OPINION - The Standard View: Time to end the toxic classroom culture

Last week, the Evening Standard revealed the extent to which sexual harassment has become a daily occurrence for many schoolgirls, with inappropriate images of students being shared and a toxic culture in which girls are “subservient” wreaking a severe impact on the psyches of young men and women. This cannot be left to fester.

And so today, this newspaper launches our Show Respect campaign, an initiative to tackle violence against girls. We will do this by funding workshops on healthy relationships, following the evidence as to what works and drawing down £500,000 from the Standard’s Dispossessed Fund to begin with. This money will support charities to deliver workshops to 13 and 14-year-old boys and girls.

Our ambition is no less than to dramatically reduce violence against women and girls. In partnership with The London Community Foundation, we call on British businesses, foundations and philanthropists — as well as whoever forms the next government — to back our campaign financially so we can ensure healthy relationship workshops are placed in every disadvantaged school in the capital. For the sake of our young people, and the next generation of Londoners, join us.

Police numbers too low

If you had your phone stolen on the streets and reported it to the police, would you expect to see it back? More than 18,000 muggings went unsolved in London last year, according to new data dug up by the Liberal Democrats. With more than 62 per cent of cases going unsolved, this makes the Met the worst performing force in the country.

The sight of thieves on mopeds stealing phones from unsuspecting members of the public is so common as to barely raise an eyebrow. But this malaise is part of the problem. The public want reassurance, and to be able to check their phones outside without fear. That is why the capital needs more police officers and community support officers.

Yet the numbers are going in the wrong direction. The Met began the year 1,000 officers short of targets and is expected to end it 1,415 short. Little wonder last month the force had to admit it was “not fit to serve Londoners effectively” in its current state.

Spawning a new study

One must kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince. But researchers are now investigating whether there may also be benefits to licking toads — or at least a synthetic version. A first participant has been dosed in an Imperial College London study into the neurophysiological effects of a psychedelic compound found in toads. The researchers hope it will reveal new insights into the impact of toad psychedelics on the brain.