Teachers call for class experts to stop misogyny
BBCA charity has said a long-awaited strategy to tackle violence against women and girls is a step in the right direction but teachers need specialist help in classrooms.
The government has pledged to halve violence against women and girls over the next decade and train teachers in how to spot and tackle misogyny in pupils.
Wearside Women in Need said teachers had enough on their plates and called for specialists to be brought into classrooms to work with them to make tackling violence the "heart of the culture" of schools.
The government's £20m package will pay for teachers to get training on how to challenge unhealthy myths about women and relationships.
It will also include a new helpline for teenagers to get support for concerns about abuse in their own relationships.
The Wearside charity's chief executive, Laura Seebholm, said the North East had one of the highest rates of domestic abuse and long-term funding was also needed to pay for safe accommodation for women wanting to escape from abusive relationships.
She said the government was right to call tackling the problem a "national emergency".
"We are working against the tide of online misogyny and hatred towards women and girls and we see that so strongly," she said.
"So it has to be quite fundamental and tackling violence has to be at the heart of the culture of a school - it has to run like a thread through all school activities.
"To make that work we need specialists in schools rather than just handing over to teachers to do extra in their busy jobs."
Her organisation receives half its funding from Sunderland City Council as well as about 25% from the Ministry of Justice.
Ms Seebholm said more support was also needed to help women and families who want to stay in their homes and extra measures to hold perpetrators to account.
She said last year one in eight women in the UK experienced domestic abuse, sexual violence or stalking.
"At this time of year, chief executives like myself are looking at their budgets for the next financial year and are really worried," Ms Seebholm said.
"It's a tough environment out there and the need does not go away.
"I really hope that the ambition of this strategy means there is less need for our services."
However, she said the statistics of domestic abuse were "eye-wateringly" high and there was an urgent need for specialist support for abuse survivors.
