High number of peer-on-peer sexual assault reported in Essex

A significant number of sexual assault cases where the perpetrator is 16 years old or younger have been reported in Essex.

In a recent FOI request, it was discovered there were 700 reported incidents in the county since 2020.

There were 182 reported incidents last year alone - higher than areas like Greater Manchester or the West Midlands.

It is also a considerable rise than previous years, with 69 cases in 2020.

The data was taken from the crime universe for rape and other sexual offences, where the suspect was aged 16 or under.

Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington, from Essex Police, says they're “pleased” victims and survivors of sexual assault feel confident enough to come forward.

He said: “It's really important that we respond appropriately to sexual assaults, and we are absolutely fanatical about making sure we report these properly. We make sure they're recorded, because if we don't record it, we can't support the victims.

“I'm quite pleased when victims and survivors feel that they can come forward and speak to us. And it's important that we understand what the issues are so that we can deal with them. We have seen more reporting, but I think it’s about confidence.”

The Chief Constable explained that they’re working in the community to tackle the root cause of sexual violence with young people.

He said: “Working with the fire service, we've got a joint education team who are visiting schools and tens of thousands of young people have had interventions which deal with healthy relationships, about understanding when no means no, and about how you should conduct yourself.

“We work through our children and young people officers with schools, dealing with those offenses that happen in schools. We've got a really important area of work, which is to make sure that we're not criminalizing children, but equally, there's no excuse if somebody is predatory, abusive or causes serious sexual harm. Then we need to deal with that and we're not shy to deal with those things, but in a sensitive and supportive way.”

Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington continued: “We know that the use of the internet, the availability of porn, particularly for young boys but not exclusively, has a warping sense of what a healthy relationship is and certainly what sexual conduct is. We've got to make sure we support them and give them the best ability to make judgements in their world, as they grow up and we do that through education.”

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