5 minute read
Sexism still everywhere
Annie Morgan, a social sciences teacher, tells Educate about how she is tackling sexism in her school.
I BEGAN teaching in the North East in 2019. It was evident from the outset that sexism was present in school, as it is in many institutions. I noticed that male students were treating me differently from my male counterparts.
This was also the experience of other female colleagues. We felt unable to manage some male students’ behaviour and gain their respect. It made me consider what policies the school had in place for dealing with sexism and lower-level micro-aggressions.
We had policies to deal with bullying, but not specifically related to sexual harassment and everyday sexism. As a result, I asked to set up a research action group (RAG) consisting of 12 teachers, from a range of subjects and specialisms, who felt inspired to create change in this area. The key aims of this action group were to identify: n issues regarding sexist language and behaviour between pupils n how to ensure a teacher’s response is consistent and that teachers are aware of what to do/say when an incident occurs n what opportunities exist, in the curriculum, to tackle sexist language and behaviour n how a whole-school approach could tackle sexist language and behaviour through policy developments and changes.
The Feminist Society meets weekly at the secondary school where Annie Morgan teaches, to discuss a range of issues presented by students – from representation of women in gaming, to menstruation
Sexism: it’s still ‘just everywhere’
We designed a questionnaire to gather data about the experiences of sexism in years 9 to 13 and had responses from 186 students. Our findings (see below) coincide with those in the NEU and UK Feminista report, It’s just everywhere (neu.org.uk/advice/its-justeverywhere-sexism-schools).
In addition to the RAG, I had other regular meetings with members of the senior leadership team to discuss the importance of student voice, and set about running three focus groups with year 13 students to talk about sexism in school. We wanted about 14 young people in each group, and ran the initial session with male and female students to explain what our plan of action was. We then split the sessions into students who identified as female and those who identified as male.
In these sessions, students talked about the issues they faced at school and identified: n the need to educate teachers about student experiences of sexism
Experience of sexism in school: years 9 to 13
29%
said they have been treated differently because of their sex
44%
experienced insulting or hurtful language based on sex
30%
47%
experienced unwanted attention of a sexual nature
61%
wanted more opportunities to discuss sexism in school
The Feminist Society meets weekly at the secondary school where Annie Morgan teaches, to discuss a range of issues presented by students – from representation of women in gaming, to menstruation
Sexism: it’s still ‘just everywhere’
n the use of sexist language and ‘banter’ n the school uniform and sexism in sports at school.
Addressing students’ concerns
All the students were very engaged and keen to have their voices heard. To address these issues at the school, we have: n created a policy directly to address sexism in school n created a ‘peer-on-peer abuse’ workshop for year 11 relationship and sex education days n created a specific series of lessons to discuss sexism and gender equality for year 12 citizenship students n improved awareness in school and among the senior leadership team n begun regular work with the West End Women and Girls Centre, which runs gender equality workshops.
There are several suggestions and ideas which we hope to implement at the school in the future. These include the development of an assembly programme and teacher education on identification and reporting of sexism and sexual harassment. We recognise how important it is to listen to our students and respond to their experiences.
To create real change in the education sector, we needed to recognise there is a problem. That sounds simple enough, but, in many situations, teachers may find themselves having to justify and provide more evidence for their own experiences of sexism and that of their students. Others are not aware that these incidents arise because the students do not talk to them about it.
However, for some teachers, students talking about their experience of incidents of sexism and harassment is a regular occurrence. The incidents include, for example, being touched and grabbed on the bus on the way to school and being the subject of sexist ‘banter’ during break times.
Behaviour of perpetrator, not victim
On the basis that it is not the responsibility of the victim of harassment to alter their behaviour, but that of the perpetrator, we need to remove the burden from female students (whose behaviour is often described as ‘distracting’ – for example, because their skirts are ‘too short’).
As teachers, we also need to look at this issue of sexism through an intersectional lens, referencing critical race, feminist, queer and critical disability theories in our discussions on tackling sexism. These are complex topics and require specialist educators.
It is also important for me to consider my own positionality as a white woman in this area of work, listening to people’s experiences as an ally in many circles, not an expert.
For example, Crenshaw (1989) considers how the feminist and anti-racist movements neglect the experiences of women of colour. This could have a significant impact upon the way that schools respond to accusations of sexism made by students of colour. Crenshaw discusses the implications that race can have on the way that sexual violence is addressed by organisations and society. Black female bodies are attributed less worth than their white counterparts and there are implications for Black males and the policing of their behaviour when compared to that of white males.
In the current climate, with the influence of the media, these intersections are often politicised, undermined and misunderstood. I want to identify how we, as a sector, can move our thinking forward to address the concerns surrounding intersectional inequities.
There is hope for the future, but teachers need to be given the opportunity to prioritise such vital areas of work, as all children need to know how to treat others and to feel empowered to stand up for their rights and the rights of those around them.
New tackling sexism toolkit coming soon
According to our research with UK Feminista, It’s just everywhere, 24 per cent of female students at mixed-sex schools have been subjected to unwanted physical touching of a sexual nature while at school. Our research also highlighted that schools are currently ill-prepared and ill-equipped to tackle sexism.
