British teachers will be trained to tackle misogyny in the classroom as part of a new strategy to halve violence against women and girls over the next decade, a minister told parliament on Thursday.
The new strategy would deploy “the full power of the state” to introduce a shared approach to tackling violence against women and girls, Protection Minister Jess Phillips told MPs.
The £20 million plan comes as the latest statistics show more than 40% of young men have a positive opinion of manosphere influencer Andrew Tate, according to a government statement citing research by NGO Hope Not Hate.
In the last year alone, one in eight women have been victims of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking, Phillips said.
“For too long, the scale of violence against women and girls has been taken for granted in our country,” she added.
Fight against “radicalization”
As part of the strategy, all secondary schools in England will need to teach pupils 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 refer those at high risk to support focused on tackling misogyny.
Phillips said the battle would no longer be left to crime-fighting departments alone to fight in isolation.
Bringing the fight into classrooms would help “stop violence before it starts,” she said, adding that “the proliferation of content that can poison young minds” has never been greater.
“Our strategy tackles radicalization and confronts concerning behavior well before it escalates into abuse or violence.
“We need to empower teachers to challenge harmful attitudes and take action before they escalate,” she said.
A new helpline will be launched, aimed at students concerned about their own behavior.
Ban on “nudification” tools
The government would also ban so-called “nudification” tools that allow users to remove the clothes of people being photographed.
It will also work with tech companies to prevent children from taking, viewing or sharing nude images through “nudity detection filters,” Phillips said.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the strategy aimed to “advance education and conversation with boys and young men”.
“I want my daughter to grow up in a Britain where she feels safe at school, online and in her relationships,” he said on X.
“Every young girl deserves this, and every young boy should be protected from harmful misogynistic influences. My government does this by supporting teachers,” he added.
The strategy comes after Starmer said earlier this year that Netflix’s raunchy drama “Adolescence” would be shown in secondary schools.
The tragedy of a 13-year-old boy who stabbed a girl to death after being radicalized on the Internet has sparked a broad debate about the toxic and misogynistic influences to which young boys are exposed on the Internet.
