Teachers’ leaders have warned of a “masculinity crisis” in UK schools, with misogynistic abuse of female staff on the rise. A survey by the NASUWT union found that nearly a quarter of female teachers reported being targeted by misogyny from pupils in the past year, the highest level in four years.
One teacher said she was called a “fucking slag”, while another reported that a student created nude AI images of her. Others described boys joking about rape and laughing when challenged. The proportion of female teachers experiencing misogyny rose from 17.4% in 2023 to 23.4% this year.
Matt Wrack, NASUWT general secretary, called it a “ticking timebomb”, noting that over 70% of teachers are female. “If female teachers cannot contain gender-based aggression in their classrooms, we have a serious problem,” he said. He linked the trend to the “manosphere” and urged better training and support.
The issue was also highlighted at the National Education Union conference, where general secretary Daniel Kebede blamed “addictive social media algorithms” for feeding harmful content to children. The problem has gained national attention through Louis Theroux’s documentary Inside the Manosphere and the drama Adolescence.
Female teachers reported being ignored, mocked, and patronised, with comments like “must be that time of the month” and being told to “calm down”. Some faced sexualised sounds and gestures. One teacher said parents told her to “work in a fucking nursery” if she could not handle teenage boys.
Rebecca Hitchen of the End Violence Against Women Coalition called for strong sanctions on tech companies. “Schools are bearing the brunt of misogyny fuelled by profit-seeking tech firms,” she said. The NASUWT will debate the issue at its annual conference in Birmingham on Saturday.
