Extreme misogyny will likely be classed as terrorism by Yvette Cooper

Extreme misogyny will be treated as terrorism for the first time to combat the radicalisation of young men online, according to reports.

Government plans will look to tackle violence against women and girls in the same way as Islamist and far-Right extremism, amid fears that current Home Office guidance is too narrow.

The upcoming change is part of a review ordered by the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper in Britain’s counter-extremism strategy to address gaps in the Government’s stance.

Teachers could in future be legally required to refer pupils they suspect of extreme misogyny to Prevent, the Government’s counter-terror programme.

It comes after warnings that misogynistic influencers such as Andrew Tate are radicalising teenage boys online.

The rapid review will be completed later this Autumn and will form the basis of a new counter-extremism strategy which the Home Office intends to launch early next year.

The Government said the scheme will look across the ideological spectrum, and address ‘gaps in the current system’ which leave the country exposed to hateful activity that promotes violence or undermines democracy. 

The Home Office currently has several extremism categories ranked as an area of ‘concern’, including Islamist, extreme Right-wing, animal rights, environmental and Northern Ireland related extremism.

There is a category for ‘incel’, which is an abbreviation of the term ‘involuntary celibate’, which refers to a male subculture of violent feelings towards women as a result of rejection. 

But officials now fear that the category does not capture other forms of ‘extreme misogyny’, according to The Sunday Telegraph.

The Prevent scheme works by placing teachers, healthcare professionals and local authority staff under a legal duty to make a referral if they believe someone is susceptible to becoming radicalised. 

Anyone who is referred to Prevent is then assessed by their council and the police to see if they need to be deradicalised. 

In 2022-23 there were 6,817 Prevent referrals, with 37 per cent classified under the broad category of ‘vulnerability present but no ideology of counter-terrorism risk’, followed by extreme Right-wing at 19 per cent and Islamist extremism at 11 per cent.

Police chiefs have previously accused online influencers like Andrew Tate of radicalising boys into extreme misogyny in a way that is ‘terrifying’. 

Tate is a controversial British-American influencer and self-proclaimed ‘misogynist’ who rose to fame after appearing on Big Brother in 2016.

Since then he has become one of the world’s biggest online stars and has a cult-like following of men who follow his advice on relationships and how to make money.

Tate is currently awaiting trial in Romania on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, which he denies. 

Prior to the election, Bridget Phillipson, who has now become education secretary, told the Daily Mail she was ‘really worried’ that the rise of people such as Tate is affecting the actions of young people in schools.

‘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,’ she said. 

‘It has to be about prosecuting and preventing, but we have to start when our children are younger to make sure they have healthy attitudes towards women, else we risk a generation of misogynists.’

She said there was a ‘rising tide of misogyny which then tips over into attitudes later in life’ – leading to violence against women and sexual abuse. 

But the Home Office has previously been criticised in a previous review of Prevent.

Earlier this year, the independent reviewer of Prevent said the anti-extremism scheme was failing to identify people sympathising with Islamist terror in the wake of the October 7 attack.

Sir William Shawcross said that the scheme continued to have a bias towards tackling the rise in Right-wing terrorists.

He added that members of the ‘underlying Hamas support network’ within the UK were responsible for promoting the mass pro-Palestinian marches which have taken to the streets in recent months. 

In a bombshell report published last year, Sir William found that Prevent repeatedly ‘failed’ to identify attackers.

Sir William told The Telegraph at the time: ‘The Government is failing to implement my recommendations properly and the British people are therefore in more danger from extremists and terrorists,

‘Some of the things I’ve recommended that have not been carried out do represent such an increased threat because October 7 has changed everything.

‘I am concerned about the increased threat to the public that exists after October 7 which still needs to be addressed.’

In a separate interview with the BBC, he said: ‘There are unfortunately quite a lot of Hamas sympathisers and some operatives in this country.

‘Prevent and the police should have been working much harder against those Hamas people in this country.’

A Home Office spokesperson told the BBC at the time the government had made ‘significant progress to deliver a strengthened Prevent’ and delivered 30 of the 34 recommendations he made. 

The Home Secretary had criticised the previous government for having no counter-extremism strategy since 2015, and that the lack of a comprehensive approach or practical plans was leaving communities less safe.

The new strategy aims to deliver on the Government’s manifesto commitment of preventing people being drawn towards hateful ideologies.

The Home Office says it will look at the rise of both Islamist and far-right extremism in the UK, as well as wider ideological trends, including extreme misogyny or beliefs that fit into broader categories like fixation on violence.

It will also look at the causes and conduct of radicalisation of young people, including the proliferation of dangerous material online.

Ms Cooper said: ‘For too long Governments have failed to address the rise in extremism, both online and on our streets, and we’ve seen the number of young people radicalised online grow.

‘Hateful incitement of all kinds fractures and frays the very fabric of our communities and our democracy.

‘Action against extremism has been badly hollowed out in recent years, just when it should have been needed most.

‘That’s why I have directed the Home Office to conduct a rapid analytical sprint on extremism, to map and monitor extremist trends, to understand the evidence about what works to disrupt and divert people away from extremist views, 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.

‘That work will underpin a new strategic approach to countering extremism from Government, working closely with communities to build consensus and impetus for our plans.’

The latest crackdown on extremism comes after the riots that broke out across England following the stabbing of three girls in Southport, a total of 460 people had appeared in magistrates’ courts relating to the disorder by the end of Thursday.

At least 72 people under the age of 18 are believed to have been charged.

A number of people have also been handed charges relating to publishing material that contributed to rioting, such as publishing written material to stir up racial hatred or sending a grossly offensive message.