Britain has become a “disaster” zone for boys and young men with too many facing educational failure and an early death, ministers have been warned. A landmark report lays bare and unfolding “crisis” and former England rugby captain Lawrence Dallaglio has condemned a “disaster in our classrooms, prison cells and mortuaries”.
The Centre for Social Justice warns Britain is suffering from an “epidemic of family breakdown” with “millions of boys” deprived of “any positive model of manhood”. It claims that on “virtually every yardstick” men in this country are “falling further and further behind women”.
Mr Dallaglio – whose charity Dallaglio Rugby Works helps children excluded from school – said: “Something is going wrong in our society when it comes to boys and young men. While we tiptoe around just about every other social group, when we are not taking them for granted we treat them as the lowest of the low.
“The result is a disaster in our classrooms, prison cells and mortuaries… No boys are born bad, they’re just born into chaos.
“Young boys need positive relationships that build trust – and a constructive way to vent their energy.”
The CSJ’s report highlights the loss of young men to suicide, warning that “for young people between the ages of 15 and 19, for every girl that took their own life, almost three and a half boys did likewise”.
It states: “Boys and young men are in crisis. Whilst the last 100 years have been marked by great leaps forward in outcomes and rights for women, in this generation it is boys who are being left behind. And by some margin.
“From the day they start primary school, to the day they leave higher education, the progress of boys lags behind girls.”
A key worry is that young men are finding it harder to overcome the impact of the pandemic than young women. Researchers found that “since the pandemic alone, the number of males aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training (Neet) has increased by a staggering 40% compared to just seven per cent of females”.
The report claims there is evidence the gender pay gap is going into reverse for young full-time workers and flags up the decline of traditionally “male-dominated industries such as manufacturing, agriculture and construction” which has caused a rapid fall in “secure, well-paid and meaningful jobs that used to be available to non-university-educated young men”.
It says the number of men in manufacturing jobs has fallen by more than 40% in under 30 years – a loss of more than 1.3 million male workers since 1997, the year Tony Blair took power.
The think tank has uncovered strong public concern. Polling by Whitestone Insight found 56% of the public feel that the school system is failing to develop and nurture boys.
Young adults were in little doubt about the scale of the problem, with two out of three men aged 18-24 and 64% of women in this age group saying the education system is not working properly for boys.
More than half the public (52%) believe that fatherlessness is a serious problem for Britain.
Two thirds of young men aged 18-24 (66 per cent) and half of women of the same age (50 per cent) consider fatherlessness a leading cause of behavioural problems in children and young adults.
Miriam Cates, a former Conservative MP who is now a senior fellow at the CSJ, said: “We have let down a generation of young boys and men. For too long, politicians, policy makers, the media and the arts have turned a blind eye to the needs of boys in the name of ‘equality’.
“We are now reaping the whirlwind as we see the devastating impacts of ignoring the challenges facing young men in Britain. Far from creating equality, we have penalised young men for the crime of being male, labelling them as ‘toxic’ and ‘problematic, and failing to provide a positive vision of masculinity.
“Things need to change and fast. The Centre for Social Justice has identified a clear problem within our society and we will continue to push for the right response.”
Andy Cook, the chief executive of the CSJ, said: “Boys are struggling in education, more likely to take their own lives, less likely to get into stable work, and far more likely to be caught up in crime. The numbers don’t lie – something has shifted, and we cannot ignore it any longer.”
Mr Cook said the problems could not be blamed on controversial internet figures such as self-described “misogynist” Andrew Tate, saying: “They are the symptoms, not the cause. The deeper truth is that too many boys are growing up without the guidance, discipline, and purpose they need to thrive.”
