‘Masculinity crisis’ in schools is a ticking time bomb, union says

A “masculinity crisis” is building in schools across the UK, a teaching union has warned, after almost a quarter of female teachers it surveyed said they have been subject to misogynistic abuse from a pupil in the last year.

For the fourth year in a row NASUWT teachers’ union has surveyed a rise in teachers reporting misogyny from pupils – up to 23.4 per cent from 17.4 per cent in 2023.

One teacher said she was called a “f****** slag” by a pupil, while others said sexual noises and gestures were made at them, they were called misogynistic names and said they were meowed at by male students.

Another teacher responding to the survey said a student had made naked images using artificial intelligence (AI) of her and others.

“We have a masculinity crisis brewing in our schools,” NASUWT general secretary Matt Wrack said.

“Teachers desperately need increased support to deal with this new frontier of behaviour management – it affects the wellbeing of everyone in the classroom.

“This generation of teachers faces an unprecedented task that requires urgent action from policymakers.”

The latest poll of more than 5,000 teachers focuses on female staff rather than students. It found more than one in five teachers said they have been subject to sexist, racist or homophobic language from a pupil in the past year.

Female teachers described being ignored and mocked by their pupils, including being referred to as “love”, told to “calm down”.

Many female teachers reported that pupils say misogynistic things to them after they attempt to address concerns about their behaviour, the NASUWT said, and some say male pupils do not listen to them because they are female.

One teacher said she faced misogyny on a daily basis, including abusive language.

“Have had boys joke about raping girls in front of me and laughed about it when challenged,” the teacher said.

“Parents have told me if I can’t handle teenage boys then I need to ‘work in a f****** nursery’.”

Mr Wrack said: “If female teachers are reporting that they cannot contain gender-based aggression in their classrooms – and that is exactly what they are telling NASUWT – then we have a ticking time bomb on our hands.

“These pupils are the same boys and young men who will go on to be husbands, fathers, and colleagues in the workplace.

“They may eventually develop influence in the public sphere.

“We must help them and their victims – including teachers – before it is too late.”

He said social media and artificial intelligence companies must be held responsible for misinformation spreading on their platforms, and face sanctions if they do not.

Mr Wrack added: “Our young people are being exploited to feed tech billionaires’ endless appetites for profit and power, and our education system is under attack as a result.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Misogynistic views are not innate, they are learned, and we are committed to using every possible tool to achieve our mission of halving violence against women and girls.

“Our updated RSHE guidance is designed to make sure all young people can identify positive role models, and we are providing resources to support teachers to recognise the signs of incel ideologies so we can intervene effectively, including through the Educate Against Hate programme.

“We are strengthening our mobile phones in schools guidance to make it even clearer that schools need to be mobile phone-free environments and launching a consultation to seek views from experts, parents and young people to make sure children have a healthy relationship with phones and social media.”