A teacher and her students have called for the sexualisation of school uniforms to be banned in the UK to help protect girls and young women.
Sarah Maile and members of a feminism group at Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College in Cheshire say the sale of 'sexy' schoolgirl costumes and fetishisation in pornography has to stop.
The Year 12 students - who did not wish to be named - said from a very young age they were getting cat-called and sexually harassed in public.
One told the Mirror: "We were wondering why people, particularly men, feel entitled to demean us like that and we realised it’s because of this active sexualisation of children.
"It’s weird because now we’re not in uniform in sixth form the cat calls have gone down quite a lot because the uniforms were quite a determining factor."
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The students described how men of all ages, from schoolboys up to the middle-aged, including bus drivers, will make sexualised comments and it's "normally about what we're wearing, our school uniform".
One explained: "It’s been since the age of 11, maybe a bit younger, when we were in primary school, just anytime we were in uniform."
A government petition launched by the group last month has already reached over 5,000 signatures.
They said hundreds of women have since shared their stories with them about what's happened to them.
Ms Maile said it is quite jarring that schoolgirl uniforms have been lumped in with nurses, policewomen and firefighters in terms of fetishisation in the sex industry.
And while she feels this is equally concerning, at least these other examples relate to adult women.
"We can understand that many of those professionals feel very uncomfortable about that and they may have their own responses to that but at least within that realm that’s not sexualisation of children," she said.
"And not that we condone any of it. Firefighters and those in the NHS are absolutely incredible and they don’t deserve that.
"But the concern for our students is that their lived experiences are taking place outside of the school where they don’t feel safe, they feel embarrassed, they feel vulnerable, they feel un-empowered walking on the street.
"And there seems to be this correlation with the sexualisation of the school uniform and the experiences they’ve had."
She added: "The fact is there seems to be no ramification, no one seems to call them out and say 'no, you shouldn’t do that'."
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan launched the Have A Word With Yourself, Then With Your Mates campaign, which has the tagline: "Male violence against women and girls starts with words. If you see it happening, say something."
Ms Maile called the scheme "fantastic" and she hopes it will take effect, but none of the students could recall a time when anyone stepped in to help with unwanted advances and attention.
One said: "When it’s older men we definitely can’t stand up to that and therefore when you are stuck in a situation, like on public transport, then you feel like you can’t really get away.
"And because the comments may seem so normalised to anyone watching, it makes you feel very vulnerable and scared.
She added: "I’ve never had anyone call anyone out on it, it’s always been bottled and held inside.
"I’ve spoken to friends and family about it. But women around me say it’s so normal to have that experience that nobody stands up to it."
The group feels it's as important as ever for a change to be made, particularly as some of those who harass them are younger men, often of a similar age.
They say the cycle needs to be broken.
"That’s the point of the petition because they [young men and boys] see these school uniforms being so actively pushed in sexual scenarios it perpetuates the idea that it’s okay to sexualise the uniforms and they are sexual symbols.
"It’s just not because it’s children."
Asked if in future the school uniform itself may need to be phased out to help protect girls and young women, Ms Maile said education is a "basic human right" and having to alter that in any way should not be needed.
She said: "It’s not the children’s fault, it’s not the school uniform’s fault, it’s to do with the perception beyond that.
"The school uniform is a part of school, it’s part of education, it’s a human right. It’s certainly not down to the phasing out of school uniforms, that shouldn’t be needed."
One of the students said banning the school uniform in pornography and sex shops is simply "a start" but whether it's legal or not certain people would find a way around it.
But she said the point of the campaign is to publicly challenge "the fact that it's so actively pushed" in the sex industry, and has become so accepted.
"It’s the connotations of having the school uniform sexualised, that’s what needs to be broken.
"It’s the profiting of the sex industry from the sexualisation of children as well," she added.
Ms Maile went on to say mainstream sites like Amazon are selling school uniforms which are described in a sexualised way.
She said: "To have a school uniform described as 'sexy schoolgirl outfit', 'naughty schoolgirl outfit' [on platforms like Amazon], we need to take away those adjectives because that shouldn’t be applied to a child’s outfit. That’s not okay."
The Mirror found just typing in 'schoolgirl costume' to the Amazon search immediately brings up suggestions like 'schoolgirl costume sexy' and 'schoolgirl cosplay for men'.
Asked why she thinks schoolgirl uniforms have become so associated with the sex industry, Ms Maile said: "It’s a strange one, since we’ve had this petition a lot of people have spoken to us and this universal idea about paedophilia and how shocking this is.
"And yet, the sexualisation of the school uniform, which is worn by children, seems to be totally okay and it seems so acceptable that you can go on Amazon and pick up these things, you can get next day next day Prime delivery on a sexy schoolgirl uniform if you so wish.
"It is very much speculation about what the appeal is. I would imagine it is to do with control and power."
When approached for comment Amazon directed the Mirror to the company's policies governing Offensive and Controversial Materials.
A spokesperson added that the policies are "posted publicly and we invest significant time and resources to ensure our content guidelines are followed".
The Mirror questioned whether the sexualised schoolgirl costumes didn't breach the following guideline: "Products depicting children or characters resembling children in a sexually suggestive manner."
However, the spokesperson failed to respond.
To sign the petition, click here.
