Legislate crimes motivated by misogyny are hate crimes, fund support & training

The Government should amend the Sentencing Act 2020 to record crimes motivated by misogyny as hate crimes and introduce tougher laws for online abuse, and fund the training of police and prosecutors, and support for survivors in education.

We want the Government to tackle anti-feminist hate groups that target and radicalise young people online. Many young women, especially students, face harassment, assault, and online abuse. Misogyny can fuel this violence, yet we believe current laws fail to address it directly. Recognising misogyny as a hate crime could protect victims, deter offenders, and send a clear message that gender-based hostility is unacceptable. It could also validate survivors’ experiences and help create safer environments in education and online, where young people are most vulnerable.

Hate crime legislation in England and Wales covers five protected characteristics: race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and disability. Sex, or presumed sex, has not previously been covered, meaning that ‘misogyny’ currently falls outside the scope of the hate crime legislative framework.

Under the proposed amendment, sex will be added to the list of protected characteristics under the aggravated offences in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, ensuring that offences motivated by hostility towards someone’s sex or presumed sex can be charged as aggravated where the evidence supports it. This amendment delivers the Government’s manifesto commitment to level up protections by expanding the aggravated offence framework so that hostility based on sexual orientation, disability, transgender identity, or sex or presumed sex attracts the same penalties as offences motivated by racist or religious hatred, thereby creating parity across protected characteristics.

Aggravated offences are crime types such as assault, criminal damage, harassment, stalking and certain public order offences where it can be proven that the offender was motivated by hostility towards a protected characteristic. These offences carry higher maximum sentences than their non‑aggravated equivalents. The offences mirror the (non‑hate crime) equivalents already covered under sections 28-32 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. No new criminal offences are being created; the amendment simply extends the existing aggravated versions to additional protected characteristics.