Teen boys, misogyny, and violence – could Adolescence be Australia’s wake-up call?  

The Netflix show Adolescence isn’t your typical binge-worthy comfort watch.  

The limited series, which revolves around Jamie, a 13-year-old boy who violently murders his classmate, Katie, is a raw, unsettling drama about teenage murder, cyber-bullying and misogynistic culture.  

Millions of parents have been gripped by the show’s brutal depiction of high school life, and one question has loomed large – could these horrors happen in Australia? 

Dr Hayley Boxall, a criminologist from the Australian National University (ANU), has spent years researching the lived realities of men and boys who perpetrate violence against women. According to Boxall, there are enough reasons to be concerned.   

“We don’t have a clear sense of whether perpetration of these kinds of abusive behaviours is increasing, but they are definitely being reported more often,” Boxall says.  

“Service providers are getting younger referrals and seeing a disturbing rise in peer-on-peer sexual violence. 

“We have good evidence that exposure to violent pornography serves as a gateway to sexual violence, and the idea of role modelling behaviour is becoming normalised among young boys, who are reproducing what they see online with their young girlfriends.” 

A recent survey reports that violence in Australian schools is reaching record levels –  yet another sign that Adolescence may not be as far from reality as we’d hope.  

Manosphere or home-grown misogyny?

One of the first actions that US President Donald Trump took upon returning to the White House was to help lift a travel ban on Andrew Tate – one of the leading figures of the manosphere phenomenon. 

This online subculture of toxic masculinity, which shapes Jamie’s behaviour in the show, thrives on sexist ideas that oppose feminism and female empowerment.  

A recent study found that hypermasculine behaviour in Australian high schools is increasing, with one in three female students feeling unsafe around their male peers.  

“These ideas are incredibly damaging, and environments where positions of authority like the US President endorse these movements make it worse,” says Boxall.  

“We know that young people who are exposed to these behaviours are much more likely to perpetrate them.” 

In the show, Jamie speaks with a psychologist who probes into his relationship with his dad and grandad.  

“When you look at the data of kids who use these behaviours, a lot of it comes from what they experience at home,” Boxall says.  

 “We know from the research that people who have experienced domestic and family violence, particularly boys, are much more likely to have misogynistic attitudes.   

“In the homicide space, my research demonstrates that experiences of trauma and violence in the home is common among men who commit intimate partner homicide in Australia.” 

When virtual gets physical

If Jamie were a real person, Boxall says it’s unlikely he would become a murderer because these incidents are very rare, Instead, it’s more likely he would go on to abuse a romantic partner later in life, possibly engaging in tech-based violence.    

Last year, Boxall conducted a study on sexual violence facilitated by dating apps, revealing alarming trends.  

“Not experiencing abuse or harassment on these apps was the exception, not the rule. The data point that really struck me was that a third of participants had experienced in-person sexual violence,” they say.   

“This involves horrible things such as being forced to engage in sexual acts without consent, being threatened and other extreme behaviours.  

“Some cohorts were disproportionally targeted, particularly bisexual women and women with disabilities.” 

Major dating app companies, including Tinder, have started implementing policies to protect users, such as the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to detect abusive messages.  

But the bigger issue, Boxall warns, lies with thousands of smaller, niche apps catering to specific communities.  

“There are apps for Russian women, apps for Harry Potter fans—you name it. These smaller companies don’t have the resourcing capacity to do some of the preventive work that the bigger apps are doing,” they say.  

“A lot more is needed to ensure dating apps are a safe environment for everyone. But we must recognise it is an incredibly difficult problem to fix. Even if the app bans an individual, nothing stops them from creating a new account.”  

Understanding desistance

Boxall has dedicated their career to understanding not just why men turn to violence, but what it takes for them to stop—a process known as ‘desistance.’  

“The fact that we don’t know what supports men to stop abusing their partners is a massive issue. It limits our ability to develop effective interventions and programs to prevent this issue,” they say. 

“For the past five years, my research has focused on preventing young people who’ve experienced domestic and family violence from using those behaviours later in life.”  

With Adolescence already influencing education policy in the UK, Boxall hopes the show can spark a similar social reckoning in Australia.  

For them, there’s a missing piece in the puzzle: we’re failing to engage with men and boys before it’s too late.   

“Ask yourself—does your kid really need to be on social media?”

“There’s a real push for things like the criminalisation of coercive control, which makes us feel like we’re advancing, but in essence, it still makes women responsible for protecting themselves. This is not going to stop men from using violent behaviours,” they say.  

“Desistance research could be really helpful –it is about engaging with the perpetrators and understanding what took them on their paths to violence.  

“Unfortunately, we are not doing this well enough. We’re expecting men to make good decisions that benefit them without recognising the messy, wobbly mess of their lived realities.” 

As a parent and expert, Boxall shares some advice for families who may be worried about their kid’s behaviour.  

“Don’t assume your kid is immune to harmful content just because they seem ‘normal’ or do well in school. Algorithms are becoming sophisticated and relentless, pushing offensive content straight into their feeds.  

“We haven’t been able to force platforms to do better at protecting kids. But we can monitor and limit their exposure. Ask yourself—does your kid really need to be on social media? Probably not.”  

This information may be distressing to some readers. If you or someone you know needs help, call 1800RESPECT. In an emergency, always call 000.

Visit E-safety.gov.au to access resources to help you start the chat about online safety issues with your children.