David Vance SubstackRead More
What do you make of the news that the Government has just said that teachers will be given training to spot and tackle misogyny in the classroom?
High-risk pupils could even be sent on behavioural courses as part of the government’s strategy to “halve violence against women and girls” in the next decade.
Right, so 11 year boys could be sent off to correction college to make sure they only hold attitudes acceptable to this Labour Government?
Pupils will be taught about consent, the dangers of sharing intimate images, how to identify positive role models, and to challenge unhealthy myths about women and relationships. The £20m package will include a new helpline for teenagers to get support for concerns about abuse in their own relationships. The government hopes that by tackling the early roots of misogyny, it will prevent young men from becoming violent abusers. But the domestic abuse commissioner for England and Wales, Dame Nicole Jacobs, said the commitments did “not go far enough” to see the number of people experiencing abuse start to fall.
This is such a crock. For starters, it is deeply misandrist. Those like Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips fail to accept that it even exists. Misandry is contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against men and boys as a group. It is every bit as much of an issue as misogyny but not politically attractive to Labour politicians.
Isn’t Phillips the SAME politician who once laughed at the idea of tackling male suicide?
“In 2015, During a committee meeting, MP Philip Davies proposed a debate on International Men’s Day, mentioning men’s issues, including suicide, to highlight a lack of opportunities for discussing them in Parliament. Jess Phillips, the only woman on the committee, laughed, saying it seemed like every day was International Men’s Day for women in Parliament and that men would get their debate when women achieved parity.”
This is her calibre.
She was also was curiously reluctant to want to investigate Pakistani grooming gangs as you may recall earlier this year. In January Phillips rejected a request from Oldham Council for a government-led public inquiry into historical child sexual exploitation in the area, stating the decision to commission a local inquiry rested with the council alone.
Phillips has argued that previous large-scale inquiries, such as the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse faced significant delays and that their recommendations (which the previous Conservative government had not implemented) should be the priority.
So, to summarise, she hesitated to support taking action against ACTUAL violence against women and girls when carried out my muslim rape gangs but she is deeply worried about the “epidemic” of misogyny in the class room. In fact by taking this action she is demonising all boys.
But maybe she has half a point.
Might there be an emerging demographic that is hostile to women and girls, and that may indeed manifest itself as violence? Could that demographic have a name? Will Phillips tell us what it is?
Final thought, Jess Phillips represents the constituency of Yardley in Birmingham. She won her seat by a razor thin majority of 693 votes. Her constituency is 45% Muslim. Maybe she could start by tackling misogyny in THAT group?
As for the idea of teachers instructing our children into how they should THINK, I say get lost! How about focusing on how they can read, write and count?
