Sexual bullying in UK schools

Some 3,500 students were suspended and 140 expelled from school last year for sexual misconduct - "anything from sexualised name-calling to spreading rumours about someone's sexual behaviour, to criminal offences such as assault and rape," the BBC reports. The problem is on the increase, the Times Online reports, citing the experience of Kidscape, a British nonprofit organization that operates a bullying helpline. The helpline has gone from three calls a year about sexual bullying to the current average of three calls a week, Kidscape says. The government has "asked the Anti Bullying Alliance to draw up guidance for teachers on tackling sexual bullying," The Independent reports. "The guidance will tackle inappropriate language, advise teachers on how to manage cases of harassment, and encourage healthy friendships between teenage boys and girls amid concerns of misogynistic attitudes linked to gang culture.