UK targets violence against women and girls

The British police says that violence against women and girls (VAWG) has reached "epidemic levels" and is a "national emergency," with almost 3,000 cases being recorded daily across England and Wales. In a report published by the National Police Chiefs' Council in July, five "harm threats" are pinpointed: Rape and serious sexual offenses, domestic abuse, stalking, and child abuse. The figures have increased by more than a third since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Britain's new home secretary, Yvette Cooper, wants to take tougher action against misogyny and violence. In October, the Home Office, the British ministry in charge of immigration, security and law and order, will present a report on how the government can best tackle rising extremism and update the country's counter-extremism strategy. The idea is to treat extreme misogyny in a similar way to far-right or Islamist extremism. The new government believes the current guidelines are too narrowly defined, given the rise of "hateful extremism."

Misogyny is defined as the hatred of, aversion to, or prejudice against women. It can extend to violence and femicide, the gender-based murder of a woman or girl by a man. 

Role of influencers 'terrifying'

The British police has long warned of a "deterioration of the foundations of what is needed to tackle VAWG" in the United Kingdom (UK). Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead on violence against women and girls, explained in July that young men and boys could be "radicalized" and that the role of influencers was "quite terrifying."

She mentioned one of the best-known influencers in this regard, Andrew Tate, a social media personality and former kickboxer notorious for his misogynist views. He has said that women are the "property" of men and should be at their service for sex. He is accused of human trafficking and rape and currently awaiting trial in Romania.

According to a study by Das Nettz, a German network against online hate speech, misogyny on the internet has become increasingly visible in recent years through "disinhibited language" that wishes "violence and rape" upon women. The "Tracing Online Misogyny" study resulted from a partnership between Das Netzz and the Belgian tech company Textgain.

A 'generation of misogynists' in the UK?

"I want to make sure that we have a generation of boys and young men who grow up respecting women rather than the growing levels of misogyny we are seeing at the moment," the current British education minister, Bridget Phillipson, said in June 2024 when she was still in the opposition.

She told the British Daily Mail newspaper that if the "rising tide" of sexism in schools were not stemmed, there would be a "generation of misogynists."

The UK's overhauled counter-extremism strategy could also target "incel culture." An incel — from involuntary celibate — is usually a male frustrated by his lack of sexual experiences. Often he directs the blame towards women and "alpha males." Many incels discuss their misogynistic worldview and opinions on social networks and in online forums. Some target individuals, even posting pictures. 

Since the 1970s, an antifeminist men's rights movement has emerged, which has gained traction in recent years.

Extension of Prevent strategy? 

Earlier this August, Jess Philipps, an MP and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Home Office, said the government's new strategy would "fill in gaps" with regard to how misogyny was defined, insisting it was not about clamping down on free speech.

"This isn't about criminalizing people who are showing signs of an ideology, it is about preventing that ideology," she told UK radio station LBC. There has been speculation in German media outlets that the Prevent Strategy, implemented earlier this millennium by a previous Labour government to combat Islamism and extreme right-wing terrorism, could be effective in this regard too.

The strategy involves calling on professionals, youth or care workers for example, to report anyone who shows any signs of radicalization to prevent them from being drawn to extremism and becoming terrorists. The authorities can then decide whether they should take part in a de-radicalization program. A UK government website gives guidelines on how to "spot the signs of radicalization," suggesting that these might be the justification of "the use of violence to solve societal issues," the alteration of "dress or appearance to accord with an extremist group," using "certain symbols associated with terrorist organizations," or "being unwilling to engage with people they see as different."

From this fall onwards, students suspected of being "extremely misogynistic" could also be reported as part of the Prevent strategy, which is not undisputed and has been criticized in the past as being a means for spying on people and/or communities.

On social networks, there has been much debate since the new government's announcement that it would overhaul the UK's counter-extremism strategy. Some users have asked why hatred against men should not be classified as being extremist. Others have asked who defines what extreme misogyny is.

Others, such as the UK online education platform Bold Voices, think that young people should be educated about the issues and alerted that certain statements are misogynistic before being reported as extremists.

"Through our work in schools we notice that girls and young people of marginalized genders experience high levels of sexual harassment and violence but often remain silent, boys experience disproportionate struggles with mental health and are often unable to talk about the pressures they face, and across school communities we find gendered and sexist language, misogynistic views and a general silencing of these issues," Bold Voices says on its website.

This article was originally written in German.