#DYK Did you know that one third of boys think women’s rights do not matter. The question is, who taught them that?

I recently came across a study from the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership and Ipsos UK, The State of Gender Equality: Attitudes Among Boys and Young Men (2024), which found that many teenage boys in the United Kingdom now believe women’s rights have “gone far enough”, and a growing number feel that feminism has “gone too far”. Similar findings have been echoed in school-based research across the country, signalling a shift in boys’ attitudes toward equality that deserves urgent attention.

If equality is perceived with suspicion, it suggests that the principles of respect, fairness, and shared dignity are not being properly understood, communicated, or consistently taught. Women’s rights are foundational to the wellbeing and future of families, communities, and societies. When boys do not recognise this, the environment shaping them requires closer examination.

It is easy to focus solely on blaming the internet, and yes, online spaces play a powerful role in shaping attitudes toward women and power. Yet this issue runs deeper. Boys learn from what they observe at home, from what is normalised in classrooms, from peer behaviour, and from the wider culture that quietly forms their understanding of the world.

Not all violence leaves a physical mark. Emotional abuse, digital humiliation and threats, coercive behaviour, and sustained control can erode self-worth and mental health in ways that are often overlooked or dismissed.

The Wellbeing Foundation Africa #WBWVoices Youth Mentorship Initiative affirms the World Health Organization African Region perspective that recognising the signs, strengthening the evidence base, supporting survivors, and speaking with clarity are essential steps forward. It is never “just words”. There is no justification for violence in any form. Ending the silence is how we begin to safeguard emotional and mental wellbeing for every woman, girl, child, and every family.