Changes to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 have been tabled at the Lords Report Stage.
At the time of writing, more than 27,000 people had signed a Parliamentary petition for the legislation of crimes motivated by misogyny as hate crimes.
Should this become a legal Act, it would not only introduce tougher rules around online abuse in the UK, but also help fund the training of police and prosecutors, and improve support for survivors. An official government response to the campaign was issued last week.
‘The Government has tabled an amendment at Lords Report Stage of the Crime and Policing Bill to extend the aggravated offences in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998,’ the response read.
‘Hate crime legislation in England and Wales covers five protected characteristics: race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and disability,’ it continued. ‘Sex, or presumed sex, has not previously been covered, meaning that ‘misogyny’ currently falls outside the scope of the hate crime legislative framework.’
Online petitions need 100,000 signatures to be considered for parliamentary debate. However, the issue of online abuse targeting women has already been a major discussion point in Westminster. Last week, award-winning documentarian Louis Theroux released his latest film, ‘Inside the Manosphere’. Currently the top rated title on British Netflix, it explores the rise of misogynistic influencers on platforms including TikTok and Instagram.
Image: Graham Klingler / Unsplash
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