School apologises after teacher blamed sexual harassment on short skirts

Headteacher says comments ‘caused a lot of upset’ and were a ‘mistake’

A teacher at the school reportedly told girls to ‘be sensible’ in a video on sexual harassment (Google Maps)

A school has apologised after a video on sexual harassment mentioned the length of girls’ skirts in advice on how to stay safe.

The headteacher said Lytchett Minster School in Dorset - which is attended by pupils aged 11 to 18 - had made a “mistake” to use this as an example.

It comes after a teacher reportedly told schoolgirls to “be sensible” and think about the length of their skirt in a video on sexual harassment.

“Please be very clear that everybody has a right to come to school without being sexually harassed, without having sexual comments made about them,” the teacher said according to local media.

“And we’ve all got a responsibility to make sure this doesn’t happen.”

The teacher went on to say the reason schoolgirls had to cover themselves with their planners while walking upstairs is because their skirts were “too short”, according to Dorset Echo.

In a newsletter, the headteacher of the Poole school apologised for the comments.

Andrew Mead said a video was made tackling sexual harassment in light of “appalling messages” being shared on various platforms.

“The purpose of the video as to challenge the unacceptable language being used by some boys towards a number of girls in school,” he said.

“The second half of the video was supposed to be about considering ways of keeping safe.

“Unfortunately, the issue of the length of girls’ skirts was used as an example. This was clearly a mistake and caused a lot of upset.”

The headteacher of the comprehensive school said: “We accept that we should not have linked the two issues, as there is never any excuse for boys to make inappropriate comments to girls, and no one ever deserves abuse on account of what they are wearing or what they do.”

Mr Mead added: “We apologise for the distress caused by linking these two entirely separate issues.”

It comes after young people have shared thousands of testimonies of sexual harassment and abuse on the website Everyone’s Invited, many including the name of the school or university where abuse happened, or where the perpetrator attended.

Ofsted, the school watchdog, said they will carry out a review into whether institutions have effective safeguard measures in place in light of the deluge of allegations shared online.