<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Experts are sounding the alarm over sexism in the classroom due to an "explosion of misogyny" in Australian schools.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Associate professor Samantha Schulz, who is a sociologist of education, said it's putting female teachers and students at risk and that influences like the online 'manosphere' are to blame.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Post-COVID, principally when students returned to school, teachers across many sites described what has been called at times an explosion of misogyny," she told </span><em><span>Weekend Today</span></em><span> this morning.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/new-zealand-christchurch-dementia-torture-elder-neglect-abuse-world-news/8ea3d383-1c19-4bbd-b3f1-6e34d70b516d" target="_blank"><strong><span>Son locked his dementia-suffering father in blacked-out room to steal his fortune</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We're talking about a rise in vulgar, sexualised, aggressive language, mostly being played out by boys and young men, mostly targeting female teachers and peers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Boys and young men [are] echoing, often verbatim, talking points and problematic beliefs that are promulgated by male influencers."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sexism and misogyny have long existed in Australian schools, allowed to fester due to policy neglect in regards to gender literacy and gender equity in schooling.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/sexism-in-schools-rising-boys-target-female-teachers-students/086fc49c-0218-4f03-a855-ca87f57cd2ce" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It has created an environment where sexism is often normalised, allowing more extreme rhetoric to rise to the surface.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Meanwhile, schools and teachers often lack the capacity to name and address these kinds of gender-based issues.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And it's not just burnt out teachers that are being harmed by the spike in schoolyard sexism.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-freedom-250-concert-lineup-acts-names-bands-pulling-out-young-mc-commodores/0ab6cb17-18c6-4dff-8ee1-934b9dc9f258" target="_blank"><strong><span>Musicians back out of Trump's Washington concert after widespread criticism</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="player__video-container"><img alt="" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/yiplL4hmO9kkFPtSIa8-Dz6dJ4I=/750x0/https%3A%2F%2Fvms-network-images-prod.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com%2F2026%2F03%2F762452%2Fpickerimage.jpg"/></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Far too often what's missing in these discussions is how this is being experienced by girls and young women, and what this means for them, not simply during their schooling, but also the longer term impacts," Schulz said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Girls describing feeling unsafe, unheard, taking up less space, learning or being enculturated by default to accept that misogynistic language and behaviours by boys and young men must be tolerated, because nothing necessarily or comprehensively is being done to address it."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It's sending a devastating message to female students that violence against women and girls, which is already extreme in Australia, is the norm.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On the flipside, boys who engage in sexist and misogynistic behaviour often get off scot-free.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We often hear from parents, 'not my boy, my boy wouldn't do that,'" Schulz said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/officeworks-offshores-jobs-overseas-to-philippines-and-india/f2676351-44cf-44d1-899a-f1df17547041" target="_blank"><strong><span>Officeworks to offshore jobs to India and Philippines in $15 million restructure</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She warned that the problem will only worsen – both in schools and in wider Australian society – until it is addressed head-on.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>That means educating teachers on who to understand, navigate and teach about gender in a way that encourages consent and respectful relationships in the classroom.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And that needs to be supported by strong policy frameworks.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We need to name misogyny, register what is happening, so that we can gain a really clear picture of the scale of this issue, which is not going away," Schulz said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Schooling has to be viewed as a primary prevention space for gender-based violence, but this requires political will so we need brave politicians who accept that this is a significant crisis, and it is going to have long-term implications."</span></div></div>