Victorian students will get ‘anti-Tate’ lessons, but much more is needed to tackle gendered violence in schools
Wescott
The Victorian government has announced new teaching resources to tackle the influence of “manosphere” figures, such as Andrew Tate, in the state’s schools.
This follows ongoing reports of disturbing events involving sexist abuse by students in both independent and government schools in Victoria and around the country.
But while this week’s announcement is a welcome and necessary step, we need a more comprehensive plan to eliminate gender-based violence in our schools.
What is the ‘manosphere’?
The “manosphere” is an overlapping collection of extreme men’s communities on social media that are anti-women and against women’s empowerment. This includes Tate, the “misogynist influencer” who’s facing trial in Romania on charges of human trafficking and rape (which he denies).
Our recent research found women teachers are increasingly exposed to sexism, misogyny and sexual harassment as the result of boys’ exposure to “manfluencer” ideas and behaviours. These problems are further compounded by the infiltration of far-right sentiments into schools, which has been linked to far-right online forums.
At the same time, women teachers report they are not being supported by school leadership.
Read more: We research online ‘misogynist radicalisation’. Here's what parents of boys should know
What’s in the Victorian resources?
The new teaching resources were developed by education academics Helen Cahill and Debbie Ollis, in consultation with teachers, students and parents.
They aim to give students skills to counter the influence of “Tate-types”, and to navigate issues such as consent, sextortion, pornography and gender-based bullying.
They will be part of respectful relationships education, which is mandatory in Victorian government schools (following a recommendation of the 2015 Royal Commission into Family Violence).
Problems with respecful relationship education
There have been implementation issues with respectful relationships education.
A 2022 review (of which one of us, Naomi Pfitzner, was an author) found problems with the funding, quality of resources and training supplied to schools, and with schools’ levels of commitment
Previous research also suggests teachers may be hesitant to engage with controversial or tricky topics. There is a risk some issues are being left out of classroom discussions.
Crucially, respectful relationships is not mandatory in all Victorian schools – independent and faith-based schools in Victoria need to opt in.
In other Australian states and territories, respectful relationships education is not compulsory in any school system.
We need more information
Education departments around the country collect various forms of data about school life, such as learning and attendance. But we don’t have accurate national data on the prevalence of gender-based violence in schools.
Without the full picture of how widespread gender-based violence is in Australian schools, it’s difficult to resource and design an appropriate response.
Gender-based violence in schools is inextricably connected to the endemic levels of violence against women in Australia.
We cannot separate a broader culture that enables gendered slurs, misogyny and gender inequity – known enablers of gender-based violence – from attitudes towards women and girls in schools.
What now?
Women have been raising the alarm about sexual harassment of female teachers for decades. But on top of already slow or inadequate responses, the problem has become more complex.
The proliferation of online misogynist content requires a new, tailored approach.
Our current project with Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety is examining how online misogyny in the manosphere influences young boys and men in Australia. We will then create resources to support teachers and help make schools safer for all young people.
It’s shameful many girls’ first experience of gendered violence happens as students at school. And teachers deserve a safe workplace free from misogyny and sexism.
This article originally appeared on The Conversation.
About the Authors
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Stephanie wescott
Lecturer, School of Education Culture and Society
Stephanie is a lecturer in humanities and social sciences in the Faculty of Education’s School of Education, Culture and Society. Her research examines how education practice and policy intersects with, and is influenced by, current socio-political conditions, and she’s particularly interested in post-truth and its relationship to knowledge and expertise in education. Stephanie uses qualitative methodologies, including ethnography and discourse analysis, to examine the implications of these intersections for teachers' work and policy enactment.
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Alexandra phelan
Lecturer, Politics and International Relations, Monash Gender, Peace and Security Centre
Alexandra’s research interests include insurgent governance and legitimation activities, insurgent women, political violence and organised crime with particular focus on Latin America. Her PhD examined why the Colombian government alternated between counterinsurgency and negotiation with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Alex's research at GPS focuses on gendered approaches to understanding terrorism and violent extremism.
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Naomi pfitzner
Research Fellow, Criminology
Naomi has extensive research experience in family violence prevention and response. She conducts research in the area of family violence, gender, family studies, social policy and law. Her work has a key focus on the primary prevention of family violence. Naomi’s doctoral research examined men’s engagement with intimate partner violence primary prevention programs. More recently, she conducted a commissioned evaluation of a family violence workforce capacity building project in the Victorian social services sector. Naomi was also engaged by Our Watch to evaluate a family violence primary prevention intervention targeting parents.
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Sarah mccook
Research Fellow, Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre
Sarah's work focuses on the prevention of gendered violence, masculinities, and engaging men and boys in gender transformative change.
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Steven roberts
Professor, School of Education Culture and Society, Monash University
Steve is an internationally recognised expert in research on youth, social class inequality and young people’s transitions to adulthood, and also on the changing nature of men and masculinities. The latter includes men’s engagement with risky drinking; sexting; emotionality; computer gaming; violence; domestic labour; compulsory and post-compulsory education; employment.
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