Not even the teachers were spared the constant assault of unwanted advances, jokes and crude comments
Until I reached 16, I’d spent my entire education in mixed schools. A lot of that time was happy: I made friends, learned new skills and explored subjects that intrigued me. But all of those experiences happened under a shadow of misogyny – one that was fuelled by a culture of unwanted sexual advances, rape jokes and crude comments about the appearance of female teachers and fellow students that was allowed to exist in classrooms, completely unchecked by staff.
I remember one geography class, where a young trainee was observing our lesson. As she walked around the room looking at everyone’s work, a group of boys waited until she was out of earshot to snigger about her behind. “Yeah, she’s got a phat back, you know,” they laughed. Teachers are naturally in a position of authority, leadership and safeguarding. But when boys began to objectify and sexualise teachers – not only elbow-nudging, gesturing and giggling behind their backs but approaching teachers to ask things like “Are you single, miss?” before running off – it felt like the boys had the power rather than the teachers. The very people who were there to protect us were no longer safe themselves. Slowly, it became apparent to me that the things I was witnessing on a daily basis weren’t isolated events but rather belonged to a very sinister culture.
