It's not all men, but it's almost always men.

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A series of sexual assault cases perpetrated by teenage boys have rocked the country in recent weeks, prompting a national discussion about how to tackle rising misogyny fuelled by toxic manosphere content. But it has also revealed that misogynistic attitudes are just as likely to be found in the national parliament as they are in any Australian school or workplace.

In the space of a few weeks, three 17-year-old boys were charged with the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old girl in Sydney, three private school boys from The Scots College were charged with the alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl, while Victorian police are investigating an alleged sexual assault at Melbourne hotel where the Sydney Swans were staying - though no Swans players have been charged. NSW Police are also investigating the death of a 16-year-old girl in Sydney after it was suspected she was choked by her partner during sex.

At the same time, new research from Dr Stephanie Westcott at Monash University revealed widespread sexism and misogyny in Australian schools, with almost eight in 10 teachers (78 per cent) reporting they had observed or experienced gendered violence in their primary or high school, as well as an increase in gendered violence among students.

"Our research in the last three years has documented a large number of stories of misogyny faced by teachers in schools, indicating a resurgent form of brazen 'male supremacy' among boys and young men," said report co-author Professor Steven Roberts.

This all prompted a discussion about rising misogyny in Australia. Chanel Contos, founder of Teach Us Consent, called on the government to fix social media algorithms, the NSW government convened an urgent roundtable focused on young people, while the federal government announced its Digital Duty of Care legislation is coming soon, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announcing a 'My Feed, My Way' initiative, to give Australians more control over........

© The Examiner