Every school could appoint a teacher to tackle violence against girls
The move follows research by the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) which found one in eight (13 per cent) of 4,700 secondary teachers surveyed had reported a child sexually assaulting another pupil at their school in the past term.
That equates to just over 3,000 of the 233,000 teachers in secondary schools in England and Wales.
The charity, which was set up with a £200 million endowment from the Home Office, recommended that every school should appoint a lead teacher to tackle violence against women and girls.
It said evidence showed that school initiatives to combat sexual violence – such as lessons, awareness campaigns and training – could reduce dating and relationship violence by an average of 17 per cent.
A government source indicated the proposal was being considered ahead of Labour publishing its strategy on violence against women and girls this summer. Labour has pledged to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.
It comes amid growing concern about the scale of sexual violence and misogyny among teenagers, which academics have blamed on the influence of social media and figures such as Andrew Tate.
It was highlighted in the Netflix drama Adolescence which portrayed a 13-year-old boy killing a classmate after being radicalised by misogyny online.
Previous research by the YEF, based on 10,000 teenagers, found nearly half (49 per cent) of 13- 17-year-olds in a romantic relationship that year experienced violent or controlling behaviour – equivalent to 464,345 children in England and Wales, or one in eight teenagers.
Jon Yates, chief executive of the YEF, said: 'Netflix's Adolescence has shone a much-needed spotlight on the toxic influences boys are growing up with. It's time to act.
'Research shows that lessons on healthy relationships can make a real difference. The Labour government has the opportunity to make a bold statement that violence against women and girls will not be tolerated.
'Over the past decade, schools have led the charge in breaking down the stigma around mental health and providing crucial support for young people. With the right resources, training and leadership, they can have a similar transformative impact in tackling violence against women and girls.'
Yet the latest research, published on Thursday, found many teachers felt ill-equipped to tackle the problem.
The surveys of up to 6,000 staff by TeacherTapp, suggested more than half (55 per cent) of secondary school teachers said they lacked the confidence or expertise to deliver personal, social and health education (PSHE) to children.
Nearly a third (31 per cent) of secondary teachers who taught PSHE had never received training to deliver these subjects while 45 per cent said they lacked confidence in teaching how to intervene if someone witnessed a sexual assault
The charity urged the Government to invest £1 million to pilot the creation of lead teachers to tackle violence against women and girls across 50 schools and colleges.
They would be responsible for drawing up school-wide strategies, improving PHSE lessons, bringing in specialist external providers and training other staff members.
The Government should then be prepared to invest £35 million in England and £2 million in Wales to scale up the initiative if shown to be successful.
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