In brief: A student-led petition asking the UK government to ban school uniforms in pornography has passed 26,000 signatures, the BBC reported; Durham law professor Clare McGlynn said the new Crime and Policing Act offence does not cover all such content.
This is a serious policy story, and we’re covering it without jokes. Because the campaigners are students, we are not naming or quoting them.
Students at a school in Bicester, Oxfordshire, have launched a petition asking the government to ban school uniform in pornography, the BBC reported. It argues such content is “a clear example of material that sexualises children and young people.” It had passed 26,000 signatures, and the campaigners have written to the prime minister.
What the law already says
In April, the government agreed legislation, part of the Crime and Policing Act 2026, making it a criminal offence to possess or share pornographic content featuring adults pretending to be under 16. It has not yet come into force.
Clare McGlynn, professor of law at Durham University, welcomed the campaign and said uniform content isn’t necessarily covered:
Where someone says they’re pretending to be 17 and in school uniform, that’s not covered by the law.
The BBC cited a 2018 Plan International UK survey in which 35% of girls aged 14–21 reported unwanted sexual attention while wearing school uniform in public. For adult platforms and producers serving UK users, the coming offence and any extension to uniforms would mean more content-policy work, adding to the Online Safety Act’s age-check rules.
The petition has public support so far; what happens next depends on the government’s response.