PROGRAMMES to tackle endemic levels of sexual harassment and gender-based violence in schools should be embedded into the curriculum and school ethos, it is claimed.

The call was made by anti-violence organisations and backed by teachers and pupils at St John Ogilvie High School in Hamilton, which is taking part in a ground-breaking project aiming to reduce levels of gender-based violence for the next generation.

The three year pilot – co-ordinated by Rape Crisis Scotland and Zero Tolerance and supported by the Scottish Government – was launched last September amidst worrying reports of rising levels of harassments in schools, which is said to be a societal problem. The most recent Scottish sexual violence figures show a 26% rise in three years, with rapes increasing by 4% in the past year to 1755.

The stats highlighted a significant rise in “other sexual crime”, which included sexting, with 79% of the victims young women with a median age of 15. Almost 60% of victims are under 16.

Research this year by the YWCA Scotland, the young women’s movement, found 91% of 11-16 year olds considered sexual harassment or gender based bullying to be a problem at their school. More than half claimed it was dismissed by staff as “boys mucking around”.

Last year a survey from Girlguiding found two thirds of girls aged 13-21 experienced sexual harassment while at school, from sexist jokes to unwanted touching, and being exposed to explicit videos or porn. According to BBC research, 5500 sexual offences were reported to police as having taken place in UK schools over a three year period to July 2015, including 600 rapes.

The Equally Safe at School pilot project, run by Rape Crisis in partnership with Zero Tolerance, will now work with eight schools across the country over two years, with hopes that it will then be rolled out across the country.

St John Ogilvie High School, the first to take part, has now completed its introductory year of the programme, and is already reporting its positive impact.

In the “whole school approach” an action committee is led by staff and pupils considering everything from improving reporting mechanisms for harassment to ensuring gender equality.

Teachers and young people told the Sunday National they had seen a reduction in use of gender-based insults used by pupils, while trained staff felt better equipped to deal with everything from “casual” harassment in the corridors to sexting and gender-based bullying.

Rachel Adamson, director of Zero Tolerance, said: “Global evidence shows that the best way to prevent this is to embed gender inequality and prevention of violence against women and girls messaging across a whole school and its curriculum.

“Equally Safe at School should be rolled out across Scotland. Without this approach incidents of sexual harassment and sexual violence are brushed aside by staff and not taken sufficiently seriously by school leaders.”

Hannah Brown, co-ordinator of the Equally Safe at School project, said: “Young people are facing issues around sexual harassment right around the country.

“The point of this pilot is to develop something that we hope can be rolled out on a national level. We want to develop a really solid project and look at how that would work in all schools.”

Lorna Lawson, headteacher of St John Ogilvie High, said she believed it was “a societal issue”. “Schools have a pivotal role to play because they have daily contact with pupils and can have conversations and dialogue about addressing behaviours that can be linked to all sorts of issues,” she added.

A spokeswoman from Girlguiding Scotland, which continues to campaign on the issue, said that education had a vital role to play in challenging the culture. It is calling for a personal and social education (PSE) to cover issues including consent and harassment.

“By taking a zero tolerance approach early on, we can send the message that sexual harassment is never acceptable and create a more equal future,” she added.

Equalities Minister Christina McKelvie said: “We want every child and young person in Scotland to develop mutually respectful, responsible and confident relationships with other children, young people and adults.

“That’s why we are supporting the Equally Safe at School pilot. We look forward to considering the impact of the pilot and how we build on this in the future.”