Female teachers in Scottish schools face ‘more frequent’ violence and abuse

Female teachers in Scotland are more likely to be physically attacked by pupils than their male colleagues and to experience such abuse more frequently, according to research from NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union. Data from the union’s recent Behaviour in Schools survey shows that nearly half (49%) of female teachers in Scotland who responded said they had experienced physical abuse or violence from pupils in the previous 12 months, compared with 36% of male respondents. It also found that 27% of female teachers reported being hit or punched, compared with 13% of male teachers and that 20% of female teachers reported being kicked, compared with just 8% of male teachers. Meanwhile, 37% of female teachers said they had been shoved or barged by a pupil, compared with 33% of male teachers and 12% of female teachers said they had been spat at, compared with 4% of male teachers. While rates of verbal abuse were virtually identical for both sexes, with 90% of male teachers and 89% of female teachers experiencing verbal abuse from pupils in the previous year, female teachers appear to experience both physical and verbal abuse more frequently than their male colleagues. Some 18% of female teachers said they experienced physical violence several times a week in the last year, compared with 6% of male teachers. Similarly, 37% of female teachers reported being verbally abused several times a week on average, compared to 18% of male teachers. NASUWT also found that 5% of female teachers reported experiencing sexual abuse from pupils, compared with 2% of male teachers. Female teachers reported sexism and misogyny as among the types of abuse they receive from pupils. As such, NASUWT is calling for ministers and employers to take greater action to support schools and on social media to tackle the “scourge of misogyny” and gender-based abuse directed at women teachers, which also affects female pupils. It said this should include explicitly teaching pupils about misogyny and misogynistic attitudes and improving reporting procedures in schools to include incidents of sexual harassment and abuse. Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General Secretary, said: “While no teacher should go to work and experience verbal or physical abuse from pupils, this data indicates that women teachers are at higher risk of facing violence. “Undoubtedly misogynistic and sexist attitudes and ideologies account for some of the disparity between rates of violence and abuse being faced by male and female teachers. An anti-sexist approach to managing pupil behaviour must be recognised as central to bringing down levels of abuse and violence in our schools.” He added: “Our research has found that sexual harassment and sexism towards both female teachers and pupils in schools is commonplace and that the majority of incidents fail to be reported or dealt with effectively. “Tackling sexism and misogyny must be a priority for the government and for schools. Until such behaviour is treated with the seriousness it deserves and seen as part of the spectrum of abuse plaguing our schools, women working in schools will continue to have their safety put at risk.”