When I recently picked up Laura Bates’ latest book, The New Age of Sexism: How the AI Revolution Is Reinventing Misogyny, I wasn’t expecting it to be a CPD crash course.
As the PSHE lead at an all girls’ secondary school, I witness daily the challenges young people face in navigating the digital world. I have seen how the pervasive presence of online pornography shapes girls’ understanding of sex and relationships long before they are emotionally equipped to process it.
What’s new is the explosion of AI and the way in which advancements in technology are not only exacerbating existing misogyny, but actively reinventing it.
In her book, Bates describes how deepfake pornography created by students “for free on their lunch breaks” can be used to target their female peers and teachers. It’s a terrifying development that Bates calls “the next big epidemic of sexual violence in schools”.
This isn’t a distant threat; it’s here already. We know from Ofcom’s latest report on children’s media use and attitudes that 50 per cent of 8-17 year olds say they regularly use AI. And the tools to create deepfakes are at their disposal.
Indeed, there have already been instances of school-wide distribution of AI-generated sexual images of students and staff members, including at an all-girls’ private school in London, where 12 girls were victims of AI-generated sexual-image sharing.
As an RSHE teacher, I consider myself very well educated in these topics, but technology is advancing at such an alarming rate that even I have been floored by how accessible some image-generation tools are. I had assumed that someone would have to be quite technologically advanced to create realistic “deep fake” porn, but Bates shows us that this is not the case.
There are myriad “nudifying” and “undress” tools and apps that are free or cheap to purchase and incredibly easy to use. The AI images they produce are not cartoon-like (as they may have been a year or so ago) but are now so convincing it can be almost impossible to tell whether or not they are real. These tools require only an innocent photograph, found online (perhaps on a school website, someone’s social media page, or their LinkedIn profile) to generate a realistic image or video depicting a sex act, including acts of violent sexual abuse.
In RSHE, we have long been teaching students about the dangers of sharing nudes, but this new landscape is making that message obsolete; it no longer matters if there are nude images of you in existence if anyone can create an AI version in seconds.
How should schools respond?
The question for schools now is not “What can we do?” but “What must we do?”
If you become aware of any such images circulating of students or staff in your school, it is imperative that you report this immediately to your designated safeguarding lead (DSL). Do not share, save, forward or download the images, even for reporting reasons.
Beyond that, it is no longer enough to simply advise students on “staying safe online” or encourage them to limit their screen time. Our PSHE and RSE curricula must be proactive, comprehensive and unflinchingly honest in addressing these issues.
Here are some steps schools can take:
Initiate frank discussions around sex and pornography
Begin these conversations as early as Year 9, acknowledging the reality of early exposure. Students are living in a digital age, plugged into TikTok and other platforms constantly - they know and see way more than you think. Therefore, talking to them about sites such as OnlyFans and people like Bonnie Blue, or the recent P Diddy trial, for example, brings a fresh relevance to the topics of sex and pornography.
Help students to distinguish reality from distortion
Students need to understand the difference between consensual, healthy and loving relationships, and the distorted, often AI-generated realities presented in pornography. Teenagers often think “This would never happen to me” when discussing abusive relationships or non-consensual sex, as they can see things in very black-and-white terms.
Girls can think that learning about porn isn’t important for them; that it’s “just for boys”. In order for them to see how it affects them, it is vital to discuss the ways in which boys’ experience of watching violent and non-consensual porn - sometimes AI-generated - can impact their treatment of girls during real-life sex.
Recognise and challenge misogynistic narratives
Empower students to identify and push back against the deeply misogynistic narratives perpetuated by AI and online platforms. This is perhaps the hardest part. Sadly, many girls and young women seem to have bought into the idea that girls can be partly responsible for rape, and that lots of women lie about sexual assault. These messages are incredibly dangerous, as well as wildly inaccurate.
Initiating conversation around the difference between sexism and misogyny is a surefire way to get them to share their views, and will lead to opportunities for further education around boundaries and consent.
Stay informed
Recognise that technology is advancing rapidly. Make an effort to stay updated on new tools and trends - particularly concerning pornography, AI and deepfake technology - and how these are impacting young people. Many local councils offer online CPD on RSE, as do organisations such as Brook, PSHE Association and Sex Education Forum.
Read the new RSHE Guidance, which makes specific reference to educating students about how porn can normalise harmful sexual behaviours.
Collaborate with parents
Working hand in hand with parents helps to create a consistent message and support system for students navigating these challenges. The new RSHE Guidance also makes specific reference to transparency with parents.
Invite parents into school to discuss the content of RSHE modules and show them relevant statistics. Sometimes, parents simply do not know how much their children are seeing online. In my experience, once they know that robust RSHE seeks only to positively address the misinformation and dangerous narratives their children are already exposed to, the vast majority of parents are fully on board with what we are teaching and why it is so vitally important.
Charli Faux is subject lead for PSHE and school mental health lead at Bishop’s Hatfield Girls’ School in Hertfordshire
