Teach-Primary-Issue-20.1

average age for exposure to pornography is 13’ ( tinyurl. com/tp-MisogynyStats ). So, leaving discussions until secondary school, as supported by the experiences of friends and colleagues, seems to be a vitally missed opportunity with potentially harmful consequences. Violence against women and girls is endemic, with a startling number of women murdered or attacked by someone who is close to them ( tinyurl. com/tp-VAWGstatsBBC ). Of course, this isn’t just a women’s issue – misogyny harms men too. The State of UK Boys report ( tinyurl. com/tp-UKboys ) highlights that challenging misogyny, embracing diverse forms of masculinity, and encouraging boys to see women as allies can lead to A KS2 teacher friend recently raised an interesting point: children don’t need to have their own phone to be exposed to misogyny. The examples they gave of behaviours they had witnessed in primary-school- aged children were alarming – all with a common theme of misogynistic viewpoints. It’s important to note that while phone ownership by children appears to have caused an upturn in children seeing or sharing inappropriate content or messages (any KS2 teacher will understand the difficulties of the dreaded WhatsApp groups), phones do not seem to be the sole cause for concerning viewpoints. Other teachers have raised the influences of music, wider media, sport, family, and friends as ways to perpetuate or challenge misogynistic myths. Misogyny – a hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls – has been in the spotlight in schools, particularly since the announcement of the new Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) guidelines in England in July 2025. With an increased focus on tackling misogyny, addressing incel culture, and recognising deepfakes at a secondary level, how does this translate to developmentally appropriate action in primary schools? As the RSHE guidance launch states, ‘research shows over one in five (22 per cent) of girls aged seven to 10 had seen ‘rude images online’, and the MISOGYNY Expelling Prevention is better than cure when challenging gender stereotypes in the classroom, says Kirsty Ruthven responsibility to tackle misogynistic myths right from the start. Solid foundations Explicit activities around challenging gender stereotypes are a key foundation for heading better mental health and educational attainment for boys. As a teacher, I often think about the world that we are getting our current pupils ready for, so they can live happy, healthy and fulfilling lives. Sadly, given the data and trends, it seems that we can’t leave prejudice, stereotypes, violence and hatred to chance. Instead, there is a “Leaving discussions until secondary school seems to be a vitally missed opportunity” 24 | www.teachwire.net