JENI O’DOWD: Time to introduce masculinity education for our boys in schools before it’s too late

Sometimes, a news story is so shocking, so grotesque, it seems impossible that it could happen — let alone be met with silence.

In Sydney, a five-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted in the playground of her primary school by a group of boys.

The allegations are horrific: her underwear forcibly removed, internal injuries so severe she needed local anaesthetic to urinate, and blood cleaned from her legs and clothing before her mother was even contacted.

And yet, although this has been widely reported, there has been almost no national discussion.

No questions to politicians on the campaign trail. No urgent press conferences. No sweeping promises of change.

It’s the silence that should scare every parent in this country.

Because while voters are being bombarded with pledges about power prices, tax cuts and beer discounts, there is barely a whisper about the fact that our kids — our boys in particular — are being raised in a digital cesspit of violence, misogyny and rage.

This isn’t hyperbole. It’s reality. Ask any teacher, youth educator, or parent of a teenage boy navigating social media today.

Nine months before this alleged playground assault, the same school reportedly had to ban all Year 1 and 2 boys from the playground due to “ongoing challenging behaviour.” It was a huge red flag.

What are our sons being exposed to, and why aren’t our leaders asking that question?

The Federal Government is moving to ban under-16s from social media — a policy supported by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. Education Minister Jason Clare said the aim is to reduce the number of boys being “brainwashed in that cesspit”.

But any kid who wants to get around a social media ban will. Savvy 12-year-olds are smarter than many adults when it comes to technology.

The ban might slow the problem, but it will not solve it because what we’re facing isn’t just a social media problem — it’s a masculinity crisis.

Where is the bold, bipartisan strategy that tackles online indoctrination, offers real counter-messaging, funds early education, and empowers parents and teachers?

This month, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer publicly met with the creators of Adolescence, a Netflix crime drama that has become essential viewing for its raw portrayal of teenage male violence and the online spaces that nurture it.

The series is fictional, but the themes are not: a middle-class 13-year-old boy from a good home stabs a girl after being radicalised by online misogyny and rejection.

The story echoes real tragedies in the UK and Australia, yet no major political party in Australia has even mentioned the issues raised by Adolescence during the Federal election campaign.

There has been no discussion about the incel movement. No analysis of what Andrew Tate’s 11 billion views on TikTok mean for the next generation of boys.

Tate — whose videos glorify violence, money, control, and degrading women — is not hiding in some dark corner of the internet. He’s front and centre on the smartphones of Australian boys, styled as a guru, preaching escape from the “matrix” and power over others.

It’s not hard to draw a line between the normalisation of this content and the behavioural issues we’re seeing in our schools, our playgrounds, and — heartbreakingly — in our headlines.

Educators are doing what they can. Youth educator Daniel Principe, who has worked with tens of thousands of boys in Australian schools, says many are exposed to misogynistic, pornographic and violent content online — often long before they fully understand what they’re seeing.

He describes the current digital landscape as overwhelming and desensitising for boys, who are left to navigate it alone.

And our boys? They’re not monsters. They’re confused. Influencers are telling them that they’re either victims or aggressors — with little space in between.

As Our Watch CEO Patty Kinnersly puts it, many boys are uncomfortable with the dominant-aggressive stereotype. But they don’t always have the tools or support to reject it. We need to offer them something better.

So, where is the plan? Where is the bold, bipartisan strategy that tackles online indoctrination, offers real counter-messaging, funds early education, and empowers parents and teachers?

Where are the hard conversations — not just about social media regulation but about masculinity itself?

Sadly, it won’t become a defining issue of this Federal election campaign because there’s no easy fix. It doesn’t make for a positive headline or a 30-second grab on the 6pm news.

However, if we have long accepted the importance of sex education in helping young people understand their changing bodies and relationships, isn’t it time we introduced something just as vital — masculinity education?

It’s a simple concept. In the same way we teach respect and consent in health class, we should teach boys from an early age how to recognise and resist toxic ideas of manhood.

This is that strength doesn’t mean silence, leadership doesn’t mean control, and being a man isn’t about power over others but power over yourself.

This isn’t about shaming boys — it’s about empowering them. Because right now, in the absence of honest conversations, boys are being educated online by a murky underworld of influencers who peddle dominance, misogyny and emotional repression.

And they’re listening — because nobody else is talking.

We’ve spent decades telling girls they can do and be anything. Isn’t it time we gave boys the same message?

This election campaign will come and go. The votes will be counted. A government will form.

But if politicians ignore this issue, the cost will continue to appear — not in opinion polls but in playgrounds, classrooms and headlines.

We cannot afford to look away.