I agree there was/is a tendency for men to treat women and girls leniently, not only in schools but also in the criminal “justice” system. Men see the “Sugar and Spice” – other women see the truth. It was a woman, Jackie, who equalised punishments in your and its sister school.
An Alleged that he caned a boy for “behaving very inappropriately” with a girl but wasn’t happy that reporting the matter to Mrs B_B, including the fact that he’d caned the boy, almost guaranteed the girl would be caned too. He’s also admitted that, although he caned three girls for offences he would always cane boys for, he refrained from caning girls for offences he might cane boys for. Even Mrs B-B treats girls at her school more leniently than the boys (at the brother school) are treated although she has said that, if a boy and girl committed a joint offence, the should both received the same punishment even though that might be more than she would ordinarily give a girl.