We've launched a new campaign, Call It What It Is, working alongside children and young people to counter dangerous narratives about misogyny and harmful notions of masculinity.
Despite conversations on this issue playing out in the media and Parliament, children and young people’s voices are too often missing from the debate. Without them, we cannot address the problems as children and young people experience them.
We commissioned Censuswide to poll 4,000 young people aged 13-20, across all four nations of the UK. The findings were stark and paint a picture of a distressing online environment for young people.
Key findings from the polling include:
- Around two thirds (65%) of young people report witnessing or coming across harmful gender expectations online. One in four girls (25%) report being called degrading names online, with over a third of 13‑year‑olds (34%) saying they have seen this happen to someone else.
- Nearly one in five girls (18%) report receiving repeated unwanted messages after asking the sender to stop or ignoring them.
- Just over one in seven young people aged 13–15 (15%) have been asked to send a nude image of themselves, and one in eight girls (12%) report being threatened with the sharing of nude images.
- A quarter of respondents (25%) report seeing nude images that were originally shared privately being redistributed without consent.
Our polling shows that misogyny is not an abstract issue but a daily reality for children and young people – one they are asking adults and technology companies to address. The children and young people advising our campaign, Call It What It Is, told us they want to see tech companies do more to prevent harm and have stronger protections in place, rather than respond after the fact.
Call It What It Is
Misogyny isn’t new, but the way children and young people encounter it is. It’s not ‘just locker room talk’ and it’s not banter – these are quietly normalised, harmful attitudes and behaviours that no child should ever learn to accept.
We need to name what the problems are to find real solutions that work.
Supporting your child's mental health
Is your child struggling with difficult thoughts or feelings? Whether you’re a parent, carer, or guardian, it's important that you're able to support the young person in your life – and we’re here to help.
Your misogyny isn’t a joke to me
Constant exposure to sexist jokes, harassment, or degrading online content has slowly started to normalise toxic behaviour. It shapes how people think, how they treat others, how safe women and girls feel in everyday life, and how men and boys believe they should act to meet society’s standards.
Hannah, one of our young Call It What It Is campaigners, explains how misogyny is shaping how she’s growing up and what she thinks we need to do about it.