That is 0 articles you have read today.
The Aporia is free and carries no advertising, so readers are the only
thing paying for it. If you are getting this much out of it, a small
donation is what keeps it independent.
Daily limit reached
You have read 0 articles today.
That is more than the 15 a day The Aporia gives away,
and well past what it can carry on nothing. Your allowance resets at
midnight.
There is no advertising here and nothing about you is sold, so readers
are the only thing paying for it. If the site is worth this much of
your day, it is worth a few dollars.
Everything else stays open: the
maps, the
directory and
search do
not count against this, and neither does re-opening something you have
already read today.
A recent investigation reveals that police in England and Wales receive reports of nearly five sexual crimes against children aged 12 and younger daily, with at least 8,500 such offenses logged between 2021 and 2025. This includes over 2,000 alleged rapes and attempted rapes, amounting to one each day on average. The figures also show that more than a third of rape victims were under 13, with perpetrators often being fellow pupils.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-04,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Lawyers and campaigners condemned the "horrifying" scale of child-on-child sexual abuse in English and Welsh schools after a Guardian investigation revealed that nearly five sexual crimes against children aged 12 and younger were reported to police every day between 2021 and 2025. The data, obtained through freedom of information requests from 43 police forces across England and Wales, showed at least 8,500 sexual offences against under-13s were recorded over the five-year period, equivalent to 4.7 daily reports. More than one in three rape victims among these cases were under 13 years old. The majority of reported crimes involved peers as perpetrators, with an estimated 1,890 offenders being under 18. Child protection advocates and the Children's Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, highlighted that while progress has been made in addressing such issues, more significant action is needed to tackle this widespread problem.
Written for “Child Sexual Offences in Schools Engl…” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning: leans left for article 55987 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-10-04
Claims extracted
16
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
6%
1 of 16 hedged
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Correction & hedging signals
64.9
corrections and hedging in what we collected;
not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
2
Crime & Law
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
The scale of child-on-child sexual violence in primary and secondary schools in England and Wales has been revealed in a bombshell investigation.
asserted
scale → reveal → investigation
On average police received reports of nearly five sexual crimes against children aged 12 and younger every single day, according to reports.
uncertain
police → receive → reports
At least 8,500 sexual offences against children aged 13 or under were logged by police between 2021 and 2025 - the equivalent to 4.7 per day.
asserted
offences → age → day
That includes 2,000 alleged rapes and attempted rapes over the same time period, which works out as one rape allegation at a school in England and Wales each day.
asserted
which → include → England
The extent of the problem was revealed via a series of freedom of information requests to the 43 police forces across England and Wales, 33 of which responded.
asserted
33 → reveal → which
The majority of the police reports did not state the age of the accused but they are most likely to be fellow pupils.
asserted
they → state → accused
The Children's Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, said child-on-child sexual abuse in schools was 'widespread, normalised and too often brushed under the carpet'.
asserted
abuse → say → carpet
'We have taken important steps in the last few years,' she said.
asserted
she → take → years
'But as these figures show we have a long way to go.
asserted
we → show → way
On average police received reports of nearly five sexual crimes against children aged 12 and younger every single day (stock photo)
The Guardian reported that aside from rape and attempted rape, the data also includes reports of an additional 6,140 crimes that involve the possession, taking, making or distribution of indecent or prohibited images of children under 18.
asserted
that → receive → 18
The newspaper also reported that in at least 1,890 of the reported sexual offences committed against victims against under-13s, the perpetrator was described as under 18.
asserted
perpetrator → report → 18
Girls were also predominantly the victims in the cases in which gender was specified, with nearly two out of three of the sexual crimes against under-13s committed against females.
asserted
three → specify → females
A government spokesperson called the figures 'appalling' and pointed to schools' statutory duty to respond to sexual violence and harassment.
asserted
spokesperson → call → violence
They added: 'No child should be unsafe at school, and no child should have to carry this alone.
asserted
child → add → this
That is why schools' duty to respond to sexual violence and harassment is now statutory, and why staff are trained to spot concerns early and support victims.
asserted
staff → respond → victims
'As part of our strategy to halve violence against women and girls, we have pledged to make sure all young people are taught about healthy relationships and consent from an early age – and we've forced tech companies to tackle harmful content and protect young people online through the Online Safety Act.'
asserted
we → halve → Act
The Aporia
