UK teachers to tackle misogyny in the classroom

Prime Minister Keir Starmer takes part in a session with Year 7 and 13 pupils during a visit this month to St Mary Magdalene school in London to discuss issues surrounding violence against women and girls. Photo / Eddie Mulholland, POOL, AFP

UK teachers will be trained to tackle misogyny in the classroom under a new strategy aimed at halving violence against women and girls over the next decade, a minister has told Parliament.

The new strategy would deploy “the full power of the state” to introduce a joined-up approach to cracking down on violence against women and girls, Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips told MPs.

The £20 million ($46.3m) plan comes as latest statistics showed over 40% of young men held a positive view of so-called manosphere influencer Andrew Tate, a government statement said, citing research by NGO Hope Not Hate.

Over the past year alone, one in every eight women was a victim of domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking, said Phillips.

“For too long the scale of violence against women and girls has been treated as a fact of life in our country.”

Tackling ‘radicalisation’

Under the strategy, all secondary schools in England will have to teach students about healthy relationships.

Teachers will receive specialist training to talk to pupils about issues such as consent and the dangers of sharing intimate images.

The most worrying attitudes would be tackled early, with schools able to send high-risk individuals for support focused on challenging misogyny.

Phillips said the battle would no longer be left to crime-fighting departments alone to tackle in isolation.

Taking the fight into classrooms would help “stop the violence before it starts”, she said, adding “the proliferation of content with the potential to poison young minds” had never been greater.

“Our strategy tackles radicalisation and confronts concerning behaviour long before it spirals into abuse or violence.

“We must empower teachers to challenge harmful attitudes and act before they escalate,” she said.

A new helpline would be launched, targeted at pupils concerned about their own behaviour.

Ban on ‘nudification’ tools

The Government would also ban so-called “nudification” tools that allow users to strip clothes from those in photographs.

It will also work with tech companies to make it impossible for children to take, view or share nude images through “nudity detection filters”, Phillips said.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the strategy was about “driving forward education and conversation with boys and young men”.

“I want my daughter to grow up in a Britain where she feels safe in school, online, and in relationships,” he said on X.

“Every young girl deserves that, and every young boy should be protected from harmful misogynistic influences. My government is making that happen, by backing teachers.”

The strategy comes after Starmer earlier this year said the searing Netflix drama Adolescence would be shown in secondary schools.

The drama about a 13-year-old boy who stabs a girl to death after being radicalised on the internet sparked widespread debate about the toxic and misogynistic influences young boys are exposed to on the internet.

- Agence France-Presse