A group of teenage girls from a school in Oxfordshire have done something a lot of adults have been too awkward to do. They’ve said out loud that wearing their school uniform in public gets them sexual comments from grown men, and they’ve asked the government to do something about it.
The girls are members of the Little Feminist Bookclub at The Cooper School in Bicester. In September they started a petition on Change.org asking the Prime Minister to ban school uniform from pornography altogether, and to restrict the way “school girl” costumes are sold and promoted. By 3 November more than 44,000 people had signed it.
I teach in a secondary school and my daughter Zara has just started Year 7, so I read this one twice. Here’s the thing. None of it surprised me, and that’s the bit that bothers me most.
What the girls are actually asking for
Their argument is pretty simple. A school uniform exists for one reason, which is that children wear it. So when porn uses it as a costume, it’s using childhood as the selling point, whatever the age of the adults on screen. The girls say that seeps into real life, and that it’s part of why they get looks and comments on the bus home.
Their local MP, Calum Miller, is backing them. In a statement shared on the petition he said: “I was shocked to hear some of them feel anxious to wear uniform because adults make sexual comments towards them.”
They’re not asking for uniforms to be scrapped, by the way. They’re asking for the people who sexualise them to be stopped.
What the law changes on Friday 6 November
This is where it gets a bit more hopeful, though the girls are clear it doesn’t go far enough.
From Friday 6 November, under the Crime and Policing Act 2026, it becomes a criminal offence in England and Wales to possess or publish pornography that explicitly and realistically shows sexual activity where a reasonable person would think someone involved is, or is pretending to be, under 16. The government’s guidance on the new offences says possession can mean up to three years in prison, and publishing up to five. The same day, porn showing strangulation or suffocation, and porn showing sex between relatives, also becomes illegal to own or share.
The gap the girls have spotted is the age line. The new offence is about pretending to be under 16. Somebody in a school uniform can simply claim to be playing a 17 year old, and some sixth forms still have a uniform. That’s why they want a straight ban on the uniform itself, rather than a test about what age the performer is pretending to be. For now, that isn’t what the law says.
There’s one more bit of law worth knowing. Since 1 April 2026, deliberately harassing, alarming or distressing someone in public because of their sex has been a specific offence in England and Wales, with up to two years in prison. That covers streets, parks, buses, trains, taxis and shops. So the bloke shouting at a girl in uniform on the way home isn’t just being “a bit much”. Depending on what he does, he may well be committing a crime.
So what can dads actually do?
First, ask. Not a big sit down chat, just a casual “has anyone ever said anything weird to you on the way to school?” in the car or on a walk. I asked Zara and got an eye roll and a “Dad, no”, which is fine. The point is she now knows it’s a thing I’ll take seriously. The NSPCC’s advice on talking to children about online safety makes the same point about picking a calm moment, like a car journey, and keeping it part of everyday life rather than one big talk.
Second, if she does tell you something, believe her and keep your face calm. I know. Every instinct is to go and find the man. But if your reaction is the scariest part, she might not tell you next time.
Third, know where to take it. If she’s in danger right now, that’s 999. Otherwise you can report harassment to the police on 101. If it happened on the way to or from school, tell the school too and ask for the designated safeguarding lead, because they’ll often know if other pupils have had the same thing on the same route.
Fourth, and this one’s for the dads of boys as much as girls. Some kids come across porn before anyone has talked to them about it, sometimes completely by accident, and this campaign is a decent way in. The NSPCC has a guide to talking to your child about online porn, including explaining that porn is a performance and not real life, and talking about consent and boundaries. Tobi is eight, so we’re not there yet. But I’d rather think about it now than be caught out.
And if you want to talk it through with someone first, the NSPCC Helpline is on 0808 800 5000, 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. Kids can call Childline themselves any time on 0800 1111.
Why it matters
What strikes me about this campaign is who’s running it. It’s not a charity or a politician. It’s a handful of girls aged 14 and 15 who got fed up of feeling watched in clothes they’re told to wear. They’ve already got a law change partly going their way, whatever happens next.
Whether or not you sign the petition, the least we can do as dads is make sure our own kids know they can tell us when it happens. That’s a lesson for all of us, me included.
Join Dadsnet
Weekly dad stuff that actually helps. No spam, just the good bits.
