PETITIONRejectedPetition · petition.parliament.uk

Protect Girls. Teach Women’s Rights and Abuse Prevention in Schools

Over 50% of students aged 11–19 report hearing misogynistic remarks weekly. We call on Parliament to require all schools to teach age appropriate modules on women’s rights. Embedding this in RSHE guidance and Ofsted inspections will ensure consistent delivery.

Last fetched 19 May 2026 · petition.parliament.uk

Signatures

signatures

Government response threshold (10,000) · 20/10,000

Debate threshold (100,000) · 20/100,000

Petition progress2 events · Jul – Aug 2025

15 AUG 2025
Petition rejected
already-happening
On 16 July 2025, the Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities announced the publication of new statutory guidance for schools on the teaching of Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education. The Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities stated: "The guidance includes significant new content to ensure that RSHE plays its full role in the prevention of violence against women and girls (VAWG), as part of our government mission to halve VAWG. "This includes a focus on building healthy relationships skills from the start of primary. It includes an emphasis on opening conversations with young people about positive masculinity and femininity, and ensuring that nobody is stigmatised in these conversations. The guidance is clear that teaching about sexual ethics must go beyond teaching about consent, so that young people understand how to act with kindness and respect in all of their relationships." You can read more about this here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2025-07-16/hcws825#:~:text=The%20guidance%20includes%20significant%20new,in%20all%20of%20their%20relationships.
15 JUL 2025
Petition created

Background

Although RSHE is statutory, it often lacks consistent focus on women’s rights. We urge Parliament to require that all UK schools teach age appropriate modules on:

- Women’s rights and gender equality

- Healthy relationships and consent

- Forms of abuse, including coercive and online abuse

These lessons help prevent violence against women and girls, an obligation under UK and international law. They are also key to the DfE’s preventative education agenda and RSHE review.