Mick Hartley

Teenage boys are the hot topic now, after the Adolescence storm. It was a girl who was killed, though. Joan Smith at UnHerd:

A third of teenage girls don’t feel safe at school. That’s the headline finding from new research, showing that the proportion has more than doubled in four years. In 2019, 15% of year 9 girls felt unsafe, compared to 34% in 2023. The fact that girls as young as 13 are scared of going to school should surely shame a civilised country.

The experience of teenage boys is a hot topic at the moment, thanks to the Netflix drama Adolescence. The Prime Minister has an embarrassing habit of making policy based on what people happen to be talking about at any given time. And while the programme has focused attention on the plight of young boys being infected by the misogynistic ideologies of online influencers like Andrew Tate, the real victim of the show is the young girl who is stabbed to death as a result.

Adolescence 2, perhaps? The girl's tale. That might make the PM take notice.

That message is only reinforced by the push for “gender neutral” toilets, removing a single-sex space where girls could take refuge. Schools are clearly failing young women. Do we have to wait for another Netflix series before ministers decide that making schools safe for them is an urgent priority?