Important questions about raising boys
Araft of allegations of sexual harassment, even rape, at prestigious schools has attracted the attention of the Government, the police and Ofsted. Writing for this newspaper today, Robert Halfon, chair of the Commons Education Select Committee, suggests that institutions might have embraced a fashionable woke agenda while failing to tackle boys abusing girls within their own walls. Describing the situation as akin to Lord of the Flies, Mr Halfon is calling for an inquiry.
Schools will now come under enormous pressure to put their house in order before reputational damage becomes irreversible and any regulatory independence they enjoy is reduced. It won’t be easy, because this is not only a potentially criminal matter but a question of culture. The Sarah Everard case has sparked a passionate debate about women’s safety. Rather than constantly advising women to take care, say activists, it is time to examine the origins of violence against them – and many believe that it lies in childhood and education.
Schools, they argue, should be held responsible for promoting mutual respect; others are of the view that this should primarily be the duty of parents. The psychologist Steve Biddulph has written that the two worst groups at raising boys are, in fact, the very poor and the rich because both lack the time to parent effectively, which means many boys today take their life lessons from peers or the internet. If we want children to grow up into adults who respect each other, it is obvious that someone has to inculcate good values.
Wherever the conversation leads us, it will be important to stress that not all boys should be tarred with this brush. Far from it. Many parents will be keen for schools to be seen to act precisely in order to avert any attempt to expose alleged misogyny snowballing into a witch-hunt, destroying the lives of those who have done nothing wrong.
That has happened before, and when such injustices occur, it only blunts the legitimate fight against abuse.