This article touches on sexual assault and harassment, which some may find upsetting.
A website exposing rape culture at Britain's schools has been inundated with harrowing testimonies from students.
In the last 24 hours alone, 2,000 people have bravely shared their stories on Everyone's Invited, including accounts of rape, sexual harassment and assault. The site now hosts more than 11,000 anonymous testimonies from victims remembering their time at school and university.
Crucially, survivors are able to retain their anonymity – and so for them, sharing their stories can provide the closure they may need without their names being forever attached to their ordeals.
"I was 12 at the time and had just joined a new school," one testimony reads. "I had a science teacher who was in his 60s, and he would constantly try to touch me, hug me and hold my hand.
"I would always just brush it off because I thought he was just trying to be nice until one time in the middle of class he began stroking my back and put his hand on my bum and held it there. I then tried to report him to the deputy head with a large group of other girls but nothing happened and he’s still teaching there today."
A woman, who is a former student of the prestigious public Westminster School, stated that one of its teachers made "endless comments about her appearance".
She added: "He would continuously call me ‘beautiful’, refer to me as ‘a hot sixth former’ to others, and then once placed me in a game ‘smash or pass’."
Another woman, who studied at Oxford University, explained that she was raped by a Ph.D. student who had invited her to his home. When she told the university about the incident, she claims he was never investigated.
She wrote: "Went through the police but he lied about consent so my case got thrown out on lack of evidence. Went to the university but they would only let me sign a no-contact agreement together with him instead of giving him a no-contact order.
"He was never investigated, let alone reprimanded. I’m still suffering from the effects of PTSD. I can only hope what happened to me won’t happen to other women again."
The testimonies shared have sparked a public outcry over rape culture at British schools with some of the country's top private schools including Eton College, St Paul's Boys' School, Dulwich College, Wellington College and Highgate School all named in these accounts.
Responding to the upsetting accounts, education secretary Gavin Williamson described the revelations as "shocking and abhorrent".
Taking to Twitter, he wrote: "No school – whether an independent school or state school - should ever be an environment where young people feel unsafe, let alone somewhere that sexual abuse can take place. The allegations that I have heard in recent days are shocking and abhorrent."
Williamson added: "Any victim of these sickening acts that we’ve seen reported should raise their concerns with someone they trust, whether that’s a family member or friend, a teacher, social worker, or the police. We will take appropriate action."
While many of the testimonies share very similar themes and details, each has its own individual nuances.
Some of the survivors have opened up about having nude photos of themselves shared around their school or university without their consent. Others delved into painful memories of being taken advantage of while drunk at a party.
Many explain that they were unaware that they had been raped until long after the incident had occurred.
VT spoke to feminist organisation Rape Crisis about the impact Everyone's Invited has had on victims of sexual assault. Spokesperson Katie Russell told us:
"The volume and variety of testimonials about sexual violence and abuse being shared in recent days are a stark reminder of just how widespread these experiences are, and how very many people are impacted.
"As many victims and survivors of these traumatic crimes tell no one in their lives at the time, and the majority don’t report to the police, having a safe outlet to give voice to what they’ve been through anonymously can be an important part of the therapeutic and healing process."
The online platform, Everyone's Invited, was founded last year by a woman named Soma Sara in a bid to "eradicate" rape culture. And true to its name, the site has since created an atmosphere in which people from all walks of life feel that they, too, can share their experiences.
It all started when the 22-year-old University College London graduate began sharing her own experiences in relation to rape culture on her Instagram account.
The young activist then started receiving a number of messages from people who resonated with her story and felt the need to share their own. And thus, Everyone's Invited was born.
Sara recently spoke about the media's tendency to focus predominantly on the renowned private schools named in the testimonies. And the Instagram account for Everyone's Invited has since posted a snippet of her statement on the topic:
"In news reports until now, private schools have featured prominently. But while famous public schools grab headlines, they are by no means the only places where it thrives, and its prevalence is overshadowed by the focus on a handful of institutions."
Sara continued:
"These are not the actions of a 'few bad apples'. The London I grew up in was characterised by an endemic rape culture.
"Boys, girls, parents, and teachers were, often unknowingly, upholding this culture, which blames victims, silences survivors, and preserves deeply entrenched abuse."
Sara went on to say that rape culture is "endemic" within the education system as a whole – but that Everyone's Invited would continue to dedicate its time to providing a safe space for victims to speak out until their voices are heard.
Rape Crisis provides specialist, confidential support and advocacy for those impacted by sexual violence and misogynistic abuse.
For anyone looking for information or specialist services after any form of sexual violence or abuse, no matter when or how it happened, the organisation encourages you to visit the rapecrisis.org.uk website to find out more.
