Schools across the UK are to give students anti-misogyny lessons in the wake of the success of Netflix TV show Adolescence.
The show tells the story of a young boy who brutally murders a female classmate.
The classes form part of the government’s new relationships, health and sex education (RHSE) guidance, which will be introduced before the end of this academic year.
PM Sir Keir Starmer recently revealed he was watching the series at Prime Minister’s Questions, and has backed the show’s creators, who have called for it to be shown in parliament and schools.
The four-episode series follows the Miller family, whose lives are torn apart when their 13-year-old son Jamie is arrested for stabbing a female classmate to death after being influenced by online misogyny.
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The drama was released earlier this month and promptly became the most-watched show on Netflix globally, as well as the first streaming show to top the UK weekly TV ratings, gripping audiences with its sobering portrayal of how social media and misogynistic influencers can impact young boys.
The government is still developing the exact details of the classroom guidance, but it is understood to include content to “support healthy relationships” and “enable schools to tackle harmful behaviour and ensure that misogyny is stamped out and not allowed to proliferate,” The Times has reported.
Children will be encouraged to “express and understand boundaries, handle disappointment and pay attention to the needs and preferences of oneself and others” from as early as primary school.
Content will be modified for older children to reflect the “real-life complexities of romantic and sexual relationships,” The Times’ source added, and will encourage students to “think about what healthy sexual relationships involve,” including “consent,” along with “kindness, attention and care.”
The show’s co-writers, Jack Thorne and actor Stephen Graham – who also stars as Jamie’s dad – have said they wanted Adolescence to be a programme that “causes discussion and makes change.”
Among the many people who have praised the show are the parents of a survivor of the Southport stabbings for drawing attention to the “terrifying” impacts of online misogynistic content on young men.
