More than three-quarters of teachers see misogyny as a big problem in UK schools, according to a YouGov survey.
And 54 per cent of teachers responding to the poll warned that misogyny in schools has become worse in recent years.
Of the 1,016 teachers questioned, 24 per cent said they were aware of misogynistic comments being made towards female staff on at least a weekly basis - and the proportion increased to 39 per cent for secondary school teachers.
Nearly two in five secondary teachers said they heard misogynistic comments being made towards female pupils most days.
Across all of the teachers surveyed, 45 per cent said misogyny was a big problem at their school. For secondary teachers, this proportion rose to 67 per cent.
Misogynistic commenting was the behaviour teachers said they witnessed most often. Nearly one in five female secondary teachers typically saw boys at their school as being less respectful to female staff.
Misogyny in schools
Teachers were most likely to say they saw social media influencers as the source of misogynistic behaviour at school, and 88 per cent said they supported a ban on under-16s using social media.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said that 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 the government published guidance on relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in schools, saying that students should be given the opportunity to discuss sexual norms put forward by so-called “involuntary celibates” (incels) or online influencers by the end of secondary school.
The guidance also emphasised that children should be taught how to combat misogyny and find positive male role models, as the Department for Education warned that misogynistic attitudes had reached an “epidemic scale” among young people.
The guidance added that secondary school students should be taught about the prevalence of “deepfakes” and how pornography can portray “misogynistic” attitudes and present harmful activities as normal.
You can now get the UK’s most-trusted source of education news in a mobile app. Get Vlog magazine on and on
