A senior education leader has said parents need to do more to challenge abusive behaviour towards women and girls after a hit TV show exposed the rising problem of misogyny in schools. Scott Lyons, district secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), warned families that the issues explored in the harrowing Netflix show, Adolescence, “start at home” with problem behaviours going unnoticed or unchallenged.
The series, directed and led by actor Stephen Graham, follows the story of a teenage boy accused of the brutal murder of a young girl. The ensuing investigation reveals the hidden radicalisation of young boys through ‘incel culture’, the ‘manosphere’ and online misogyny. In these corners of the internet, children encounter content promoting warped masculinity and opposition to feminism.
But these views are increasingly appearing openly on social media. Andrew Tate, a British-American influencer, has become one of the most prominent figures blamed for spreading misogynist views, with videos he has shared on TikTok watched more than 11.6bn times.
Misogyny in Norfolk schools is a growing crisis
The show’s release follows a NEU survey revealing that nine out of ten female teachers in Norfolk had either experienced violence against them, or witnessed it happen to colleagues. The union says it shows that male pupils are not only abusing teaching staff but “disproportionately” targeting female teachers, and that much of the abuse is sexual in nature.
Recent figures from Norfolk Police have also shown that a third of suspects alleged to have committed sexual offences last year are aged under 18. Children of primary school age made up 131 identified suspects, while 560 were of secondary school age up to the age of 16. Nearly half of all sexual assault victims were under 18 and the majority were female.
Mr Lyons says parents are often reluctant to believe their children could have been involved in abuse. “Figures like Andrew Tate are often blamed,” he said, “but this behaviour is also being learned at home.” He also believes a lot of these children have secret lives that parents are not aware of. “Parents are alienated from children. They are under pressure to work extra jobs, longer hours to provide, but it is creating this alienation culture.”
When parents won’t believe the truth
Chaotic scenes from the show depicting disrespectful behaviour by pupils towards authority figures are reflected within some Norfolk schools, Mr Lyons warned. He recalled one recent incident at a Norwich school where a group of boys prevented a female teacher from leaving the classroom in an intimidating manner. But when confronted about the behaviour, the parents of the pupils involved refused to believe their children could have acted this way.
“I know from members that schools in Norfolk are like what is portrayed in the Netflix story,” Mr Lyons said. “Some parents would be horrified by what is happening at schools. In some, there is a complicit acceptance that boys can make comments and schools are not challenging this behaviour enough. “It is in part because schools are so afraid of the reaction from parents.”
Most schools have now banned mobile phones from being used during school hours but Mr Lyons says parents need to monitor what children are doing online at home. “Parents are much stricter on what children are doing in real life than online,” he said. “More monitoring and conversations with children are needed. They need to be more engaged and curious. You should question who they are talking to or playing with online as you would ask who they are meeting at the park.”
Root causes of misogyny need to be addressed
Norfolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Sarah Taylor, acknowledged there are “deep concerns” about the scale of the issue.
She said: “There has clearly not been enough attention paid to the different pressures on boys and young men for many years now. This show is a difficult watch but so compelling because we can see there is a truth to it. And because it deals with issues which are online, here in Norfolk there will be children and young people affected by those same issues.
“People educating our young people are deeply concerned about this but it isn’t something that they can solve on their own.”
Ms Taylor said there has been progress in tackling misogyny in schools through the Bystander Intervention Programme, which teaches children about sexual violence and harassment. But she warned these programmes do not “address the root cause”.
“I’m really focused on bringing about long-lasting change in this respect. All of our young people deserve that,” she added.
What is the ‘manosphere’?
Adolescence is one of the first major TV projects to explore issues of violence from the incel (involuntarily celibate) community. The main character, Jamie (Owen Cooper), is revealed to have been influenced by the teachings of the manosphere to murder his classmate. The manosphere is a collection of websites, blogs, and online forums promoting a warped version of hyper-masculinity, misogyny and opposition to feminism.
While the manosphere used to be limited to dark corners of forum websites like Reddit and 4chan, it has now permeated regular social media, with manosphere commentary present (and popular) on Instagram and TikTok. Figures like Andrew Tate, a British-American influencer, have been blamed for promoting misogynistic views and beliefs about traditional masculinity online.
