The Educator Magazine U.K. May-August issue - Magazine - Page 60
Top safeguarding
training experts give
advice on how to
tackle misogyny in
schools to effectively
safeguard children
Netflix’s new show Adolescence highlights the dangers of misogyny amongst children and young
people. Education and safeguarding training experts, High Speed Training,explore this key topic
from the show and explain how to spot misogynistic behaviour and tackle these views in schools.
What is misogyny?
• Vulgar language/cat calling
Misogyny is the hatred of women. It can manifest as
contempt for, prejudice against or violence towards women
and/or girls. Misogyny is rooted in the belief that women are
inherently inferior because of their sex. It propagates
harmful gender based stereotypes on what a woman should
or shouldn’t do in society.
• Sharing intimate images without consent
Dr Richard Anderson, Head of Learning & Development
at High Speed Training says:
“Misogyny, like other forms of bias, can be both overt and subtle,
ranging from casual comments and cat-calling to more extreme
acts of violence towards women and girls. It’s crucial that we
recognise and challenge all forms of misogyny, no matter how
minor they may seem, because when left unaddressed, these
behaviours can escalate into more dangerous extremist views
and deeply entrenched attitudes.”
Misogyny in schools
When young pupils see sexist content online and then come
to school to share and discuss it, they echo the same views
and biases. If this is left unchallenged, the attitude is
normalised and female pupils are subjected to increasingly
misogynistic behaviour.
Misogynistic behaviour in schools can manifest as:
• Cyberbullying
• Sextortion
• Physical violence
• Harmful sexual behaviour
• Exclusion of female pupils from certain spaces or groups
Dr Anderson continues: “These behaviours don’t just harm
individual students and staff, it creates an entire environment
where girls and women can feel unsafe, silenced, and angry.
“It also distorts young people’s understanding of respect,
equality, and what healthy relationships should look like.”
How are children exposed to misogyny?
Children can be exposed to misogyny in many different ways.
They may live in households where misogynistic views are
often expressed and rarely challenged, or they may be
exposed to misogynistic content on television or online.
One of the most prominent ways in which children are
exposed to misogyny is online via social media. Extremely
controversial figures are often idolised by young boys who
consume their sexist content and adopt their misogynistic
rhetoric. These misogynistic content creators can act as a
gateway for many to dive further into the ‘manosphere.’
The manosphere is an online community of different forums,
blogs and websites that promote misogyny, opposition to
feminism and toxic masculinity. The manosphere ranges in
degree of extremity however what can begin as a seemingly
harmless interaction with a few websites or Reddit threads
that claim to discuss positive masculinity, can quickly descend
into violent and aggressive views towards women.
