Latest news with #misogyny
CNA
13 hours ago
- Politics
- CNA
UK schools to roll out lessons to counter misogyny, incel culture and online grooming
LONDON: English schools will begin teaching students how to recognise and resist misogynistic content online, the UK government said on Tuesday (Jul 15), in response to growing concerns over the influence of so-called manosphere figures like Andrew Tate. The new lessons, aimed at children aged 11 to 18, will cover topics such as 'incel' (involuntary celibate) culture, the link between pornography and misogyny, and the dangers posed by AI-generated deepfake content. COMBATING TOXIC ONLINE INFLUENCES The UK's Department for Education said misogynistic attitudes had reached 'epidemic scale' among young people, fuelled by internet influencers and harmful online communities. 'I want our children to be equipped to defy the malign forces that exist online,' said Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson. 'Schools and parents alike have a vital role to play, helping children identify positive role models and resist the manipulation too often used online to groom impressionable young minds.' The announcement follows the release of the Netflix drama Adolescence, which sparked national debate earlier this year for its depiction of toxic online influences on boys. The show centres on a radicalised 13-year-old boy who commits murder after being drawn into online incel culture. NEW CURRICULUM GUIDELINES Data published by the Department for Education showed that 54 per cent of students aged 11 to 19 had witnessed misogynistic comments in the past week. The new guidance encourages schools to challenge myths about relationships and help boys seek out healthier role models, without stigmatising boys 'for being boys.' Phillipson said the measures are designed to foster 'respectful and healthy attitudes' and protect students from harmful online narratives. Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised Adolescence and said the show would be screened in secondary schools. During last year's general election campaign, Starmer's Labour party pledged to halve the rate of violence against women and girls within a decade.
The Independent
15 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
How schools aim to tackle Andrew Tate and ‘incel' culture
New school guidance has been issued to teach children how to combat misogyny and resist ' incel ' culture, addressing the epidemic scale of misogynistic attitudes among young people. The framework aims to help boys find positive role models and counter sexist online content from 'manosphere' influencers, while also stressing the importance of not 'stigmatising boys for being boys'. Secondary schools will be required to educate pupils on AI, deepfakes, and the links between pornography and misogyny, alongside lessons on 'incel' culture. Unlike previous proposals, the new guidance scraps specific age limits for teaching certain topics but maintains the requirement for schools to provide parents with teaching materials. The guidance, which also includes provisions for mental health support and suicide prevention, can be implemented by schools from September this year and becomes mandatory from September 2026.
BBC News
15 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
RSHE and RSE: What do children learn in sex education?
Schools in England should teach children how to recognise and act against misogyny - prejudice against women - under new government guidance around sex education plans to impose age limits on certain subject areas, proposed by the previous Conservative government just before last year's election, will not go ahead. How is sex education taught in schools? Sex education is part of RSHE, which stands for relationships, sex and health is mandatory for RSHE to be taught in all secondary schools in schools must cover relationships and health education, but can choose whether or not to cover sex religious background of all pupils must be taken into account, to ensure that topics are appropriately handled. Why is RSHE controversial? One of the biggest issues is whether schools overstep boundaries and whether lessons are were protests across England in 2019, after the government said teaching about relationships and LGBT equality would become 2023, protesters outside a school in Manchester said children were being sexualised, and called for LGBT material to be Conservative prime minister, Rishi Sunak, brought forward a planned review of RSHE guidance but head teacher unions said they were "deeply concerned". Draft guidance, published just before the 2024 election, suggested sex education should not be taught before Year 5, while topics like sexual harassment and pornography should not be taught before Year in July 2025, the new Labour government released the final guidance, which outlined areas that should be introduced in primary school and what students should know by the end of secondary school - without assigning specific ages to individual topics. What does the new RSHE guidance say? The guidance requires primary schools to teach respectful relationships, boundaries and the risks of sharing information and images recommends that conception, birth and puberty is taught in Year 5 or Year 6 - but this will not be school teachers may also choose to discuss the sharing of naked images or online sexual content if it is affecting their pupils, or if they know that students have seen the end of secondary school, students should be taught how to keep themselves and others safe, including how to avoid sexually transmitted infections and unplanned in the secondary school curriculum include lessons on:The sexual norms endorsed by so-called "involuntary celibates" (incels) or online influencersAI-generated sexual imagery and deepfakesHow pornography links to misogynySexual ethics beyond consent and the awareness of power dynamicsIt says secondary-school pupils will learn about protected characteristics, such as sexual orientation and gender reassignment. But schools should not teach as fact that all people have a gender new guidance, which schools will begin implementing this autumn, will come into full legal force from September does trans mean and what is the Cass review?How can you keep children safe online? What are children currently taught in RSHE? Throughout primary school, children are taught about healthy, respectful relationships, focusing on family and friendships - including online and social also learn about physical health, parts of the body, boundaries and government strongly encourages schools to include teaching about different types of family and same-sex secondary school, relationships and sex education covers content on a wider range of key includes sex, sexual relationships, consent, online abuse, domestic abuse and female genital mutilation (FGM). Can parents see what's taught in RSHE? Yes. The 2025 guidance says schools should "proactively" engage with parents to ensure they are aware of what is being have the right to view all of their school's RSHE curriculum material and every school must publish its policy on its website and let parents know if there are any changes to this. Can parents remove their child from RSHE classes? In some cases, have a right to remove their child from some sex education lessons, but not from relationships can speak to the school about concerns, but do not have a right to change parts of the curriculum with which they can choose to opt back in from three terms before they turn 16. How is RSHE and RSE taught in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland? Northern IrelandRelationships and sexuality education (RSE) is mandatory for all pupils. Each school develops its own RSE policy in line with the school's secondary schools, a parent can remove a pupil from sessions covering sexual health and the prevention of early pregnancy and access to RSE lessons are has been a mandatory part of the curriculum since to schools sets out which "developmentally-appropriate" topics should be covered from age three to 16.A legal challenge to RSE by a group of parents was rejected in the High Court in authorities are responsible for the delivery of relationships, sexual health and parenthood (RSHP) education in and carers are allowed to view key teaching materials, and can withdraw their children from the sexual health elements of RSHP Scottish government is in the process of finalising updated guidance, after a public consultation in 2023.
The Independent
18 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Children to be taught how to resist Andrew Tate ‘incel' culture at school
Children will be taught to combat misogyny and resist 'incel' culture under new school guidance published on Tuesday. The relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) framework specifically aims to help boys find positive role models, countering the increasing spread of sexist online content from 'manosphere' influencers like Andrew Tate. It also stresses the need to avoid 'stigmatising boys for being boys'. Beyond lessons on 'incel' (involuntary celibate) culture, secondary schools will be required to provide young people with greater awareness of AI, deepfakes, and the links between pornography and misogyny. The guidance comes as the Department for Education (DfE) warned that misogynistic attitudes had reached 'epidemic scale' among young people, with 54 per cent of those aged 11-19 saying they had witnessed misogynist comments. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: 'Before I was elected to Parliament, I managed a refuge for women and children fleeing domestic violence, so I have seen first-hand the devastating impact when we don't foster healthy attitudes from the youngest age. 'I want our children to be equipped to defy the malign forces that exist online. Schools and parents alike have a vital role to play, helping children identify positive role models and resist the manipulation too often used online to groom impressionable young minds.' In its manifesto last year, Labour pledged to halve the rate of violence against women and girls in 10 years. And earlier in 2025, Sir Keir Starmer praised the Netflix drama Adolescence for highlighting how misogyny had 'taken on a different form' and said he wanted a discussion on what could be done to stop young boys 'being dragged into this whirlpool of hatred and misogyny'. Margaret Mulholland, of the Association of School and College Leaders, welcomed the new guidance and its focus on finding positive male role models for boys, saying it was 'important that we don't simply tell boys what is wrong'. The previous Conservative government proposed changing the guidance on RSHE in May last year, with then-prime minister Rishi Sunak expressing concern children were being exposed to 'inappropriate' content. The draft guidance, which was open to a nine-week consultation, proposed clear age limits on the teaching of certain topics to ensure children were not 'exposed to too much too soon'. It said sex education should be taught no earlier than Year 5, when pupils are aged nine to 10, and that what is described as the 'contested topic of gender identity' should not be taught at all. The proposed guidance said schools should 'at minimum' show parents a representative sample of teaching resources they plan to use and that schools 'should respond positively to requests from parents to see material that has not already been shared'. While Tuesday's revised guidance includes the requirement to provide parents with teaching materials, the new Government has scrapped the proposal to prescribe specific ages at which individual topics are taught. The DfE said there would be a 'strong new emphasis on age-appropriate' teaching, and a 'clear dividing line' between primary and secondary school. But the guidance would allow teachers to 'sensitively respond to topics that children might have seen online or heard from their friends', with research suggesting 22% of primary school-aged girls had seen 'rude images online'. Tuesday's guidance also includes requirements on helping children with their mental health, including working with mental health professionals to discuss suicide prevention 'in an age-appropriate way'. Children will be taught the importance of 'grit and resilience' in order to help them 'feel able to take on challenges and risks'. Andy Airey, Mike Palmer and Tim Owen – who founded suicide prevention charity 3 Dads Walking in memory of their daughters – said: 'Giving schools permission to talk about suicide prevention means more young people can be supported to open up about difficult feelings and know where to find help. 'We know, from painful personal experience, how much this matters. This change will save lives.' Schools will be able to implement the guidance from September this year, and must follow it from September 2026.
The Independent
21 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Anti-misogyny lessons to be taught in school in a bid to tackle sexism ‘epidemic'
Children will be taught to combat misogyny and resist 'incel' culture under new school guidance published on Tuesday. The relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) framework specifically aims to help boys find positive role models, countering the increasing spread of sexist online content from 'manosphere' influencers like Andrew Tate. It also stresses the need to avoid 'stigmatising boys for being boys'. Beyond lessons on 'incel' (involuntary celibate) culture, secondary schools will be required to provide young people with greater awareness of AI, deepfakes, and the links between pornography and misogyny. The guidance comes as the Department for Education (DfE) warned that misogynistic attitudes had reached 'epidemic scale' among young people, with 54 per cent of those aged 11-19 saying they had witnessed misogynist comments. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: 'Before I was elected to Parliament, I managed a refuge for women and children fleeing domestic violence, so I have seen first-hand the devastating impact when we don't foster healthy attitudes from the youngest age. 'I want our children to be equipped to defy the malign forces that exist online. Schools and parents alike have a vital role to play, helping children identify positive role models and resist the manipulation too often used online to groom impressionable young minds.' In its manifesto last year, Labour pledged to halve the rate of violence against women and girls in 10 years. And earlier in 2025, Sir Keir Starmer praised the Netflix drama Adolescence for highlighting how misogyny had 'taken on a different form' and said he wanted a discussion on what could be done to stop young boys 'being dragged into this whirlpool of hatred and misogyny'. Margaret Mulholland, of the Association of School and College Leaders, welcomed the new guidance and its focus on finding positive male role models for boys, saying it was 'important that we don't simply tell boys what is wrong'. The previous Conservative government proposed changing the guidance on RSHE in May last year, with then-prime minister Rishi Sunak expressing concern children were being exposed to 'inappropriate' content. The draft guidance, which was open to a nine-week consultation, proposed clear age limits on the teaching of certain topics to ensure children were not 'exposed to too much too soon'. It said sex education should be taught no earlier than Year 5, when pupils are aged nine to 10, and that what is described as the 'contested topic of gender identity' should not be taught at all. The proposed guidance said schools should 'at minimum' show parents a representative sample of teaching resources they plan to use and that schools 'should respond positively to requests from parents to see material that has not already been shared'. While Tuesday's revised guidance includes the requirement to provide parents with teaching materials, the new Government has scrapped the proposal to prescribe specific ages at which individual topics are taught. The DfE said there would be a 'strong new emphasis on age-appropriate' teaching, and a 'clear dividing line' between primary and secondary school. But the guidance would allow teachers to 'sensitively respond to topics that children might have seen online or heard from their friends', with research suggesting 22% of primary school-aged girls had seen 'rude images online'. Tuesday's guidance also includes requirements on helping children with their mental health, including working with mental health professionals to discuss suicide prevention 'in an age-appropriate way'. Children will be taught the importance of 'grit and resilience' in order to help them 'feel able to take on challenges and risks'. Andy Airey, Mike Palmer and Tim Owen – who founded suicide prevention charity 3 Dads Walking in memory of their daughters – said: 'Giving schools permission to talk about suicide prevention means more young people can be supported to open up about difficult feelings and know where to find help. 'We know, from painful personal experience, how much this matters. This change will save lives.' Schools will be able to implement the guidance from September this year, and must follow it from September 2026.
