On the same day that the Tate brothers flew into America, University of York researchers published a report into the impact of social media on educational development. It pointed to polls showing just how far-reaching the impact of certain influencers is, with one suggesting that 80 per cent of 16 and 17 year old British boys have consumed content created by misogynistic influencers such as Andrew Tate and incel groups. These boys and young men say they feel ‘disconnected’ in a world where the biggest connector of all, the internet, is the very thing which is driving profound and widespread disconnection. The report refers to an online ‘narrative that attempts to legitimise inequality for women in the workspace and wider society, acts of sexual violence and verbal abuse’.
Over three-quarters of secondary school staff were ‘strongly concerned’ about online misogyny and said focussed resources were needed to address it. That’s also the case in post-16 education, where staff are worrying about how to approach this subject effectively.
We have to acknowledge the impact of those aspects of the ‘manosphere’ which promote and incite sexual violence and misogynistic attitudes and behaviours among our students. When we ‘dehumanise’ humans, we can then harm with relative or even absolute impunity. Put simply; we are currently seeing a frightening lack of empathy and respect, alongside an increase in ‘dehumanising’ women and girls and other vulnerable groups, leading to serious harm and tragic devastation.
We’ve all seen safeguarding cases of serious physical, emotional and mental harm by those who don’t recognise their victims as being ‘human’ and having feelings, worth or value. Girls are portrayed online as simply bodies to provide sexual pleasure. I’ve seen cases where girls have adopted ‘male attitudes’ and behaviours to protect themselves from harm, so they procure those to be raped and assaulted to save themselves from the same fate. Masculine behaviours are normalised as powerful and violent.
I’m concerned that the recent independent pornography review by Baroness Bertin – which the government described as revealing “shocking detail” about the extent to which violent online pornography is “influencing dangerous offline behaviours” might have slipped under the radar (please do read it!)
Although I’m cautiously optimistic that the right measures will be introduced to ban harmful sexual content altogether – the government has pledged to “use every lever” to “halve violence against women and girls in a decade” – I’m also increasing nonplussed by the ‘shock’ I hear from many quarters – including senior leaders, governors, government and Ofsted – when faced with the actual lived experience of young people. The disconnect between the realities of life for so many and the understanding of those in positions of authority is too wide, and many are falling through that gap.
But very few FE staff would be surprised by the detail in this report on pornography, as we see the harm caused by misogyny regularly and repeatedly. We’re already well aware, for example, that ‘choking’ during sex, which without consent is both dangerous and traumatising, is now a ‘norm’.
The government suggested last Summer that extreme misogyny would be classed as ‘extremism’ within the scope of Prevent, as hatred of women is clearly increasing. By January, it became clear this wouldn’t happen – despite the government’s current definition of extremism as being the ‘promotion of an ideology based on violence, hatred or intolerance that aims to destroy the rights and freedoms of others or undermine liberal parliamentary democracy’.
I vehemently believe the education system can be transformed through trauma informed and restorative education practices, and recognise the challenge to feel empathy for those with misogynistic beliefs. But as educators we have a fleeting opportunity to influence behaviour and disrupt harm, before those beliefs take deeper root. We know that many perpetrators of violence are also victims themselves, even victims of familial ideologies they’re brought up to believe in; everybody has a story which led them to now. If we recognise the importance of reconnection and the transformative influence of restorative and trauma informed approaches, we can create a light of hope and truly effect behaviour change. We must demonstrate within our every action an alternative narrative to those dark myths lurking in the ‘manosphere’ promoting gender inequality, violence and hatred.
While recent laws relating to coercion and control are welcome, the on-line harms bill doesn’t go far enough. And there is an inconsistent approach to misogyny as a hate crime in some police forces, and an aggravating factor in others – what is it? A hate crime or not? We need clarity and consistency.
In FE, the system is under-resourced for the work required to shift the dial on misogyny. The on-line rhetoric which translates into off-line violence must be stemmed; we simply cannot continue to allow our youth to be subjected to such insidious and dangerous content. Urgent action is needed now.
We must work collectively to promote positive and healthy consensual relationships and ensure the meaning of ‘consent’ is fully understood. We must teach young people that intimacy can be loving and fun… when it is consensual (and legal). We need to debunk current myths around ‘norms’ which are far from normality. We need to raise awareness and confidence across staff so that misogynistic language and behaviours can be positively addressed.
Above all, we must rehumanise women, girls, LGBTQ+ and all vulnerable groups, working together with courage and openness to disrupt the dangerous narrative of dehumanisation.
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