Police commisioner vows to help combat misogyny and sexism across the North East

New analysis from Newcastle City Council reveals an “obviously concerning” trend, with a decreasing number of boys in the city believing that actions like telling your partner what to wear, who they can or can’t see, and checking their phone are always wrong. 

Local authority public health officials found that there had been a drop overall in the number of children opposing such behaviours since 2022, and that there is also a widening gap between the views of boys and girls.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Susan Dungworth told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that she believed “attitudes have changed” as a result of misogynistic content on social media.

The Labour PCC last year vowed to tackle “toxic Andrew Tate-type attitudes” through a campaign that involved short films, produced by Rape Crisis Tyneside and Northumberland, being made available to schools.

Mrs Dungworth, who quit X last month in a stand against online hate, has made reducing violence against women and girls one of six priorities she has set for Northumbria Police under a new plan and pledged to deliver behavioural change programmes for men and boys in an effort to deal with its root causes.

A recent questionnaire of schoolchildren conducted by Newcastle found that only 82% of boys thought hitting was always wrong in a relationship compared to 92% of girls, while 66% of boys and 81% of girls believed ‘telling you who you can and can’t see’ was always wrong.

It also showed that 85% of boys and 94% of girls thought ‘forcing you to do what you don’t want’, including having sex, was always wrong.

The council’s Health Related Behaviour Questionnaire (HRBQ) also revealed an overall drop among the year 8 and 10 pupils surveyed who would report certain troubling behaviours as always being wrong in 2024 compared to 2022.

It showed:

• A 5% fall in the number of pupils who said it was always wrong to tell a partner what to wear, down from 68% to 63%;
• A 7% fall in the number of pupils who said it was always wrong to be jealous or possessive, down from 62% to 55%; and
• A 9%  fall in the number of pupils who said it was always wrong to check where someone is all of the time, down from 49% to 40%.

A spokesperson for Newcastle City Council said: “Thankfully most pupils surveyed did believe certain actions, which are related to unhealthy relationships, were always wrong.

“However, the findings also show a decrease overall in the number of children who feel that way, and a widening of the gap in views between boys and girls, both of which are obviously concerning.

“Already across the city, including in schools, much good work is ongoing to support children and families, and as a result of the latest HRBQ we have a commitment from partners to develop further action to help ensure young people understand what acceptable behaviours are.”

Mrs Dungworth told the LDRS that she was concerned about social media’s influence on young boys and that interventions in school, including at primary school age, were needed to tackle “things often seen as banter and just the way kids are”.

She added: “I think there is a shift both at Government level and in how we work, and this is backed up by the women’s movement and campaign organisations, to say that rather than just focusing on what girls can do to keep themselves safe – like not leaving your drink when you go to the toilet and making sure you leave in a group – there is a switching to challenging young men. And older men too because it is also about challenging the dads’ and grandads’ attitudes, not just young people.

“What was just accepted when I was growing up, though we didn’t like the whistles and people sitting too close to you on a bus, that was just what happened, I think young women now will stand up and say ‘no, don’t call me that’. It is not a women’s problem, it is a men’s problem – and that starts with boys.”