As a society, we must address toxic gendered behaviour. In schools, the culture change needed to achieve gender equity is not an overnight process. Considering the practicalities of curriculum design, behaviour and other areas, Zahara Chowdhury advises how we can achieve long-term change and create safe spaces for students and staff


The Office for National Statistics painted us a bleak picture last year. In June alone, more than 40% of women aged 16 to 34 revealed that they had experienced catcalls and unwanted sexual jokes and comments from a stranger (compared to less than 10% of men).

Furthermore, nearly 30% of women in the same age group felt they had been followed (compared to less than 10% of men).

Overall, the data showed that 32% of women and 19% of men had experienced some form of harassment in the year to June 2021.

The murders of Sarah Everard, Sabina Nessa and so many others have caused a public outcry, as have the revelations in February about a culture of “toxic masculinity, misogyny and sexual harassment” (IOPC, 2022) in the Metropolitan Police.

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