Highlights
- Teachers will be trained to identify and challenge misogyny in classrooms.
- High-risk students to receive behavioural courses tackling prejudice against women.
- New helpline for teenagers concerned about relationship abuse to be launched.
The government has announced a £20 m strategy to combat violence against women and girls by targeting the early roots of misogyny in schools, with plans unveiled on Thursday after being delayed three times this year.
Teachers will receive specialist training to spot signs of misogyny and address them in the classroom, while pupils will learn about consent, the dangers of sharing intimate images, identifying positive role models, and challenging unhealthy myths about women and relationships.
The initiative aims to halve violence against women and girls within the next decade by preventing the radicalisation of young men. Schools will refer high-risk students for additional support, including behavioural courses designed to tackle their prejudice.
"Every parent should be able to trust that their daughter is safe at school, online and in her relationships, but too often, toxic ideas are taking hold early and going unchallenged," prime minister Keir Starmer said.
This government is stepping in sooner - backing teachers, calling out misogyny, and intervening when warning signs appear to stop harm before it starts, he added.
The £20m package includes £16m from taxpayers, with the remaining £4m to come from an innovation fund developed with philanthropists and partners.
A new helpline will provide teenagers with support regarding concerns about abuse in their own relationships.
Reactions and criticism
Nearly 40 per cent of teenagers in relationships experience abuse, according to domestic abuse charity Reducing the Risk.
Online influencers, particularly self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate, are partly blamed, with nearly one in five boys aged 13 to 15 holding positive views of him, a YouGov poll found.
Some educators welcomed the initiative while noting schools already deliver similar programmes.
Principal Sukhjot Dhami of Beacon Hill Academy in Dudley told BBC "The challenge isn't starting from scratch: it's ensuring that this £20m is spent wisely and in partnership with schools already leading the way."
Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, welcomed the government's focus but stressed the need for "effective measures to prevent at source the spread of online misogynistic content which is served up to young people by social media algorithms."
The strategy includes additional measures such as specialist investigators in every police force, domestic abuse protection orders, enhanced NHS support for survivors, and funding for safe housing.
However, domestic abuse commissioner Dame Nicole Jacobs told the BBC that the commitments "do not go far enough" and investment levels "fall seriously short."
