North Wales MS Mark Isherwood has called on the Cabinet Secretary for Education to ensure that information and support is provided to pupils and families about the concerning ‘Incel Culture’ highlighted in the recent Netflix series ‘Adolescence’.
Speaking in yesterday’s meeting of the Welsh Parliament, Mr Isherwood said he had never heard of the term ‘Incel Culture’ until he watched the series and called for early intervention in schools and the home.
He called on the Cabinet Secretary to capture Incel Culture within the ‘Spectrum’ Healthy Relationships Programme delivered in schools and asked what action she will take to ensure families are better informed.
He said:
“As the parent and grandparent of both girls and boys, I find Incel Culture extremely concerning. Until I watched the Adolescence series, I'd never heard of the term 'Incel Culture', but now I know that it's shorthand for 'Involuntary Celibate', and that, although the term was originally developed by an older woman as a positive thing, it now applies to online forums in which men discuss feeling angry and resentful towards women because they believe that women don't find them attractive.
“I'm sure you'll join me in seeing the irony in this, where these adolescent and adult men make themselves unattractive to women by doing so.
“What action will you take to work, for example, with Hafan Cymru to capture Incel Culture within the Spectrum Healthy Relationships Programme sessions delivered in schools, which I've attended in the past, and to broaden that programme's reach? And what action can and will you take to provide information and support to families for their early intervention in the home?”
Responding, the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Lynne Neagle, said:
“We’ve got our Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) provision, and Spectrum play an important role in that. We fund the Spectrum project and that supports schools across Wales with lessons on healthy relationships, violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence. But I am looking at what more we can do around RSE in Wales. I’m currently considering our Curriculum for Wales grant support programme, so I’m looking through that at what more we can do to really beef up the support for schools in this area.”
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Isherwood said:
“Although I am pleased that the Cabinet Secretary is looking to do more to support schools, families also need support. The Adolescence series highlighted a disturbing reality, and it is vital that we do all we can to stamp on it to safeguard our young people.”