Why violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread human rights problems in the world, what forms it takes, and what it will take to end it. A topic for everyone — boys and girls, women and men — who want a fairer world.
This is a sensitive topic that needs great care at this age. Young children are not ready for details of violence against women and girls. But they are ready — and need — to learn the foundation ideas that will protect them and shape them into safer adults. No one should hurt anyone else. Their body belongs to them. They can say no. If they see something wrong, they should tell a trusted adult. These ideas protect all children and build a foundation for later, fuller understanding. The topic at early years is not really 'violence against women' — it is respect for every body, kindness toward all, and the safety of home. Treat the topic with restraint.
Do not place any burden on children.
What every child deserves, what kindness looks like, who trusted adults are. Be aware that some children may be living with family violence.
Know the safeguarding procedures in your school. No materials are needed.
If someone is bigger or older than you, they can do what they want — you have to accept it.
This is not true, and it is very important to know. No one — no matter how big, no matter how old, no matter who they are — has the right to hurt you or touch you in a way that feels wrong. Your body belongs to you. You can say no. You can move away. You can always tell a grown-up you trust. The person who wants to hurt or touch you wrongly will often tell you to keep it secret. That is a sign that they know it is wrong. Telling is the right thing, always. It is not your fault. And trusted grown-ups will help you.
Real strength is being tough and rough — especially for boys.
Real strength is not about being tough or rough. The strongest people in the world use their strength to help and protect, not to hurt. A boy who is gentle with a smaller child is strong. A man who is kind to his wife and listens to her is strong. A father who helps his children without shouting is strong. Real strength is shown by what you protect, not by what you damage. Any boy or man who uses strength to hurt someone weaker is not strong — he is afraid, or has been taught wrongly. Real strength is always gentle to those who cannot fight back.
Teacher note: Safeguarding. This topic may bring disclosures from children about home situations. Know your school's safeguarding procedures. Listen without promising to keep secrets. Report appropriately. A disclosure is a sign of trust; handle it with care.
Violence against women and girls (often shortened to VAWG or GBV for 'gender-based violence') is violence that targets people because they are women or girls, or that women and girls experience disproportionately. It is one of the most widespread human rights problems in the world. The UN estimates that around one in three women globally has experienced physical or sexual violence, most often from a partner. Every 11 minutes, on average, a woman or girl is killed by someone in her family.
Domestic violence — physical, sexual, emotional, or financial abuse by a partner or family member — is the most common. Sexual violence — including rape, attempted rape, and sexual assault. Street harassment and public harassment, which many women and girls experience regularly. Online abuse — threats, harassment, sharing of intimate images without consent. Forced marriage and child marriage — affecting an estimated 12 million girls worldwide each year. Female genital mutilation (FGM) — practised in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, and in diaspora communities, affecting more than 200 million women and girls alive today.
Femicide — the killing of women specifically because they are women. Why does it happen?
It is rooted in unequal relationships between men and women, and in attitudes and beliefs that treat women as less than men — less deserving of respect, less in control of their own bodies, less free. These attitudes are not natural or universal — they have been built over long histories, and they can be changed. Countries that have worked hardest on gender equality typically show lower rates of VAWG.
Consent is freely given permission. It cannot be assumed. It cannot be given by force, fear, or confusion. It cannot be given by a child in matters that are not for children to consent to. Teaching consent — in age-appropriate ways from early years — is one of the most effective forms of prevention.
Changing attitudes through education; strong laws, properly enforced; support for survivors; engaging men and boys as partners; transforming harmful norms in communities; and challenging media that normalises violence. Countries and communities that have reduced VAWG have done so through sustained, coordinated effort over years. This topic is relevant to all children — boys as well as girls. Most violence is perpetrated by men, but most men are not violent. Boys and men have essential roles in change — by respecting women and girls in their own lives, by challenging disrespect from others, by supporting equality. This is not a 'women's issue' to be solved by women alone.
Handle with great care. This is a sensitive topic for many children. Some will be living with family violence. Some will have been harmed themselves.
Do not sensationalise. Focus on respect, consent, and what every person deserves — rather than on graphic details. Make sure boys feel invited into the conversation as allies, not blamed as a group. No child should leave this topic feeling either that she is destined to be a victim or that he is destined to be a perpetrator.
Violence against women is mostly committed by strangers in public places.
This is a common belief, especially because stranger attacks are what we hear about most in the news. But the evidence is clear: most violence against women is committed by people they know — usually partners, former partners, or family members. This makes the problem harder to see because it often happens behind closed doors. It also means preventing violence is not only about being safe in public places. It is about the relationships women and girls have with the people closest to them — and the broader attitudes that shape those relationships. Home is where most violence happens, and home is where a lot of prevention work has to begin.
If a woman dresses a certain way, goes somewhere at night, or drinks, she is partly responsible for being harmed.
This view is widespread and wrong. Responsibility for violence lies with the person who does violence — full stop. Women who dress a certain way, walk home at night, or drink have not caused violence against them, any more than a man wearing a watch has caused a robbery. These comments — 'what was she wearing?', 'what was she doing out?' — shift blame to the victim and away from the attacker. Women should be safe wherever they go, whatever they wear. Making them responsible for their own safety means accepting violence as inevitable. It is not. The people responsible for violence are those who commit it. Always.
Asking for consent is awkward and spoils the moment — real couples just know.
This idea is often repeated but is not true for good relationships. In real, healthy relationships, people do check with each other. They ask. They notice signs. They care more about the other person's feelings than about what is 'smooth'. The idea that 'you should just know' often covers for not asking — and not asking is how misunderstandings become harm. Asking is not awkward to people who care about respect. It is the basis of trust. Whether in a friendship, family, or later in a romantic relationship, 'do you want this?' and 'is this okay?' are among the most respectful things a person can say.
Teacher note on safeguarding: This topic may bring disclosures from children about their families or experiences. Every school should have clear safeguarding procedures. Listen without promising confidentiality that you cannot keep. Report concerns appropriately. Where possible, link children to support services. A child who discloses has trusted you with something important; handle it carefully.
Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is one of the most widespread human rights problems in the world. The UN defines it as 'any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life' (Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, 1993). Teaching it well requires honesty about scale, care about content, and recognition that it is not only a women's issue but a civic one.
WHO 2021 estimates based on multi-country data show that approximately 1 in 3 women globally (about 736 million) have experienced physical and/or sexual violence, most commonly from an intimate partner. About 1 in 4 women aged 15-49 in partnerships have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). Femicide — killing of women because they are women — accounts for about 47,000 deaths per year by partners or family (UNODC). Every 11 minutes on average, a woman is killed by a partner or family member. Rates vary by region and age but the problem exists in every country.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is the most common form — physical, sexual, emotional, and economic abuse by current or former partners. Sexual violence — rape, attempted rape, sexual assault, and harassment — is widespread; WHO estimates that 1 in 7 women globally has experienced sexual violence by a non-partner. Domestic violence extends beyond intimate partners to other family relationships. Street harassment and sexual harassment in workplaces, schools, and public transport are routine experiences for most women. Child marriage affects an estimated 12 million girls a year; around 640 million women alive today married as children (UNICEF). Female genital mutilation (FGM) has been practised on more than 200 million women and girls alive today (UNICEF), concentrated in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Trafficking for sexual exploitation affects hundreds of thousands; women and girls are the majority of trafficking victims globally (UNODC). Honour-based violence — violence committed to protect perceived family or community honour — affects thousands of women and girls annually. Technology-facilitated violence has grown massively — online harassment, image-based abuse (the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, sometimes called 'revenge porn'), cyberstalking, sextortion, and deepfake abuse. Why does it happen? VAWG is rooted in gender inequality — in structures, laws, and attitudes that have historically treated women as subordinate to men.
Harmful masculinity norms (men must be dominant, emotionally closed, entitled to women); lack of women's economic and political power; weak legal protection; cultures of impunity where perpetrators face no consequences; normalisation of violence in media and daily life; harmful alcohol use; and stress from poverty, displacement, or conflict. The Nordic countries, which have worked most on gender equality, tend to have relatively lower rates of some forms of VAWG, though under-reporting complicates comparisons.
Legal and ethical frameworks around consent have evolved substantially. The modern standard is affirmative consent — consent requires clear, voluntary agreement, not merely the absence of 'no'. Consent cannot be given under coercion, intoxication beyond capacity, or in response to threats. Consent can be withdrawn at any time. Consent to one act is not consent to another. Consent involves capacity (children and adults incapacitated by substance or mental state cannot give full consent to sexual activity). These frameworks are reflected in laws in many jurisdictions. Several countries — Sweden, Spain, Germany, the UK (in some respects), and others — have moved toward affirmative-consent legal standards for sexual offences. Prevention — what works. Research and experience have identified approaches with evidence behind them. Transforming gender norms through comprehensive education programmes (from early years) — the most promising long-term strategy. Engaging men and boys — programmes like 'Promundo' work with men on masculinity, fatherhood, and relationships. Empowering women economically — income-generating programmes, legal rights to property and inheritance. Legal reform — criminalising marital rape (still legal in some 30+ countries), raising minimum marriage age, effective enforcement. Early childhood programmes — addressing children exposed to violence. Community mobilisation — Uganda's SASA! and similar programmes have shown measurable reductions in IPV. Survivor services — shelters, helplines, legal support, mental health care. Media reform — challenging representations that normalise violence. Coordinated national strategies — Iceland, Sweden, and others have combined multiple approaches over decades. Role of men and boys. Research is clear that men who grow up in homes with gender equality, who are taught healthy emotional expression, and who are invited into conversations about respect tend not to become perpetrators. Engaging men and boys is therefore both prevention and partnership. 'He for She' (UN Women), 'White Ribbon' (a global men's movement against VAWG), 'Promundo', and many similar programmes focus on this. Caring men who speak up about other men's behaviour have been shown to shift social norms — the 'bystander intervention' approach. This is not about blaming men as a group; it is about working with men as partners.
This is among the most sensitive topics in the library. Some students will be survivors of sexual or domestic violence. Some will be from families where violence happens. Some boys may have absorbed harmful attitudes from family, media, or peers.
Follow safeguarding procedures. Present facts without graphic detail. Do not put the burden of explanation on any particular student. Avoid the two common errors — either pretending VAWG is rare and marginal, or treating all boys and men as suspects. Both are wrong and both harm the goal of real change. Present the topic as the civic issue it is: a significant human rights problem for which everyone has a role in the solution.
Rates of VAWG have risen dramatically in recent decades.
The picture is more complicated. Reported rates of many forms of VAWG have risen as survivors become more willing to come forward, and as laws and definitions have expanded to recognise forms of violence (like marital rape, psychological abuse, coercive control) that were not previously counted. This does not mean actual violence has risen proportionally; it may mean reporting and measurement have improved. Some forms have indeed risen — online and technology-facilitated abuse, for example, did not exist before the internet. Some have fallen — rates of severe physical IPV appear to have declined in some countries with sustained prevention efforts. The honest picture is that VAWG remains enormously widespread, while measured trends are shaped by reporting changes as well as actual behaviour. The rise in attention is largely good — survivors finally being heard — not proof that violence is getting worse.
False accusations of rape and sexual assault are common, so caution about believing women is warranted.
This claim is used to justify dismissing women's reports, but the evidence does not support it. Research on false rape reports (Lisak 2010 and subsequent studies) consistently finds false report rates between 2-10%, comparable to false reporting rates for other serious crimes. In most cases the problem is the opposite — under-reporting. Only about 20% of sexual assaults are reported to police in many countries studied; of those, only a small fraction lead to conviction. The attention given to rare false accusations, compared to the rarely-discussed scale of under-reporting and under-conviction, reflects a cultural pattern of protecting men accused over women reporting. Taking accusations seriously does not mean presuming guilt; it means investigating fairly. The 'believe women' principle does not mean believing any accusation without evidence; it means not dismissing accusations as probably false — because they are overwhelmingly not.
VAWG is a problem mainly of certain cultures or religions — others are much better.
VAWG exists in every country, culture, and religion. Prevalence rates vary but no region is low. Wealthy Western countries have substantial VAWG rates — the US, UK, Australia, and most European countries have rates that would count as crisis levels if framed differently. Many Muslim-majority countries have lower rates than many Christian-majority ones; comparisons by religion do not produce the neat patterns some assume. Specific cultural practices (FGM, honour-based violence, child marriage) are concentrated in specific regions, but the underlying phenomenon — violence against women rooted in gender inequality — is universal. Framing VAWG as 'their problem, not ours' is a common error in wealthy countries that allows people to avoid examining the high rates at home. The problem is global, and addressing it requires honesty in every context.
Comprehensive sex and relationships education leads to younger sexual activity and more problems.
The evidence contradicts this claim. Research across many countries shows that comprehensive, rights-based sex and relationships education — covering consent, respect, healthy relationships, and safer practices — is associated with later sexual debut, not earlier; lower rates of teenage pregnancy and STIs; and reduced acceptance of VAWG among young people. The Netherlands, which teaches comprehensive sex and relationships education starting at primary age, has among the lowest rates of teenage pregnancy and some indicators of VAWG in Europe. 'Abstinence-only' education, by contrast, shows worse outcomes by most measures. The notion that educating young people about consent and respect will encourage harmful behaviour has no empirical support; it has been consistently disproved. Education that includes respect, consent, and boundary-setting is among the most evidence-based prevention tools available.
Teacher note on safeguarding: This is one of the most sensitive topics in the curriculum. Students may disclose experiences of violence or abuse. Know your school's safeguarding procedures thoroughly. Respond with calm support, preserve information, report to designated lead, and ensure continued support. Do not promise confidentiality that cannot be kept. Do not investigate yourself. Key texts and reports for students: WHO, 'Violence against women prevalence estimates, 2018' (2021) — foundational recent data. UN Women annual reports. UNODC Global Study on Homicide (femicide sections). Rebecca Solnit, 'Men Explain Things to Me' (2014). Roxane Gay, 'Not That Bad' (2018, edited collection on rape culture). bell hooks, 'The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love' (2004). On consent: Jessica Valenti and Jaclyn Friedman, 'Yes Means Yes!' (2008); Peggy Orenstein, 'Boys & Sex' (2020). On masculinity: Michael Kimmel, 'Healing from Hate' and 'Guyland'; Jackson Katz, 'The Macho Paradox'. Organisations: UN Women; WHO; UNFPA; End Violence Against Women Coalition (UK); Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN, US); Women's Aid; Refuge; Southall Black Sisters; Promundo; White Ribbon (international); MenEngage Alliance. For young people specifically: Fumble (UK sex ed); Scarleteen; The Good Men Project. Crisis resources: know the helplines and services available in your country; include them in any materials used with students. International: the UN's Orange Campaign resources.
Your feedback helps other teachers and helps us improve TeachAnyClass.