Adolescence the Netflix Series is very much in the media and questions have even been asked in Parliament about the issues it raises. It is a gritty and thought provoking series about young people, social media, bullying and the tragedy of peer violence which culminates in the murder of a school girl. Sadly, many young people are subject to bullying and also peer sexual violence. In fact the statistics according to the National Police Chiefs Council report, which looked at data from all 42 police forces in England and Wales released in January 2024: 106,984 child sexual abuse offences were reported in 2022, 52% involved reports of children (aged 10 to 17) offending against other children with 14 being the most common age. So peer abuse is increasing and perhaps that has a lot to do with social media. 27% were offences relating to indecent images of children.
If you have been subject to peer abuse – in some ways it can be harder to lay the blame with the Abuser. This is because the power dynamic with peer abuse can be very complex as it could be easier to see the power dynamics with an adult abusing a child than a child abusing another child. This struggle to see the power play can lead victims to feel they are complicit with peer abuse. This is important as the context in which the trauma happens makes a big difference to people’s recovery. With peer abuse because it is a child or young person as the abuser; it can confuse victims into thinking that they are somehow responsible for the abuse or should be more understanding as a child or young person is the abuser. However, we can draw a parallel with bullying. Bullying is a common occurrence in children and most people acknowledge this. There are peer and power dynamics in bullying and this is the same with peer sexual abuse. We can understand there might be reasons for bullying/abuse that might be in a child’s life; but this does not excuse it or diminish its impact on the victim. We may need to reassure ourselves with support that we are not complicit in any way towards the abuse – and that any shame we may be carrying does not belong to us.