Smartphones are to blame for “abuse and misogyny in schools”, a senior Tory MP has warned as a damning new report highlighted the “scourge” of sexual harassment in British classrooms.
Caroline Nokes, the chair of Parliament’s Women and Equalities Committee, told i the Government must draw up new guidance to crack down on “nudes” and hardcore pornography being shared between pupils, often without consent.
Ms Nokes told i: “We strongly believe that schools must do more to monitor and tackle the impact of smartphones in terms of abuse and misogyny. The Government needs to provide better guidance to schools on this.”
It comes as the Women and Equalities Committee published a major new report on Wednesday highlighting the “widespread” sexual harassment of female students and staff in schools.
It said “sexual harassment and sexual violence continues to be a scourge in our schools”, with girls and female teachers often left feeling “powerless” to tackle the issue.
MPs on the committee said they were particularly concerned about the “toxic influence of social media” and its use by influencers such as Andrew Tate “to broadcast misogyny to boys and young men”.
They called for a new sex education curriculum “that places a greater focus on boys and young men”, citing evidence from experts showing they inflict the “most serious interpersonal harm and abuse” within schools.
The report also said schools must act urgently to stop “boys cyberflashing hardcore pornographic images at girls”, which constitutes sexual harassment.
Witnesses who submitted evidence to the committee described a growing trend of schoolboys “Airdropping nude images to other students in class” and teachers having their faces “superimposed” onto deepfake porn.
Current Government guidance states that “headteachers should decide” whether students can use mobile phones during school hours, and that those that choose not to ban them should have a plan in place to “mitigate risks”.
The Women and Equalities Committee, which includes senior Tory MPs including former minister Dame Caroline Dinenage, also called for sex education to become compulsory until 18. Current laws only require schools and other education settings to teach relationships and sex education until 16.
Asked if compulsory sex education until 18 was as important as the Prime Minister’s pledge to make maths compulsory until 18, Ms Nokes told i: “Children’s health and social development should be considered as important as academic learning.”
The Government is currently undertaking a review into sex education in schools following an outcry from right-wing Tory MPs who claimed children are being taught “inappropriate” material.
The review is widely expected to recommend schools take a more conservative approach to sex education.
Soma Sara, the founder of the website Everyone’s Invited, which encourages students to submit their experiences of sexual assault and harassment in British schools, said Wednesday’s report showed that “action is urgently needed to eradicate rape culture in schools and universities”.
“Teachers are being failed by the current system. They need more training, support, encouragement, funding and resources,” she told i.
“It was widely thought that sexual harassment happened to a small minority of people but now we are seeing that it’s a cultural issue, prevalent everywhere. It’s like lowering the water to reveal the whole iceberg rather than just talking about the tip of the iceberg.”
Everyone’s Invited, which was praised in the committee’s report for exposing “how widespread the problem is”, has received more than 50,000 submissions since it was launched three years ago.
A Government spokesperson said: “All women and girls deserve a safe environment, and we expect schools, colleges and universities to take immediate action against sexual misconduct or harassment.
“We are developing further guidance for schools to support educators in teaching about this issue and engage boys and young men about misogyny and sexual violence in education.”
