School Urges 'Modesty' To Avoid Sex Predators

A row has broken out after a school in Scotland sent a letter to parents advising students to dress modestly to avoid being targeted by "sexual predators".

King's Park Secondary in Glasgow issued the letter warning of evidence that adults are photographing children in revealing uniforms and using the internet to groom them.

The move has been described as "dangerous and unhelpful" by the Scottish Parent Teacher Council which accused the school of using "shock tactics".

The SPTC went as far as accusing the school of putting the blame for sex crimes on children and echoing the controversial argument which links rape with women's dress.

The school letter states: "We believe that an appropriate school uniform (eg school trousers, knee length school skirts etc) protects children from being targeted by sexual predators.

"There is refer evidence in the south of Glasgow of adults photographing school girls in short skirts and school girls/boys in tight trousers, then grooming them through the internet."

The letter ends with a call to do "all we can to keep our children safe" and claims a "modest" school uniform is "more approriate than fashion skirts, trousers or tops".

However, SPTC chief executive Eileen Prior said: "Creating a link between school uniform and paedophilia seems to be a dangerous and unhelpful one for everyone involved.

"It implies that young people are in some way responsible for the activities of paedophiles, which is an extremely dangerous argument and one which has echoes of the comments sometimes made around rapists and women's dress."

She added: "If there is evidence of activity by a paedophile in the area, then police and parents should be informed and involved."

The letter sent by the Glasgow school follows the conviction of a 39-year-old local man who posed as a 14-year-old girl on the internet and made children perform sex acts in front of web cameras.

Barry McCluskey was convicted of a total of 49 offences dating back to 2003.

Parents of children at King's Park have now been sent a follow-up letter by the head teacher, Margaret Barr.