Congleton politician backs petition to ban school uniforms from porn
By Alex Greensmith
8th Jul 2022 | Local News
A female politician from Congleton has signed a local petition to end sexualisation of school uniforms.
Kay Wesley, who is the first Women's Equality Party Councillor in the UK, has just signed the viral petition which has over 12,000 signatures.
The petition urges the Government to make it illegal for school uniforms to be displayed and sold within sex shops to stop the sexualisation of children.
The campaign also calls for pornography to ban displaying videos where school uniforms are worn as a costume.
Pharmaceutical industry worker Kay, who is also a former Beaver Leader at Mossley Scout Group, was speaking in response to a request for comment from Congleton Nub News.
She was speaking in capacity of being the Leader of Women's Equality Party Cheshire East.
"This is a great and much-needed campaign," said Congleton resident Kay.
"Girls are sexualised and objectified from a very early age and this feeds into a toxic culture that has created an epidemic of male violence against women and girls in this country.
"Plan International showed that 35% of girls have been cat-called whilst wearing school uniform, and in 2021 Victim Focus found that 99.7% of women have been repeatedly sexually harassed or assaulted.
"So of course I was delighted when Sarah Maile of Sandbach High contacted us and asked for our support for this petition. I have shared it a number of times, as has the Cheshire East Branch of WEP and our Women's Equality Party colleagues around the country.
"Miss Maile has invited WEP to come and speak with the Feminism Group in Sandbach High and we will be delighted to do so.
"As I have seen from our White Ribbon visits to local schools, young people are highly engaged with these topics, which is great because they are our future.
"Sexual harassment and abuse are a cause and a consequence of inequality. To bring about lasting change, we need young women and, importantly, young men, to drive this change."
As the campaign began just down the road from Congleton, our sister site Sandbach Nub News went to speak with the teacher who is helping spread awareness of the campaign.
The online petition was launched by members of the Feminism Group at Sandbach High School and Sixth Form College.
Sarah Maile, religious studies teacher, PSHCE and Citizenship Co-ordinator who helped students organise the petition .
"I am inordinately proud of the incredible young people I work with at Sandbach High School, all of them," she said.
"The recent strength, bravery and determination which has come from our feminism group has absolutely blown me away.
"These young people raised a concern, discussed it, analysed it, and decided to actively challenge it on a national scale by challenging government and huge retailers such as Amazon."
"They have received a large amount of media attention from national and international outlets and generally a huge amount of support from all across the country.
"But they have faced some adversity, to which they have responded with grace and maturity.
"We gathered nearly 8,500 signatures in a month, and we then decided to reach out to the local community, I was nervous as we have seen mixed comments on other online forums, however words can't express my love and gratitude for our community.
"Thank you for those who have responded with such positively and kindness and for really forming a strong hold of support for our children."
On hearing the petition had passed 10,000 signatures, she commented: "We did it! The government has to reply now!
"We are so grateful to you. I have been lucky enough to have been a part of this incredible community for 13 years and I absolutely love it but last night it felt more like home than ever, like a huge family community taking care of its young people."
The government now must respond to the petition, but if they get 88,000 more signatures, it will be debated in parliament.
The nearest sex shop to Congleton is Temptations Adult Shop in Crewe. They have been contacted for comment.
Congleton: The petition can be signed here.
Find out more about what the Women's Equality Party does in our area on Facebook.
They also have a website.
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