainment, though UK school-based data remains limited. This is not to say that all children with trauma in their background will commit sexual offences. However, for those who do have trauma, these models are more beneficial for addressing the underlying issue than one of relationships and sex education (RSE) lessons.
Where are the Schools Falling Short?
So, what are kids currently learning in schools about sex and relationships?
Usually, this would fall under RSE. However, this approach has been noted by researchers as being ineffective when trying to change (or keep pace) with what teens are exposed to online.
- Ofsted (2021): Sexual harassment and online abuse are “commonplace” in most secondary schools.
- 52% of young people rate their PSHE/RSE as “good” (Sex Education Forum, 2025).
- 53% of young people noted that they received “not enough” information on pornography (Sex Education Forum, 2025)
- 72% of young people noted that received “not enough” information of deepfakes, or laws on strangulation. (Sex Education Forum, 2025)
One-off, teacher-led sessions show only short-lived attitude change. Also, the teachers themselves are often ill-equipped to oversee this intensive education. Despite guidance recommending trauma-informed delivery, few teachers are trained in psychology, safeguarding disclosures, or facilitation of sensitive content. So, how can they instruct kids about this in an effective way?
This data reflects earlier collections in the same field. An RSE Poll in 2022 found that 22% of young people stated that the internet was their main source of information on pornography, with 15% citing pornography itself as their main source of information on sex.
The Takeaway for Parents and Carers
Much like the first blog relating to The Problem, these figures are deeply concerning, but they are not irreversible.
It is fair to say that the risk is growing and change is needed quickly, especially in schools. Teachers barely have the time to teach children the basics of biology relating to sex and, as the data has found that the best option is small, expert-led groups, it would make sense for schools to push for this idea to help teach teens about healthy sexual relationships, sex in general, as well as push back against aggressive and violent pornographic content.
This is not a blame game aimed at the kids. They need help, which, as highlighted above, works best with expert-led, smaller groups which tackle the issue with safeguarding in mind while also teaching skills.
Programmes like FRESH (Forming Relationships and Evolving Sexuality Healthily) will focus on building relationship skills for teens, at the age when their interests are peaking and when their sexual attitudes begin to take form.
The next blog will look more at the evidence behind the recommended programmes. Why do they work, what do the kids say about them and how can they be better implemented? It sounds tedious, but it will be an interesting read and will help you to see why this kind of input is needed.
References
Campbell, F., et al. (2020). Young people who display harmful sexual behaviors and their families: A qualitative systematic review of their experiences of professional interventions. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29739282/
Campbell Ince, J., Fontenelle, L. F., Carter, A., Albertella, L., Tiego, J., Chamberlain, S. R., & Rotaru, K. (2023). Clarifying and extending our understanding of problematic pornography use through descriptions of the lived experience. Scientific Reports, 13(1), 18193. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45459-8
Finkelhor, D., Ormrod, R., & Chaffin, M. (2009). Juveniles who commit sexual offenses against minors (Juvenile Justice Bulletin). Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice.
Girlguiding UK. (2023). Girls’ Attitudes Survey 2023 (Research Report). Girlguiding UK. https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/globalassets/docs-and-resources/research-and-campaigns/girls-attitudes-survey-2023.pdf
Hackett, S. (2014). Children and young people with sexually harmful behaviour. Research in Practice.
Institute for Addressing Strangulation. (2024). Prosecution and sentencing of strangulation and suffocation offences report: June 2022–June 2023. https://ifas.org.uk/prosecution-and-sentencing-of-strangulation-and-suffocation-offences-report-2024
Internet Watch Foundation. (2024, July). AI CSAM report update (Version 1.1) https://www.iwf.org.uk/media/opkpmx5q/iwf-ai-csam-report_update-public-jul24v11.pdf
Kirke, R. (2024, February 17). ‘Toxic’ online culture fuelling rise in sexual assaults on children by other children, police warn. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/feb/17/toxic-online-culture-fuelling-rise-in-sexual-assualts-on-children-by-other-children-police-warn
Lösel, F. (2010, October). What works in reducing reoffending: A global perspective [Conference paper]. 12th Annual Conference of the International Corrections and Prisons Association, Ghent, Belgium.
Ministry of Justice & Government of the United Kingdom. (2022, November 25). New laws to better protect victims from abuse of intimate images. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-laws-to-better-protect-victims-from-abuse-of-intimate-images?utm_source=chatgpt.com
NSW Kids and Families. (2014). Evaluation of New Street adolescent services: Final report. KPMG. https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/parvan/hsb/Documents/new-street-evaluation-report.pdf
Ofcom. (2023). Survey: Barriers to proving age on adult sites — Technical report. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/research-and-data/online-research/vsp/barriers-to-proving-age-on-adult-sites/survey-barriers-to-proving-age-on-adult-sites.pdf
Ofsted. (2021). Review of sexual abuse in schools and colleges. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-sexual-abuse-in-schools-and-colleges
Sex Education Forum. (2023). Young people’s RSE poll 2022 (survey conducted Dec. 2022). Sex Education Forum. https://www.sexeducationforum.org.uk/resources/evidence/young-peoples-rse-poll-2022?utm
Sex Education Forum. (2025). Without support, teachers say digital risks could undermine RSE: Young people’s RSE poll 2025. https://www.sexeducationforum.org.uk/news/news/without-support-teachers-digital-risks-could-undermine-rse-young-peoples-rse-poll-2025
Stanford Internet Observatory. (2023). Investigating large-scale image datasets: LAION-5B contains child sexual abuse material. Stanford University. https://cyber.fsi.stanford.edu/io/news/laion5b-csam