Misogynistic behaviour among pupils draws growing attention in Britain

A scene in Adolescence, a British Netflix drama centered on a 13-year-old boy arrested for the murder of a young girl. /NETFLIX

A BBC survey released on Wednesday revealed that over one-third of secondary school teachers in England reported witnessing misogynistic behaviour from pupils in the past week, raising fresh concerns among educators, parents, and policymakers about harmful conduct in schools.

According to the survey, 39 per cent of the 6,000 secondary school teachers polled said they were aware of at least one incident of misogynistic behaviour by a student last week, while 10 per cent reported witnessing more than three such incidents.

The survey comes in the wake of the release of Adolescence, a British Netflix drama centered on a 13-year-old boy arrested for the murder of a young girl.

The show has sparked widespread debate about the misogynistic and violent content accessible to children and teenagers online.

The drama also prompted a meeting at Downing Street last week, during which Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed adolescent safety with the show's creators, youth charities, and young people.

Starmer said it is "vital" to openly discuss the conversations children have with their peers and the content they are exposed to, in order to "properly support them in navigating contemporary challenges, and deal with malign influences."

Following the meeting, the government announced that Adolescence would be made available to all secondary schools in Britain as an educational resource to help students understand the dangers of misogyny, online radicalisation, and the value of healthy relationships.

A recent study by University College London (UCL) found that teenage girls in England felt "significantly less safe" in 2023 than in 2019.

Girls in Year 9 were 22 per cent less likely to strongly agree they felt safe at school, a drop considerably steeper than the 13 per cent international average. Concerns about misogyny extend beyond the classroom.

The National Police Chiefs' Council and the College of Policing reported last year that violence against women and girls in England and Wales had reached an "epidemic scale," with such crimes increasing by 37 per cent between 2018 and 2023.

Amid this rising alarm, many teachers say they feel unprepared to address misogynistic behaviour.

The BBC survey found that 45 per cent of teachers want more guidance from the government on how to tackle the issue.

The British government has stated that statutory guidance on relationships, sex, and health education is currently under review.

In addition, the illegal content duties under the new Online Safety Act have come into force, requiring online platforms to ensure children have age-appropriate experiences and are shielded from dangerous content, including abusive and misogynistic material.