Minister 'not surprised' by school 'rape list'

Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones has said she is "horrified but sadly not surprised" by teenage girls' accounts of the violent misogyny they face.

A group of young women from Tyneside made a short film to highlight the abusive comments they experience regularly, which included explicit sexual language and rape threats often masked as "banter".

Davies-Jones told the BBC the film reflected statistics on youth crime which showed a '"huge spike and growth in peer-on-peer crimes of a sexual nature".

The government said it was "taking bold and decisive action to halve violence against women and girls", with changes being introduced from September to help teachers challenge misogyny.

Asked if she felt the government was doing enough to tackle misogyny, the minister said she felt more "could always be done" but the government had made a serious commitment to curriculum changes and the violence against women and girls strategy.

She acknowledged teachers could not be solely responsible for addressing the issues, pointing to the crucial role of parents in educating young people on acceptable attitudes and behaviours.

The North East has the highest rate of violence against women and girls in England and charities have warned unchallenged attitudes could lead to abuse in early relationships.

The girls made the film with This Life Collective, a specialist teaching organisation which works with young people.

• How a struggling school tackled misogyny and became a happier place
• Teachers' union warns of 'masculinity crisis brewing' in schools
• Women's street watch 'consistently' abused by men

In it, one girl described how disturbed she had been after a "rape list" was made by boys in her school in which they ranked the girls they wanted to assault the most.

"It is frightening because you don't know people's real intentions," she said.

Director of the film Sue Davison welcomed the minister's comments and said she hoped the girls could be part of conversations in the future about curriculum changes.

A specialist teacher with 30 years' experience in schools, she said the rise of toxic masculinity among social media influencers had a serious impact on "disenfranchised boys".

"I think the language is getting more violent and aggressive," she said.

The film has been shared with Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.