Schools to tackle influence of Andrew Tate with compulsory lessons on consent
Teachers to be trained to spot ‘toxic ideas’ and misogyny in boys
- Sir Keir Starmer's government is unveiling a £36m strategy to tackle violence against women and girls (VAWG), “toxic ideas” and combat the influence of misogynistic figures like Andrew Tate.
- The flagship plan mandates compulsory healthy relationships lessons for all secondary school pupils in England, supported by specialist teacher training and programmes for children displaying harmful behaviour.
- The initiative, launched 18 months after Labour's pledge to halve VAWG within a decade, addresses concerns over high rates of teenage relationship abuse and young men's positive views of Tate.
- A £20m package is allocated for the educational measures, but the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Dame Nicole Jacobs, has criticised the strategy, stating the investment and commitments do not go far enough.
- The strategy also includes a new helpline for teenagers and aims for all secondary schools to teach healthy relationships by the end of the current parliament, with pilot schools selected next year.