What has Adolescence taught us about Male Violence towards Women?

As a woman myself, I am only too aware of the fear and horror that surrounds male violence and misogyny in the world today. It’s instilled in us- it's there when we go out for a run, when we walk back from a night out, or just leave the house in the morning. Most women I know utilise their keys as a potential weapon. But why are these precautions even necessary? What forces are pushing men to commit such atrocities?

Adolescence, the new Netflix series from Stephen Graham and Jack Thorne, answers these questions. The influences that exacerbate misogyny in the modern world are explored in unguarded detail when thirteen-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) kills a young girl. “What if we’re all kind of accountable?” Graham questioned on the Tonight Show, “it could be the education system, parenting, the community, the government”. More specifically, the series focuses on social media, and the unconscious brainwashing that fuels hatred toward women.

Thus, I watched how Jamie’s repulsive views had been constructed. The sexualised images of women he had posted online; the shame embedded in him by his dad; toxic views of masculinity disseminated by men like Andrew Tate. It was fear that accumulated in Jamie’s mind- fear that he could be rejected by someone whose body he believed he had a right to control. 

My greatest concern, however, was his appearance of innocence. The fact that Jamie could cry in his dad’s arms in one moment, and then commit a murder in another was a distressing contrast. But this is real life. Research from 2024 found that 69% of boys aged between eleven and fourteen had been exposed to misogynistic content online. A huge 70% of teachers attested to hearing a rise in sexist language in schools. 

The reactions to the series speak for themselves. Aside from praise, I’ve witnessed comment sections ‘justifying’ Jamie’s actions: that he was bullied, or young and impressionable. It is ignorance that fuels this type of discussion and contributes to a culture of victim-blaming. This is why 97% of young women in the UK have been sexually harassed, and why 96% do not want to report it. 

If Adolescence has taught the world anything it's that male violence, and the dangerous influences of the modern world, must be an open conversation. We need to listen to women’s stories. We need to protect young boys from uncensored content. For while Jamie himself is fictional, the deaths of women and girls are decidedly not.

Edited by: Eleanor Robinson