It is unfortunate that, with the evidence available and the expertise available, myths and misinformation about what prevents violence against women are still being distributed. Two Australian studies close the question. Women’s Health in the South East (WHISE) is asking that algorithmic recommendation be something a young person opts into rather than the setting they are given.
“There is no shortage of evidence here and no shortage of expertise. What keeps arriving instead is opinion, offered as though the question were still open,” said WHISE Chief Executive Officer Kit McMahon.
“It is not open. We know what hardens these attitudes in boys, and we know the pathway that delivers them at scale.”
Misogyny, Online Radicalisation, and Youth Extremism in Australia, by Dr Sara Meger of the University of Melbourne, surveyed 1,122 young people aged 13 to 17 and 2,307 adults. One in four boys aged 13 to 17 agreed with statements endorsing violence to resist feminism. Hostile attitudes towards women were the single strongest attitudinal predictor of support for violent extremism. The report concludes that misogyny is “not only a social issue, but a national security issue in Australia”.
Teachers report the same from the other side of the desk. Duty of Care, released by Monash University on 28 August 2026, surveyed more than 2,600 teachers. 78% had observed or experienced sexism or misogyny at school, and 70% had seen manosphere content shaping student attitudes in the past twelve months. Dr Meger’s teacher data records children as young as six refusing instruction from women.
WHISE coordinates the Promoting Respect and Equity Together (PRET) Partnership across ten local government areas and 1.56 million people.
The pathway is a design choice
Both studies find that online environments amplify these attitudes rather than invent them, and that recommendation systems carry the content to children. Consent advocate Chanel Contos has proposed applying affirmative consent to that design, so an algorithmic feed is something a person opts into. Dr Meger’s fifth recommendation asks for the same in regulatory terms, through algorithmic accountability and age-differentiated recommendation systems.
WHISE is asking that the Digital Duty of Care legislation now under consideration make algorithmic recommendation opt-in for users under 18.
“A child cannot consent to a feed nobody asked them about,” Ms McMahon said. “Make it opt-in. It is one decision, it is in front of government now, and it would do more for a generation of boys than any amount of commentary about whether the problem is real.”
Meanwhile the work goes on here, with sixty partner organisations across the region delivering forty four primary prevention projects. WHISE will put this evidence to every candidate in every party contesting the November state election.
What boys learn about women is neither fixed nor accidental. It is produced at scale by systems people designed, and people can redesign them.
Support is available from 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
