Sir Keir Starmer has said there is no “simple solution” to stop boys from being dragged into a “whirlpool” of misogyny, as he spoke to writers of the television drama Adolescence.
The prime minister said he wanted to talk about “what can we do as a society to stop and prevent young boys being dragged into this whirlpool of hatred and misogyny”, as he hosted creators of the four-part Netflix series at Downing Street.
Writer Jack Thorne and producer Jo Johnson, and representatives from the NSPCC and Children’s Society, joined Sir Keir for a roundtable discussion.
It comes as Netflix said it would make the series free to stream for all secondary schools across the UK.
The TV drama, which examines so-called “incel” – involuntary celibate – culture, has prompted a national conversation about online safety.
Sir Keir said he and his wife had watched it with his 14-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son, and that “as a dad, I have not found it easy viewing”.
“As a father, watching this show with my teenage son and daughter, I can tell you – it hit home hard,” he added.
The series centres around a teenage boy who is accused of killing a girl from his school.
Sir Keir referred to real-life cases such as that of Kyle Clifford, the crossbow killer who watched misogynistic content before he murdered his ex-girlfriend and her mother and sister in July last year.
This type of violence against women “isn’t new”, the prime minister said.
“It’s pernicious and persistent. But what Adolescence shows is that it’s now taken on a different form, or different characteristics,” said Sir Keir.
He said the online world and social media means “ideology” can be “pumped directly into the minds of our children”.
The show shines a light on issues that people do not know how to respond to, he said.
There may not be a single response or “policy lever to be pulled” to adequately address the issue, he added.
“It’s actually much bigger than that, almost a cultural issue, the devastating effect of misogyny on our society,” said Sir Keir.
There is also a sense that there is no “safe space” for children when they can access content whether they are in the home or outside it, he said, adding: “And I do think there is a sense of isolation going on here, and therefore we can’t deal with these challenges just with the old tools that we have. I don’t think there’s a simple solution.”
Mr Thorne said he hopes a solution can be found to the issues raised by the series.
“It’s about other people … being given the opportunity to have conversations they haven’t had before and that they should have had that might lead to policy change and things being made better for our young people,” he told Sky News after the meeting.
A new survey has suggested three-quarters of parents are concerned about what their children are seeing, hearing or doing online, with 87 per cent saying they are not confident they know what content is being viewed.
The exclusive snapshot survey of 622 British parents of five to 16-year-olds by Ipsos for the PA news agency, showed 65 per cent said their child has a screen with access to the internet in their bedroom.
The proportion rose to 78 per cent for parents with a child aged between 11 and 16.
Most parents – some 80 per cent – said they think children should be at least 11 years old before getting a smartphone for their own personal use, and more than half – 54 per cent – said they would support a complete ban on smartphones in schools.
In Adolescence, This Is England star Stephen Graham plays Eddie Miller, the father of 13-year-old Jamie, played by newcomer Owen Cooper, who sees armed police burst into his home to arrest his son.
Mr Thorne recently rejected accusations of “race-swapping” in the series.
Social media posts, amplified by Elon Musk, suggested the story, which features a white actor, is based on Southport killer Axel Rudakubana.
The series is not based on a true story and is “making a point about masculinity” and not race, Mr Thorne told the News Agents podcast.
“It’s absurd to say that [knife crime] is only committed by black boys. It’s absurd. It’s not true. And history shows a lot of cases of kids from all races committing these crimes,” he added.
