Child-on-child sex assaults on the rise in Britain

Reports of child-on-child sexual offence in Britain are rising during recent four years to a total of almost 30,000, revealed police figures Monday.

Data from 38 of the 43 police forces across England and Wales released under a Freedom of Information request shows the number of reported sexual offences by under-18s on other under-18s rose by 71 percent from 4,603 in 2013 to 7,866 in 2016.

The number of reported rapes among the under-18 group increased from 1521 to 2223 over the same period, among which 225 rapes happened on school grounds.

Since March 2013 a total of 1,852 children under the age of ten were reported to police for sexual offences.

However, about 74 percent of the cases reported led to no further action as such cases are very hard to prosecute.

Police warned that these figures might only be "tip of the iceberg" as some young students were too scared to tell parents that they were sexually assaulted and some schools chose not to report to police.

In Britain, teachers have a legal duty to report an alleged assault by an adult but there is no such legal obligation if a child is accused. Schools are advised to follow their own child protection procedures.

BBC reported, quoting a mother of a school rape victim, that the girl was raped by a boy at her school. He was then arrested, bailed, and put back in his normal lessons, alongside his victim, the following day.

The Department for Education said: "Sexual assault is a crime and any allegation should be reported to the police... Schools should be safe places and they have a duty to protect all pupils and listen to any concerns."