The leader of the UK’s largest education union has called for an independent inquiry into the rise of sexism and misogyny among boys and young men, saying it should not be left to parents and schools to police.
Daniel Kebede, the general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said it was “a huge issue” in schools and expressed particular concern about the ease with which pupils are accessing aggressive hardcore pornography on their phones.
He said the government had “completely failed” to tackle the issue, which is affecting boys’ views of women and relationships, and urged ministers to “take on big tech” to ensure that young people cannot access damaging material.
Kebede, who was teaching maths in a secondary pupil referral unit up until his election as general secretary last year, said the problem was widespread. He said he had first-hand experience, having personally worked with female pupils who had been repeated victims of abuse, violence and sexual assault.
Speaking before a debate on the issue on Friday at the NEU’s annual conference in Bournemouth, he said: “It’s very fair to say that there’s a real problem with sexism and misogyny within schools.
“I have my own anecdotes. I’m sure at conference members will be sharing their stories. There is a real problem with what young people can access via their smartphone with real ease.
“It’s not just influencers such as Andrew Tate, but aggressive hardcore pornography which is really easily accessible to young people. This stuff is having a real impact, particularly on young boys and young men and their views of women and relationships.”
Kebede went on: “It’s a problem that I think that government has completely failed to intervene in. There has been no real regulation and it is causing a huge issue in our schools. There’s no doubt about that.
“The problem goes well beyond just Andrew Tate in terms of what young people can access. I think this is going to be a really important debate and actually moving forward government need to take this very seriously.”
Kebede welcomed Labour’s recent announcements on how it plans to help schools develop young male mentors and to teach pupils how to question the material they see on social media from people such as Tate.
Under the proposals, Labour would send “regional improvement teams” into schools to train staff on introducing the peer-to-peer mentoring programme, but Kebede called on government to go further.
“[The government] need to actually take on big tech if we’re being honest. Big tech have to take some responsibility and be regulated, and accept regulation, and ensure that young people can’t access these really aggressive, dangerous things on their phones.
“It’s not enough to just allow schools to police it or parents. It’s just far too widespread. I think there needs to be a real inquiry into this from government which makes some recommendations on some significant reforms essentially.
“I’ve worked with young girls who have been victims of really, really significant acts of misogyny on more than one occasion, who have experienced abuse, violence, sexual assault, and that is being fuelled by a culture of misogyny and sexism that is in turn being fuelled by what young boys and young men can access on their smartphones.”
He said it could not be blamed on parents. “Children and young people are very good at working out technology and how to use it and how to get around any filters and restrictions that are in place.
“We can’t individualise the issue and put it down to problem parenting, failure of parenting. It’s very difficult when every other child has access to a smartphone to be that parent who says no. There has to be regulation on this from government, who in turn supports families in making those decisions.”
Esther Ghey, the mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey, has campaigned for an age limit for smartphone usage and stricter controls on access to social media apps, and earlier this year the government issued new guidance on banning mobile phones in school to improve behaviour.
A government spokesperson said schools should take immediate action against sexual misconduct or harassment, adding: “Through our world-leading Online Safety Act, social media firms will be required to protect children from being exposed to harmful material online.
“We are also reviewing the statutory guidance on relationships, sex and health education and as a part of this, we are considering how our guidance and support to schools on this issue can be strengthened.”
