Women teachers in Scotland experiencing vastly higher levels of abuse than male peers

Abuse included being spat at, headbutted, kicked and punched.

The union is now calling for government ministers to do more to tackle misogyny both in the classroom and in wider society.

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Jane Peckham, NASUWT Deputy General Secretary, said: “We know from this survey, our casework and previous research that sexual harassment and sexism towards both female teachers and pupils in schools and colleges is commonplace and that the majority of incidents fail to be reported or dealt with effectively.

“We cannot hope to make our schools safe and secure places to learn and work unless the gendered element of managing pupil behaviour is also addressed.”

The data is being published to coincide with the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence global campaign, which runs until December 10.

One teacher surveyed said: “Myself and my female colleagues have seen a marked increase in pupils completely ignoring us or degrading us, only to turn around and listen to our male counterparts without question.

“There seems to be a gender aspect to our recent behaviour issues.”

Another teacher said a pupil threw meat at her while calling her a pig while another said bodyshaming is common.

The research found that female teachers are limiting their career ambitions because of the stress of sexist and misogynistic behaviour from pupils.

The report reads: “Teachers across the board felt increased stress, anxiety, depression and many had taken time off work due to the mental health issues they suffered.

“However when we examine the feedback and the voices of women teachers we can clearly see that this impact of verbal and physical abuse is also entrenching sexism, inequality and misogyny within schools as well as affecting the gender pay gap, with women teachers resigning, reducing hours and stepping back from promoted posts.”

Figures from the recent Behaviour in Schools survey shows that one in five female teachers in Scotland said they have experienced physical abuse or violence from pupils several times a week in the previous 12 months.

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This number is just 3% for male teachers.

While the figures show male teachers are more likely to face verbal threats from pupils, female teachers are more likely to have experienced physical violence.

Some 19% reported having been hit or punched, compared to 12% of male teachers while 39% had been shoved or barged, compared to 29% of males.

Abuse also included 11% being kicked, compared to 8%; 9% had been spat at, compared to 6%; and 2% headbutted, compared to 1%.

While the survey indicated similarly high levels of verbal abuse against both male and female teachers, with 94% of male and 95% of female teachers experiencing such abuse in the previous 12 months, verbal attacks were more frequent against female teachers.

A total of 22% of female teachers said they experienced verbal abuse from pupils daily in the previous 12 months, compared to 11% of male teachers.

Female teachers described misogyny and sexism as being among the abuse that they are experiencing from pupils.

The 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.

Mike Corbett, NASUWT National Official Scotland, said: “Sexist and misogynistic abuse and harassment of female teachers and pupils in our schools is a daily occurrence.

“What women and girls are experiencing in schools is a reflection of a wider societal culture, which is why it cannot be left to schools alone to tackle this issue.

“Ministers and employers have a responsibility to step up.

“Women and girls should not continue to have their safety put at risk and have their daily lives blighted by sexist abuse.”

Last week The Herald shared an exclusive survey from the EIS teaching union that also detailed teachers’ experiences of violence in the classroom.

A total of 63.2% of respondents said that there are “daily” incidents of pupil-on-teacher violence or aggression in their school.

The figures were higher in primary schools (63.7%) than secondary schools (56.9%), but highest in additional needs schools (90.4%).

A further 19.5% reported that such incidents happen on a weekly basis, while 5.1% said they occur monthly. Just 11.6% said that incidents occur only “rarely”.

Respondents were also clear that incidents of violence and aggression are now more common than they were four years ago.