Brussels (Brussels Morning) British Labour MP Stella Creasy has called on the UK government to classify misogyny, but not misandry, as a hate crime, following the killing of Sarah Everard, according to a report in The Independent on Tuesday.
Such a move, she claimed, would lead to police recording acts of violence committed against women, noting too that regulations on domestic abuse should be amended.
Doing so would force police to record some crimes motivated by sex-based hatred under the new classification, Creasy declared as she called on “every woman who has walked with keys in her hands at night, been abused or attacked online or offline to come forward and be heard.”
Women should be able to live free from fear
“It’s time to send a message that women should be equally able to live free from fear of assault or harm from those who target them simply for who they are”, she exclaimed.
Creasy stressed that crimes against one of the sexes should be treated in the same way that applies “if someone is being targeted because of the colour of their skin”.
In the House of Lords, Baroness Kennedy (Labour) declared that the recognition “that hostility towards women drives criminal offences helps us detect and prevent offences including street harassment, sexual assault, rape and domestic abuse”.
“This is a simple measure that we could take now to start making sure every woman is safer at home and on our streets”, she stated.
According to UN Women, sexual harassment of women in the UK is rampant. The organisation cited a survey indicating that 97% of young women polled claimed they were sexually harassed and 80% said they were sexually harassed in public.
Britain already has similar regulations in place for sexual orientation, race and other immutable characteristics, Reuters reported.
Activists claim misogyny creates a culture that tolerates and excuses abuse and violence towards women.
EVAW accuses CPS of cover-up
The End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), a group of feminist organisations, has accused the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) of not sending sexual offence cases to court.
The EVAW insisted the decline of cases in the period between 2016 and 2020 proves its contention. However, the Court of Appeal, dismissing the challenge on Monday, ruled there had been no change in CPS policy.
EVAW head Andrea Simon revealed her disappointment with the ruling, asserting that it marks “another establishment betrayal of victims of violence against women and girls.”
