More than half of teachers say misogyny in schools has worsened – poll

More than half (54%) of teachers would say misogyny in schools has become worse in recent years, a poll has found.

More than three in four (78%) of school teachers questioned by YouGov said they see misogyny as a big problem in UK schools.

Of the 1,016 teachers questioned, nearly one in four (24%) said they were aware of misogynistic comments being made towards female staff on at least a weekly basis – increasing to 39% of secondary school teachers.

Nearly two in five (37%) of secondary teachers said they heard misogynistic comments made towards female pupils most days or more often.

Teachers in general were less likely to see misogyny as a big problem at their own school, at 45%. However, for secondary school teachers, two in three (67%) said misogyny was a big problem at their school.

Misogynistic commenting was the behaviour teachers said they heard most often. Nearly one in five female secondary school teachers (19%) typically saw boys at their school being less respectful to female staff.

Teachers were most likely to say they saw social media influencers as the source of misogynistic behaviour at school, and 88% said they supported a ban on under-16s using social media.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said while schools do their best to educate pupils about safe and healthy relationships, “incidents of misogyny appear to be on the rise online and within society, with significant world leaders and influencers being able to portray overtly misogynistic views, opinions and actions with no rebuttal.

“There remains a pressing need for more support and guidance to be made available to teachers to talk to pupils about this issue and on how to address instances when they arise, something school leaders called for at our annual conference.”

Earlier this year, Government guidance published on relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in schools said pupils should be given the opportunity to discuss sexual norms by so-called “involuntary celibates” (incels) or online influencers by the end of secondary school.

The guidance also emphasised children should be taught how to combat misogyny and find positive male role models, as the Department for Education (DfE) warned misogynistic attitudes had reached an “epidemic scale” among young people.

The guidance said secondary school pupils should be taught about the prevalence of “deepfakes” and how pornography can portray “misogynistic” attitudes and present harmful activities as normal.

A DfE spokesperson said: “Misogynistic views are not innate, they are learned, and the Education Secretary has been clear she is committed to using every possible tool to achieve our mission of halving violence against women and girls, as part of our plan for change.

“Our updated RSHE guidance responds to the realities facing children today so that all young people understand healthy relationships and can identify positive role models, and our new funded resources and training grants for teachers will help them run engaging and age-appropriate lessons.”