Misogyny to be discussed in secondary school curriculum from September
Following reports of extreme abuse, secondary school children in England will discuss misogyny as part of the curriculum starting in September.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Misogyny to be taught in secondary schools from September
From September, secondary school children in England will discuss misogyny as part of the curriculum for the first time. The move follows reports of extreme abuse that girls say leaves them feeling "worthless and frightened".
A group of girls from Tyneside have made a short film about their experiences, which they have sent to the Prime Minister. Speaking anonymously, they described everyday harassment in classrooms and online. One girl said: "I think some boys kind of when they don't have anything else to say the kind of resort to like like sexualize and objectify in comments." Another recounted a "rape list" made by boys ranking girls by who they would most want to rape, adding: "how that makes you just feel like Worthless."
Domestic abuse charities have warned that when extreme views become normalised, they can leak into early relationships. A charity worker said: "Sadly we're getting young women who are now recognizing that they have been abused in their first intimate relationships sometimes when they're 13 14 years old."
The new guidance will also cover sexist and misogynistic influencers on social platforms. The girls said this is needed because of pressure on how they look and messages from influencers telling men to be dominant. One girl said: "Somebody would come to our door and they know us because we had their mom we had their grandma we had their aunt ... It's really sad that nobody's passing this down to say don't you don't accept this and this isn't right."
The government says the curriculum change is part of its commitment to tackling violence against women and girls. The girls hope their film will be shared with schools across the country.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC News | BBC One |
|---|---|---|
| From September, secondary pupils will be taught to recognise misogyny as part of the curriculum, as part of a government commitment to tackling violence against women and girls. | ||
| Sexist and misogynistic influencers on social media will be covered in the new guidance. | ||
| The girls made a short film about their experiences and sent it to the Prime Minister. | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The BBC focused on the personal testimonies of the Tyneside girls, giving them a platform to describe the abuse they face. The tone is sympathetic and urgent, highlighting the normalization of misogyny and the need for early intervention. It also included the government's commitment and the role of online influencers, but the emotional weight came from the girls' own words and the charity worker's warning.
- “how that makes you just feel like Worthless, I think it's quite worrying as well that they were thinking about that.”
- “Sadly we're getting young women who are now recognizing that they have been abused in their first intimate relationships sometimes when they're 13 14 years old.”
- “It's really sad that nobody's passing this down to say don't you don't accept this and this isn't right.”
Broadcast Timeline
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