Campaigners called for “rape culture” in schools to be taken more seriously after it emerged none of the claims police investigated from the Everyone’s Invited movement resulted in criminal charges.
Children and young people shared 50,000 testimonies of alleged rape, sex assaults and harassment on a website founded by student Soma Sara in 2020 sparking a #MeToo moment in UK schools.
Detective Superintendent Mel Laremore’s team investigated six anonymous cases of “widespread abuse” written on the site.
But Metropolitan Police data from its crime reporting system shows “no person has been charged with an offence” under a dedicated Everyone’s Invited flag, according to a Freedom of Information request.
Several independent schools including Eton, St Paul’s, Latymer Upper, Dulwich College and Westminster School were named.
One institution was described as being a “breeding ground for sexual predators”.
It prompted an Ofsted inquiry which concluded sexual harassment has become “normalised” among school-age children.
But critics argued boys were being damaged by “an excessive cultural shift" against them resulting in them being ostracised, punished or even expelled for normal teenage behaviour.
Peter Csemiczky, partner at Hickman & Rose solicitors, said: “The lack of criminal charges related to allegations made on the Everyone’s Invited website illustrates the gap between hope and reality when it comes to prosecuting sexual crime.
“While an allegation of this type may be straightforward, collecting the evidence that supports its accuracy to the criminal standard can be complicated.
“Assessing evidence from electronic devices, medical, school or social services records takes time, resources and properly trained officers: neither of which the police have sufficient numbers of.
“In my experience the Met can take months to interview someone facing even the most serious sexual allegation. Once interviewed, years can pass before a charging decision is made.
“While we do not know which of the Everyone’s Invited allegations the Met investigated, it could be that, rather than criminalising young boys, some of the people involved were diverted from prosecution or a decision made that it was not in the interest of justice to pursue these matters.”
In February, Channel 4 aired the drama Consent based on allegations from pupils such as those reported on Everyone‘s Invited.
Back in 2021, the Met said where schools had been named on the website, officers would make contact with them to offer specialist support to any potential victims.
Det Supt Laremore, Scotland Yard’s rape and sexual offences lead, added more than 100 schools were cited, adding: “I think it’s more widespread than private schools.”
A spokesperson from Everyone’s Invited told the Standard: “Schools are beginning to take the whole area of rape culture seriously.
“Whereas before the Ofsted report they questioned its very existence, now schools are actively looking at this area and thinking about what needs to be done. Everyone’s Invited is proud to have triggered the Ofsted report which helped to put this on the schools agenda.
“More still needs to be done to tackle rape culture and everyone - be they school children, parents, university students and teenagers - needs to take action in this area.
“By accepting that rape culture exists and talking about it, we hope that everyone will take responsibility to change their behaviour and help eradicate it.
“From a government and societal perspective, the issue urgently needs to move higher up the agenda.”
All of the schools named said they took claims extremely seriously and condemned actions described on Everyone’s Invited.
