IT is claimed that children as young as 12 are being sexually harassed in Fermanagh, as new figures show that sexual offences in Northern Ireland have increased by almost five per cent in the past year.

According to Fermanagh Women’s Aid, sexual harassment is a symptom of a wider culture of misogyny in Northern Ireland, with 75 per cent of girls reporting street harassment by the age of 16.

In 2022/23, 4,232 sexual offences were recorded by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, who state that any form of sexual abuse and harassment is a crime of a sexual nature. They further assert that “sexual violence and abuse involve forcing someone to take part in sexual activities against their consent or understanding.”

A special report by The Impartial Reporter has examined the experiences of children between the ages of 12 and 18, who this week recount their experiences of being allegedly sexually harassed in Fermanagh.

Maggie (not her real name), from Brookeborough, claims to have been sexually harassed when she was a child.

She recalls sitting on her school bus when a 16-year-old boy put his hand on her thigh and made her feel “uncomfortable and scared.”

“He then added me on Snapchat and proceeded to send a completely unwanted picture of his genitals. He told me how ‘hot’ I looked in my uniform.”

When asked whether she reported this incident, she said, “no.”

Maggie also discussed her experience of being harassed years later – at 17 years old – on a night out when a man unwantedly “grabbed”

her chest and “wrapped his hands around me.”

Sadie (not her real name), from Enniskillen, said she has faced the “normal amount of sexual harassment,” suggesting that it is now “embedded in the daily lives of women.”

“I have been ‘catcalled’ while walking the street on nights out ever since I was 16. These incidents have included men screaming things out the window.”

She talked about how “uncomfortable” the experience was but did not report it to the PSNI because “it did not seem like a big enough deal to report it.”

Georgia (not her real name), from Enniskillen, spoke about how inappropriate language was shouted at her when she was 16 years old and a group of young men drove past her.

She said she felt “scared” that they might turn the car around and try it again. In another incident, a man “made unwanted advances by trying to touch my behind at a friend’s birthday party.”

“I feel angry, but did not know who it was by the time I turned around,” she says.

Amy (not her real name), from Enniskillen, said she was 13 when she was “sitting in a classroom” and a schoolboy had his hand on her “upper back and waist.”

“He tried to touch my bottom,” she said, adding that he persisted in touching her three times.

“He also asked me to send inappropriate pictures of myself. He would try to sit on my lap in class and wouldn’t stop when I asked.”

When asked why she never reported it to the school or police, she said it was “not something I wanted to make a big deal about.”

“I was worried about being embarrassed if I reported it, that it would not be taken seriously.”

She added, “His friends had noticed how weird he was towards me, but he had told them that I wanted it.”

Leah (not her real name), from Enniskillen, recalled an incident when a man touched her behind while she was at her school formal. She stated how excited she was for the day, saying, “It’s all I had been looking forward to for months and it was my last one, so I was beyond excited to go.”

She claimed the incident happened when she walked into the venue and stopped by the bar.

“I could not find my date, and then I felt someone trying to grab my behind. I looked up and realised what had happened. I just continued to walk on.

“I felt dazed; I went into shock because I tried to convince myself it was not real. I didn’t want it to ruin my night.”

Interim Chief Executive of Fermanagh Women’s Aid, Kerrie Flood, said sexual harassment and abuse form part of a “pattern of control and coercion by perpetrators of domestic violence.”

“This includes situations where women are coerced into sexual compliance in the hope that it may reduce the length or severity of assaults. Here in Fermanagh, in 2022/23, 12 per cent of women accessing support identified some form of sexual abuse, with a further 19 per cent identifying harassment as an issue at the point of referral.

“We know, however, that these numbers underestimate the true harm, given the fear and shame women