Featured Image Credit: MEN Media/Alamy
Topics: Sex and Relationships
Poppy Bilderbeck
A group of schoolgirls have launched a petition to stop school uniforms being sold in sex shops and used in pornography.
The Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College's feminism group and its teacher have submitted the petition on the UK Parliament's website.
The Cheshire-based group - who are aged between 14 and 18 - are calling for sex shops to be prohibited from selling school outfits due to the sexual harassment they have faced while wearing such uniforms.
The petition is titled 'Ban school uniforms in sex shops and pornography'.
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It reads: "We urge the Government to make it illegal for school uniforms to be displayed and sold within sex shops to stop the sexualisation of children. We also think it is vital for pornography to ban displaying videos where school uniforms are worn as a costume.
"It is disgusting that the sexualisation and fetishisation of children is apparently condoned by these establishments and companies. In the UK school uniforms are worn by most students until the age of 16.
"We believe their sale in sex shops and use as costumers in pornography is glamorising and normalising sexual acts with children. This is capitalising off of the sexual exploitation of children and prioritising profit over the safety of millions of children.
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"By allowing this to be legal it perpetuates a society in which people feel it is acceptable to sexualise children."
Sarah Maile, who leads the feminism society, explained how the petition was organised after the group talked about 'all the issues that women and girls face today'.
During the discussion, the girls spoke out about how 'vulnerable' and 'embarrassed' they are made to feel when harassed in their uniforms.
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The PSHCE coordinator told M.E.N.: "Everyone we've spoken to is sharing their experience of being cat-called in their school uniform, really sexualised comments.
"A lot of it comes from the idea that school uniforms are sexualised so it perpetuates this society that suggests it's okay to sexualise children.
"There are times when cars have slowed down and talked to them and said really quite offensive things to them. [...] They feel like it’s their fault and that’s not okay."
Maile continued by noting how school uniforms which are 'predominantly worn by children under the age of 16 are used in pornography and sold in sex shops'.
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"We just think it's abhorrent and it’s not right. It’s hyper-sexualising children.
"The more we’ve spoken about this the more we’ve realised it’s not right. We should be protecting our children. It shouldn't be legal for these things to be watched and enjoyed on a sexual level," she continued.
So far, the petition has gained over 5,000 signatures.
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The group hope parliament will end up debating the issue. It will need to reach 100,000 signatures in order for the government to do so.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence you can contact Victim Support free on 08 08 16 89 111 available 24/7, every day of the year, including Christmas.