28 Apr EIGHT IN TEN PEOPLE BELIEVE TEACHING BOYS TO RESPECT GIRLS SHOULD BE TAUGHT ON THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM
The YouGov survey found that 82% of the public overwhelmingly support teaching respect in the classroom, with 51% stating that they would strongly support it.
Only 9% of those surveyed said they’d oppose the move. Women backed the proposal by 88% to 4%, where men backed it by 76% to 14%.
The poll comes after Sir Keir Starmer said that schoolboys should get behaviour classes to cut sexual violence and harassment and vowed that these lessons would form part of the curriculum should Labour get elected.
He also said that lessons would include hearing first-hand accounts of abuse from survivors in order for boys to be part of the debate, be part of the discussion and to enable them to understand these issues better.
Former headteacher, and education expert, Andrew Hampton says: “It’s fantastic to see Sir Keir Starmer discuss and acknowledge these shortcomings in our education system but, when looking at implementing these lessons, it’s crucial to teach boys about respect and consent in Year 7, before it’s too late for them to change these toxic attitudes.”
Hampton, who has just authored his second book, ‘Working with Boys’ aimed at overhauling the teaching of consent and respect, said: “Year 7 is when boys are at the end of the ‘age of innocence’ and will choose to adopt either a gentle or sour form of masculinity at this stage.
Yvette Cooper, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, said, “Labour’s mission to halve the level of violence against women and girls means we need much stronger work on prevention – including stronger education among boys and young men.”
In a 2022 Girls’ Attitudes Survey by Girlguiding, 17% of girls and young women aged 13 to 21 say fear of sexual harassment holds them back at school and 66% of girls and young women, aged 11 to 21, see or experience sexism in their daily lives at school, college, university or work in 2022, compared with 58% in 2018.
Hampton continued: “I believe that a revolution is needed in which we acknowledge that the way we structure schools, the curriculum, teaching styles, accountability and assessment are not fit for purpose and are damaging young people. But this needs to be done sooner rather than later to avoid a generation of young men who grow up to be another Andrew Tate.”
