A group of teenage girls from Tyneside have spoken out about the extreme misogyny they encounter daily at school and online. In a documentary film, the students detailed how verbal abuse, including threats of rape and physical violence, is frequently dismissed as simple banter. One student shared her distress over a list created by male peers that ranked girls based on their likelihood of being raped, describing the experience as terrifying.
Catherine Marchant, leader of Impact Family Services, warned that when violent misogynistic language is normalized in educational settings and social media, young people may fail to recognize early signs of abuse in their own relationships. Marchant noted that her charity is seeing girls as young as fifteen struggling with the realization that their first relationships were abusive, partly due to the normalization of such behavior.
Sue Davison, an educator who worked with the girls on their film through the group This Life Collective, pointed to the influence of aggressive social media content on disenfranchised boys. While acknowledging that most boys do not participate in such hostility, she emphasized the serious risk posed by those who do.
The students described altering their daily routines—such as avoiding groups of men and taking longer routes home—to feel safer, a reality they believe should not exist. Researchers like Dr. Alex Blower have called for better guidance for boys to move beyond harmful narratives, suggesting that current school interventions often lack a positive vision for young men. The government has stated it is implementing new Relationship, Sex and Health Education curricula beginning in September to better address healthy behaviors and challenge misogyny in schools.
