Schools play a pivotal role in shaping and guiding young people’s minds and behaviours, but they are also a critical space where sexism and stereotypes can be perpetuated.
Sexism is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, based on sex.”
The implementation of the Government’s 2023 Online Safety Act is a reminder that the causes and consequences of sexism in schools must be addressed to ensure that students can thrive in safe and inclusive environments.
Echoing the reality that Everyone’s Invited brought to national consciousness in 2020, research by the Women and Equalities Committee (2024) highlighted: “sexual harassment and sexual violence continues to be a scourge in our schools.”
Sexual harassment is defined by Citizens Advice as “unwanted behavior of a sexual nature that violates a person’s dignity, intimidates, degrades, humiliates, or creates a hostile environment.”
Recent data illustrates the severity of this issue: Girlguiding UK found that 75% of girls aged 11 to 21 experience anxiety related to potential sexual harassment. A 2021 Ofsted report revealed that sexual harassment among peers has become commonplace in schools, with 92% of girls and 74% of boys regularly subjected to sexist name-calling, underscoring its normalisation.
What is The Online Safety Act?
The UK Government’s 2023 Online Safety Act aims to shield children from harmful online content, particularly extreme pornographic material. This legislation is being implemented in response to alarming evidence of the impact online exposure has on real-world behaviours, including against girls and women in schools.
The statistics are clear.
Sexism in UK schools manifests in multiple ways, from subtle forms of discrimination to overt harassment. The 2017 UK Feminista report, “It’s Just Everywhere”, highlighted alarming statistics:
Why is this happening?
In 2020, Everyone’s Invited, founded by Soma Sara, brought national attention to the prevalence and normalisation of harassment in educational institutions, with thousands of students sharing their testimonies. This movement highlighted how deeply embedded and normalized sexism is within school environments to the point that students are discouraged from even reporting it.
The 2024 Women and Equalities Committee Report found that many schools are underreporting incidents and failing to take them seriously. Teachers are ill-equipped to deal with this – students don’t have the infrastructure for support and psychological safety. This is in part due to the issue being systemic and thereby self-perpetuating.
The real world impact
The normalization of sexist attitudes in schools can have long-term consequences, significantly impacting the mental health, self-confidence, and academic engagement of students, particularly girls.
Research by John Jerrim, a professor at UCL’s Social Research Institute, has highlighted a concerning decline in students’ academic engagement post-Covid—especially among girls (2025). Insecure school environments may be a critical factor behind this, with recent surveys indicating that girls feel less safe now than before the pandemic. When students feel unsafe, their ability to focus, participate, and perform academically is compromised.
A key challenge in addressing sexism is overcoming the limiting belief that such behavior is normal or harmless. Many students, teachers, and school administrators dismiss sexist incidents as insignificant or inevitable, creating an environment of underreporting and institutional inaction. For example, a 2024 UNISON survey highlighted that 70% of school staff witnessed sexism, yet 42% did not report these incidents, perceiving reporting as futilev.
Inadequate sex education compounds this issue. Soma Sara emphasizes that poor Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) leaves students ill-equipped to address or understand respectful interactions and healthy relationships.
Taking action
Movements like Everyone’s Invited have pushed the issue of sexism in schools onto national agendas. Ofsted and the Women’s and Equalities Committee have launched investigations, leading to policy shifts like the Online Safety Act.
However, legislation must be paired with intentional, everyday action in classrooms and staffrooms to challenge unconscious bias and the systemic reproduction of inequalities.
Creating safer, sexism-free educational spaces requires a coordinated and committed approach involving multiple stakeholders, including governments, educators, parents, and students.
Explore more about our work in tackling systemic inequality on the Serein resource hub.
If you’re a school leader, our educator support services offer tailored training and policy development support.
Where we go from here
Key solutions proposed by campaigners and educators include:
- Curriculum reform: Implement comprehensive RSHE (Relationships, Sex, and Health Education) that is inclusive, age-appropriate, and practical, teaching respect, consent, gender equality, and online safety.
- Teacher training: Equip staff with the skills and confidence to address harassment through mandatory and ongoing training.
- Support for survivors: Establish confidential reporting systems, dedicated follow-ups, and access to counselling or wellbeing services.
- Engaging boys and young men: Facilitate honest conversations about masculinity, consent, and power, focusing on education rather than shame.
- Whole-school approaches: Ensure that from leadership to students, everyone plays a part through clear procedures, open conversations, and active inclusion.
The Online Safety Act is a welcome step in reducing young people’s exposure to harmful content, but it’s only one part of the solution. By implementing clear policies, comprehensive education, regulatory frameworks, and inclusive practices, educational institutions can dismantle entrenched sexist attitudes and behaviors, fostering an equitable, respectful culture. The active participation of governments, Ofsted, ITT providers, educators, students, and parents is critical in achieving this transformation and ensuring long-term, positive change.