Misogyny to be treated as extremism by UK government
August 20, 2024The Home Office has announced that extreme misogyny will be classified as a form of extremism under new government initiatives.
Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, has initiated a review of the UK’s counter-extremism strategy to identify effective measures against the threat of damaging ideologies. The review will consider misogyny as one of the ideological trends the government notes as growing in influence. Ms. Cooper highlighted an increase in extremism “both online and on our streets” that “frays the very fabric of our communities and our democracy.”
The analysis will examine the growth of Islamist and far-right extremism in the UK, in addition to broader ideological trends, such as extreme misogyny or beliefs that align with more extensive categories like violence. It will also investigate the reasons and processes behind the radicalisation of young people, as ‘BBC’ reports.
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Ms. Cooper stated the strategy will “map and monitor extremist trends” to find ways to intervene and redirect people from them, and to “identify any gaps in existing policy which need to be addressed to crack down on those pushing harmful and hateful beliefs and violence.” She also noted that efforts to combat extremism have been “badly hollowed out” in recent years.
The findings will contribute to a new counter-extremism strategy, as promised in Labour's manifesto, which aims to “respond to growing and changing patterns” of extremism in the UK, according to the Home Office. The review is anticipated to be completed by October. It is part of several policy reviews announced by Labour since gaining power in July, including reviews of Strategic Defence, spending, and the National Curriculum.
While some critics may argue that these reviews substitute for tangible actions, Labour emphasised that no new Counter Extremism Strategy has been introduced since 2015, and a reassessment of new and emerging threats is much needed.
This is not the first time the government has considered labeling misogyny as a form of extremism. Concerns have been raised for years about “Incel culture,” an online group of mostly young men who call themselves "involuntarily celibate" and blame women and “alpha males” for their issues. A notable incident linked to Incel ideology was the 2021 mass shooting in Plymouth by 22-year-old Jake Davison, who killed five people before taking his own life. No further policy actions were taken at the time, but events like this, along with the rise of social media influencers like Andrew Tate—a self-proclaimed misogynist—may have prompted the current government to reconsider the approach.
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