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More than a third of secondary teachers have reported misogynistic behaviour from pupils at their school in the last week, a survey commissioned by BBC News suggests. About 40% of the teachers who responded also said they felt ill-equipped to handle such conduct.
The BBC asked 6,000 secondary teachers about their experiences of misogyny in the classroom, using the survey tool Teacher Tapp.
It comes as teachers and parents say they are increasingly worried about the misogynistic and violent content that children – especially boys – are being exposed to online.
Beacon Hill Academy, a secondary school in Dudley, has a “zero tolerance” approach to derogatory language in the classroom, and takes tough action before it leads to more serious behaviour.
Head teacher Sukhjot Dhami says the Netflix drama Adolescence has raised awareness among parents, but misogynistic views in schools “have always been there”.
After Adolescence aired, Mr Dhami sent a letter to Beacon Hill parents explaining some of the emojis used by incels, or “involuntary celibates” – a type of misogynistic online culture – and a guide to some of the language to look out for.
He says he’s “extremely worried” about the access young people now have to spaces online where hate is normalised.
“I’ve done parental sessions in school,” he says, “and we’re emphasising to parents that they really have to get control of what their child is seeing and doing at home.”
Beacon Hill Academy uses data gathered in classrooms to identify safeguarding issues early. If a pupil says something sexist in class, or types something offensive on a school computer, it will be logged so the school has a joined-up view of the pupil’s behaviour.
A recent study by researchers at University College London (UCL) found teenage girls in England are significantly less likely to feel safe in school than their male peers since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The government has recently published specific guidance for secondary teachers on how to deal with pupils showing signs of extreme misogyny in the classroom, particularly around incel culture.
But teachers say wider guidance on misogyny is needed in relationships, health and sex education (RHSE), which has been compulsory in all schools in England since 2020.
A spokesperson said more online protections outside of the classroom were also being brought in as part of the Online Safety Act.
PE teacher Karl Quiney says he is worried about the numbers of teenage boys who are being exploited by online misogyny at a difficult time in their lives.
“We see a range of emotions amongst the young lads as they are growing into young men,” Mr Quiney says. “There are certain signs of vulnerability – that feeling of self worth, needing that feeling of belonging.”
He says teachers need to counteract the online influencers promoting toxic masculinity.
“If they’re shown celebrity status with lots of money and fast cars, that’s a really powerful message for young men who look around them and haven’t got those material things,” Mr Quiney says. “Our role as teachers is to provide them with positive role models.”
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