London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan urged to do more to tackle misogyny and violence against women and girls, reports Noah Vickers, Local Democracy Reporter

Sir Sadiq Khan has been urged to step up his efforts in tackling a rising tide of misogyny and violence against women and girls, as concerns are raised within City Hall over the impact on young people.

In a new report published on Tuesday (29th), the London Assembly warns that sexual harassment has become “common” in schools, as 90% of girls and 50% of boys report receiving explicit pictures or videos of things they did not want to see.

Published by the assembly’s police and crime committee, the report comes after the issues of misogyny and dangerous social media use have been thrust into the public consciousness by the critically-acclaimed Netflix drama Adolescence.

Sir Keir Starmer has welcomed the fact that Netflix have made the drama free for teachers to show in secondary schools – saying that it “hit home hard” for him and his children – though some psychologists and headteachers have argued against pupils viewing it at school.

The committee said it “agrees with the value of a parent or guardian watching a television programme with their child, and using it as a base from which to discuss healthy relationships”.

They added: “For example, the Netflix drama Adolescence explores how boys are being influenced online and provides an opportunity for parents to talk to their children about important issues that affect and shape their lives, including masculinity, violence, healthy relationships, consent, bullying, peer pressure and social media.”

In October last year, the mayor launched a £1m ‘toolkit’ for London primary schools, which uses workshops and drama sessions to teach children about “healthy and respectful relationships and attitudes”. Khan said it “will give teachers the expert training they need to empower the next generation of Londoners to stand up to sexism and misogyny in all its forms”.

In their report, the police and crime committee have asked the mayor to commission a similar toolkit for parents, saying that he should do so before the end of 2025.

They have also urged him to “undertake an information campaign uplifting and championing relatable and ‘everyday’ positive male role models, as a counter narrative to the harmful misogynistic content offered by some online influencers”.

Susan Hall, the committee’s Tory chair, said: “The picture of violence against women and girls in London is stark. In fact, during our investigation, it was described to us as ‘endemic’.

“In the twelve months to the end of January 2025, reported sexual offences in London increased by 7.5% and rape increased by 2.3%, compared to the previous twelve months.

“These horrifying statistics highlight the urgency with which action must be taken by the mayor to ensure our young people are taught from a young age the importance of healthy relationships.

“Combatting online hate across social media channels and from online influencers and promoting positive male role models to our young boys are essential.”

Despite Hall’s emphasis on “combatting online hate across social media channels”, she is herself the subject of a complaint sent to City Hall’s monitoring officer over her own social media activity. Earlier this month, she shared an AI-generated image on X of the mayor drowning. The image, originally created by another X user, had been captioned: “What would you throw to save Khan?”. The assembly member reposted it to her 44,000 followers with the caption “A ULEZ camera…..”

Hall, who stood against Khan in last year’s mayoral election, has not deleted the image or apologised for sharing it, because she says it was “meant as a light-hearted joke, as many of my tweets are, and certainly not intended to be taken seriously”. The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that the monitoring officer has not yet decided whether to formally investigate the matter.

Hall continued: “Parents must be provided with all of the information [about what their children are exposed to on social media]. We heard of the generational divide between parents and their children, and helping parents understand exactly what their children have access to on their phones can make a huge difference.

“The mayor has done a lot of work on violence against women and girls, but from our investigation, we know that much more needs to be done. Implementing our recommendations would help prevent this issue from spiralling out of control.”

A spokesperson for Khan said in response: “The mayor welcomes the London Assembly’s report endorsing the action he has taken to educate young people about healthy and respectful relationships. This is part of a public health approach to tackling violence against women and girls.

“Sadiq is clear that it’s important to educate young Londoners about the need to treat one another fairly and kindly and that we must do all we can to counter the pernicious influence of those who preach misogyny online.

“That’s why he has developed toolkits for teachers in every primary and secondary school in London to nurture healthy attitudes in young Londoners and has launched award-winning public awareness campaigns to encourage men and boys to call out misogyny in all its forms.

“The mayor’s London’s Violence Reduction Unit is also investing in targeted early intervention work in primary and secondary schools to help young people better understand healthy relationships.

“Sadiq will continue to do everything within his power to ensure that ending violence against women and girls is treated with the utmost urgency – by the police and by society as a whole – as we continue to build a safer London for everyone.”

Read the London Assembly’s report in full:
Visit london.gov.uk/2025-04/PCC%20VAWG%20and%20young%20people%2020250428%20Final.pdf

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