No child should feel the need to self-harm, the Bishop of Gloucester has said in response to a report by the Children's Society.
Its annual Good Childhood report released today found nearly a quarter of 14-year-old girls and nine per cent of boys said they self-harmed.
Among those who were attracted to people of the same or both genders, rates of self-harm were 46 per cent. The report said gender stereotypes and worries about appearance were leading to children's unhappiness.
Rt Rev Rachel Treweek said: 'It is shocking that so many children are unhappy to the extent that they are self-harming.
'The issues raised around children unhappy with their appearance and lack of self-esteem resonate with my own engagement with young people.'
Treweek has campaigned on the issue of young people's self-image through her Liedentity project, aimed at combating the negative aspects of social media.
She said: 'This misleading message about human worth being rooted in visual appearance is perpetuated by advertising and social media. No child should feel unhappy because they don't conform to the expectations of their peers and society when it comes to different aspects of their identity.
'A focus on building and strengthening healthy relationships with family and friends is core to changing the message and I am deeply encouraged by The Children's Society's work in this area.'
