The £1,000,000 project for London primary schools to tackle violence against women

The Mayor of London has today launched a new £1,000,000 project aiming to teach primary school pupils about the importance of healthy and respectful relationships.

The new toolkit, which has been developed by educational experts Tender2, ‘uses workshops, drama and interactive sessions in the classroom to engage young Londoners aged between 9-11’ as part of Sadiq Khan’s bid to tackle violence against women.

Mr Khan said: ‘It’s never too early to start educating young Londoners about the need to treat one another fairly and kindly.

‘And it’s important for young boys and girls to learn about equality and respect for one another.

‘That’s why I have written to all primary school headteachers in the capital today to outline the support, resources and funding I’m investing from City Hall so this important training can be delivered to thousands of young Londoners.

‘It will give teachers the expert training they need to empower the next generation of Londoners to stand up to sexism and misogyny in all its forms.’

The toolkit has been introduced amid new research which shows that young people are increasingly being exposed to misogynist influencers on social media.

Findings suggest that one in three young males have a positive view of ‘self-proclaimed misogynist’ Andrew Tate and that children as young as nine are routinely being exposed to pornography online.

The toolkit aims to tackle these issues, and is now available online to every primary school in London.

It will use ‘drama, art and media to provide a safe, enjoyable space where children can engage with sensitive topics, ‘rehearse’ for real life scenarios and explore their rights, responsibilities and expectations within relationships.’

The Mayor stressed: ‘There has never been a more important time to counter the pernicious influence of those who preach misogyny online.

‘We must ensure that young people are clear what healthy and respectful relationships are about before they start seeing content from individuals like Andrew Tate online.

‘I will continue to do everything within my power to ensure that ending violence against women and girls is treated with the utmost urgency by our police, and society as a whole to build a safer London for all.’

And the new project has gained the support of primary schools across the capital, with teachers taking part in online training sessions with Tender in preparation for lessons.

Emma, a Headteacher at a North London primary school, said: ‘Broaching issues like misogyny and sexism with young children can be really challenging and is something that we need to be prepared to deal with.

‘Thanks to the Mayor’s new toolkit, we now have expertly crafted, tried and tested tools and activities to safely and confidently teach this important subject matter.’

The primary school toolkit is part of Sadiq Khan’s record £233 million investment towards tackling violence against woman and girls.

The investment has seen projects such as the ‘Have a Word’ campaign film launched – which asks men of all ages to reflect on how they can help tackle misogyny and violence.

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