Year 10 student Roya Sharifi said she’s already faced a lot of sexism in her young life, some of which she attributes to social media and the likes of Andrew Tate.
When she joined a female-dominated robotics club at her school, members of other clubs remarked they would not achieve anything amazing because “they’re girls”.
“I know it’s not true, but I am concerned about how other girls view it,” Roya said.
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Authorities across the world are voicing concern about ongoing gender-based violence, including in the United Kingdom where the National Police Chiefs Council called the impact of Tate’s messaging “terrifying”.
Self-proclaimed misogynist Tate has been widely criticised for encouraging “toxic masculinity” on his social media platforms and radicalising a younger generation of youth to sexist views.
A recent Monash University research found male supremacy was “rampant” among Australian schools and was linked to themes in Tate’s content.
South Australian Education Minister Blair Boyer said more public school staff are raising concern boys as young as 10 are repeating Tate’s rhetoric.
“I don’t want situations where our staff are deciding to leave because they don’t want to put up with that behaviour,” Boyer said.
The South Australian government wants to update its Respectful Relationships Education curriculum to tackle harmful content on social media.
It hopes in 2025 it will have an updated curriculum for schools that will stamp out misogyny in future generations.
The update will include lessons educating children on how to think critically and respond to misogynistic content they see online and being well-informed on consent.
“There needs to be a deeper lesson taught to these young people around why those views are wrong and not acceptable in our society now and even more importantly the affect that has on other people’s lives as well,” Boyer said.
This year the government is working towards developing the new curriculum and will establish an advisory body, which will include parents, to develop and analyse the materials to be discussed with students.
It will also update the current teacher and family resources on respectful relationships, as well as set up webpages explaining what respectful relationships are.
“Unless we are addressing the things that kids are picking up from the likes of Andrew Tate early on, by the time they are in workplace, (are) adults and they’re having children on their own, they’re passing that on to the next generation,” Boyer said.
But competing against influencers such as Tate, who has millions of followers, will be a challenge, Boyer added.
Will it work?
Dr Stephanie Wescott and Professor Steven Roberts both worked on the recent research out of Monash University that found a “disturbing pattern of sustained sexual harassment, sexism and misogyny” in school-aged boys.
Wescott said respectful relationship education was necessary in schools but it was too early to say whether or not it will eradicate the existing issues.
“We don’t really know much about the implementation and use of (the existing) Respectful Relationships curriculum in schools,” Wescott said.
“We don’t broadly have any data on it, we don’t know the extent of which schools take it up, how well resourced it is or how confident teachers are in delivering curriculum.
“We need to do quite a lot more work around that in order for any updates or changes or amendments to the curriculum to be effective.
“But we have to do something and this is a really good start.”
Roberts said the SA government’s update to the curriculum should explain how social media algorithms work.
“Algorithms are not neutral. They draw you to particular types of content that you will rest your eyes on for longer,” Roberts said.
“Even if you don’t want to see stuff about Andrew Tate and sexism, it will find its way to you.
“They need to be taught how to engage with the content and critically discuss and see through the lies and manipulation that exists within that content.”
While both researchers stressed the importance of schools focusing on countering sexist attitudes, they said the education should go beyond the classroom.
“Respectful relationships is supposed to be a whole of school approach … it is meant to be a cultural and attitude change in a school and school community,” Wescott said.
They also said the changes should be reflected in the broader community, within workplaces, sporting groups and local councils.
Roya, a student of Riverbank College in Adelaide’s north, was positive about what a new Respectful Relationships Education curriculum could achieve.
She said it was especially important for young people who didn’t have a safe space to discuss it at home.
She also recommended schools highlight the achievements of women in history.
Fellow Riverbank College Year 10 student Zacary Oliver said it was important for other young people to “keep each other in line” when they hear degrading and inappropriate comments.
“I think that it’s bad that we have this level of poor treatment in society that we have to learn it in school, but it’s good that it’s being taught so we can stop it in the future,” he said.