All secondary school pupils in England will be taught about healthy relationships in an effort to tackle misogyny.
Teachers will get specialist training on how to talk to pupils about issues like consent and the dangers of sharing intimate images as part of the government’s pledge to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade, the Home Office will announce on Thursday.
Experts will also be brought in to carry out pilot schemes, backed by research that identifies the most effective way of teaching young people “crucial lessons”.
All secondary schools in England will be required to teach students about healthy and respectful relationships by the end of this parliament, in 2029. Schools will be chosen for a pilot from 2026.
The government will provide £16m for the programme and said it is “working closely” with philanthropists and partners to fund £4m more.
A new online helpline will also be set up for teenagers to get help with concerns about their own behaviour in relationships.
The scheme is part of the government’s strategy to halve VAWG in a decade.
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The government points to research saying 40% of young men hold a positive view of the self-proclaimed misogynist and influencer Andrew Tate. He has been challenged about his ideology in the past and called the concerns “garbage”.
Department for Education-commissioned research found 70% of secondary school teachers surveyed said their school had actively dealt with sexual violence and/or harassment between children.
Sir Keir Starmer said: “Every parent should be able to trust that their daughter is safe at school, online and in her relationships.
“But too often, toxic ideas are taking hold early and going unchallenged.
“This government is stepping in sooner – backing teachers, calling out misogyny, and intervening when warning signs appear – to stop harm before it starts.
“This is about protecting girls and driving forward education and conversation with boys and young men, which is a responsibility we owe to the next generation, and one this government will deliver.”
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The government has announced several other measures to tackle VAWG this week, including introducing specialist rape and sexual offences investigators to every police force, better support for survivors in the NHS and a £19m funding boost for councils to provide safe housing for domestic abuse survivors.
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Dame Nicole Jacobs, the domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales, said the commitments “do not go far enough” to see the number of people experiencing abuse start to fall.
“Today’s strategy rightly recognises the scale of this challenge and the need to address the misogynistic attitudes that underpin it, but the level of investment to achieve this falls seriously short,” she said.
The commissioner also said overburdened schools are not being equipped with the infrastructure they need to safeguard child victims of domestic abuse.
Claire Waxman, the incoming victims commissioner, said: “Victim services are not an optional extra to this strategy – they must be the backbone of it.
“Without clear, sustainable investment and cross-government leadership, I am concerned we run the risk of the strategy amounting to less than the sum of its parts; a wish list of tactical measures rather than a bold, unifying strategic framework.”
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VAWG minister Jess Phillips said: “For too long, the scale of violence against women and girls has been treated as a fact of life in our country.
“I am determined our groundbreaking strategy will prevent women and girls from actually being harmed in the first place.
“Put together, from today, it will deploy the full power of the state to introduce the largest crackdown to stop violence perpetrated against women and girls in British history.”
