A DECLINE in the number of male teachers is being blamed for rising youth violence.

Just 28 per cent of state schoolteachers are men, down from 32 per cent 10 years ago.

Youth crime has soared in that time. Sex attacks, robberies, assaults and weapon offences have increased significantly, and psychologists and family groups told the Herald Sun the loss of male role models was an important factor.

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Low pay, a perception that teaching is "women's work'', and fears of being labelled a pedophile have been blamed for the reluctance of young men to teach.

There are almost 1900 more secondary teachers than 10 years ago, but there are 350 fewer men among them. Male teacher numbers in primary schools have remained steady, but they account for less than 25 per cent of the total.

Adolescent psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg said the lack of male teachers was a major problem.

"We know males give something different to the developing boy than what female teachers give. To some extent we have lost that male narrative and left it to Hollywood to teach boys about masculinity,'' he said.

Assaults by 10-14-year-olds almost doubled in the past decade, to 1162 in 2008-09. Assaults by 15-19-year-olds jumped by more than 70 per cent to 6500.

Property damage by 15-19-year-olds jumped almost five-fold, from 1217 to 5681. Among 10-14-year-olds the number of those offences rose by more than 60 per cent to 1962.

In November, Education Minister Bronwyn Pike announced four schools would run anti-violence pilot programs this year.

Opposition education spokesman Martin Dixon said Victoria had the lowest education funding per person of any state, making it harder to recruit male teachers.

Ms Pike's spokesman disputed the presence of a link between youth crime and male teacher numbers.

"Promoting respectful behaviour through our 'Respect in Schools' program is designed to address these issues,'' he said.

Association of State Secondary School Principals president Brian Burgess blamed a lack of career opportunities and a lack of respect for the role of teachers.

Originally published as Male teacher drop violence link