Commenting on the passing of motion 22 at Annual Conference in Brighton, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"The figures on violence against women and girls speak for themselves. One in four women have been raped or sexually assaulted since the age of 16. One in six children have been sexually abused. One in four women will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime. It is shameful that successive governments have failed to make progress in tackling the misogyny, harassment, sexual violence and domestic violence that blight the lives of so many women and girls.
"Addressing violence against women and girls requires a whole-society approach, including schools which have an important role to play in challenging misogyny and teaching young people about safe, healthy relationships. The NEU has led the way in equipping educators with the tools to tackle sexism and misogyny in the classroom, with our It’s Not OK toolkit which promotes a whole-school approach.
"Just as it falls to all of society to tackle the issue of violence against women and girls (VAWG), it is also incumbent on all of us to call out attempts by far-right groups to exploit the issue in order to fuel anti-migrant narratives.
"The NEU denounces the way that violence against women and girls has been cynically used to fuel anti-migrant sentiment, stoke racism and to divide communities."