Barnardo’s practitioners in Northern Ireland say misogyny which shows up in our children’s everyday experiences – on transport, in education and online - is often being normalised or unchallenged.
The leading children’s charity, which has launched the ‘Call It What It Is’ campaign, is calling for urgent action to challenge misogyny online and offline, ensure children’s voices are central to responses, and create safer digital spaces where no child is exposed to harm hiding in plain sight.
The charity polled more than 4,000 young people across the UK about their experiences of online misogynistic content and how it impacts attitudes and behaviours.
Barnardo’s warns the findings show how online abuse and harassment is “constant, corrosive and deeply embedded” for young people in the UK, some as young as 13.
The results from thousands of 13 to 20-year-olds show how all genders experience misogyny online – with a quarter of girls in the UK saying they’d been called degrading names online and more than half of boys (59%) saying they believed they are expected to “act tough and not show emotion”.
The findings also highlight how online misogyny is having an impact on the lives of young people in the real world. A quarter of all young people had seen a nude photo that had originally been sent privately and had been shared without consent – while one in seven (15%) 13- to 15-year-olds had been asked to share a nude photo of themselves. Nearly one in five girls (18%) also reported having received repeated messages after asking the sender to stop or ignoring them.
At the same time, boys felt unable to challenge their peers – one in five (21%) of boys said their friends would not back them if they called out sexist comments and a majority (57%) of boys said that people would think they are “boring” if they don’t join in with the group’s ‘banter’.
Lauren Spiers, Children’s Services Manager for Barnardo’s Northern Ireland, said: “Girls tell us misogyny is difficult to escape. It shows up in classrooms, corridors, on buses and online and it’s often normalised or unchallenged. We’ve supported girls being subjected to repeated verbal abuse in PE, while others face daily intimidation just moving through school, with boys pushing past them or disregarding their boundaries in study spaces.
“We’re hearing about girls being followed and harassed in public, then feeling too unsafe to travel alone, and others avoiding parts of buses due to sexualised comments. Online, these attitudes are reinforced and amplified.”
Belfast-based student Ayo is part of a Barnardo’s Changing Attitudes Group which has advised the charity on the campaign.
She said: “I joined the ‘Call It What It Is’ campaign because misogyny is everywhere. The issue isn’t just about harmful content but also about how algorithms amplify and repeatedly expose young people to it.
“People must realise that misogyny isn’t always a man being blatantly derogatory towards a woman. Women can be misogynistic too and sometimes it’s not even that obvious.
“Online harms aren’t individual issues, and we shouldn’t treat them as such. They’re structural issues shaped by policy and platform design.
“We can’t expect children to be able to safely navigate online spaces that many adults don’t fully understand themselves.
“Children and young people should be involved in shaping online safety policies because they’re the ones experiencing these platforms every day.”
Barnardo’s NI representatives were among those who co-designed the Northern Ireland Executive’s Strategic Framework to End Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) published in 2024. As part of Barnardo’s NI work in this area the charity runs LUMA, a project with young people, which explores healthy and respectful relationships and they learn about trust consent, safety and their rights.
Michele Janes, Director of Barnardo’s in Northern Ireland, said: “Misogyny isn’t always visible to many of us – but these findings show how frequent, corrosive and deeply embedded it is in the lives of our children and young people, both online and offline.
“It shapes how they see themselves, their sense of self and how they navigate relationships with others. Young people are telling us that the impact is harmful on all sides, from humiliation and sexualised abuse to feelings of shame and isolation. None of this is inevitable - misogyny is learned and it can and should be challenged.
“Their experiences must sit at the heart of conversations about how to tackle misogynistic content online. That’s why we’re calling on the UK government to turn Ofcom’s guidance for online services – a document designed to improve the safety of women and girls online - into a mandatory code of practice for tech companies to create safer digital platforms for all children and young people.
“While responsibility for regulating tech companies lies with Westminster, there is also work to be done in Northern Ireland in changing attitudes and supporting children who experience online abuse.
“Online misogyny does not remain confined to the internet - it strengthens harmful attitudes that contribute to violence in the real world. Addressing it is essential to challenge the broader culture that enables violence against women and girls, an issue requiring urgent action in Northern Ireland, where devastating statistics show that over 30 women and girls have been killed since 2020.”
Last year Barnardo’s NI provided essential support to 18,000 children, young people, parents and carers through more than 40 services and partnerships across Northern Ireland.