Misogyny to be treated as extremism under new government plans
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is seen at Lewisham Police Station during a visit to discuss neighbourhood policing. (Jeff Moore – Pool/Getty Images)
The worst cases of misogyny are to be treated as extremism in the UK, under new government plans.
Home secretary Yvette Cooper has ordered a review of the UK’s counter-extremism strategy, in a bid to find how best to tackle threats posed by harmful ideologies, including the hatred of women.
As part of Labour’s manifesto to crack down on hate crime, the review, which is expected be completed by October, will “respond to growing and changing patterns” of extremism across the country. The government said hatred of women is a trend that’s gaining traction across the UK – pushed by the likes of influencers and far-right ideologies.
Cooper, a vocal advocate of LGBTQ+ rights, said there has been a rise in extremism “both online and on our streets” that “frays the very fabric of our communities and our democracy,” the BBC reported.
Review will ‘map and monitor extremist trends’
The review will seek to find the causes and conduct of the radicalisation of young people, with Cooper saying that the strategy aims to “map and monitor extremist trends”.
It will also “identify any gaps in existing policy which need to be addressed, to crack down on those pushing harmful and hateful beliefs and violence”. Action against extremism has been “badly hollowed out”, Cooper added.
In their general election manifesto, Labour pledged to legislate all forms of hate crime as an aggravated offence.
What is misogyny?
The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines misogyny as a term that relates to a hatred or prejudice against women, typically exhibited by men.
The term was popularised in the 1970s by second-wave feminists and it can take many forms, including objectifying women, belittling them in conversations, seeking to control their behaviour or discriminating against them. Misogyny can also be displayed in having double standards, for example where men get away with something for which women would be criticised.
In April, Humza Yousaf, then Scotland’s first minister, said transgender women would be protected under new misogyny laws in Scotland.
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