Police will begin recording offences believed to be motivated by misogyny as hate crimes in the wake of Sarah Everard’s apparent murder, Boris Johnson’s government has confirmed.
Speaking for the Johnson administration in the House of Lords, Home Office junior minister the Baroness Williams of Trafford said that from the autumn of 2021, “we will ask police forces to record and identify any crimes of violence against the person, including stalking and harassment and sexual offences, where the victim perceives it to have been motivated by a hostility based on their sex, which, as I have said, can then inform longer-term decisions.”
Prime Minister Johnson, who describes himself as a feminist, according to his new White House style press secretary, former Guardian and BBC journalist Allegra Stratton, told the House of Commons that “We have to address the fundamental issue of the casual everyday sexism and apathy that fails to address the concerns of women – that is the underlying issue.”
Yet another hate crime, this time misogyny. Knife crime can soar but mother-in-law jokes are out.
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) March 17, 2021
The move was not greeted with enthusiasm by everyone, however, with former UKIP, Brexit Party, and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage observing: “Yes another hate crime, this time misogyny. Knife crime can soar but mother-in-law jokes are out.”
Indeed, the practical effect of the new laws is in some question, as existing laws against genuine harassment and even sex crimes are not enforced with any great rigour by British judges.
For example, takeaway worker Javed Miah, 23, was recently allowed to walk out of court a free man with a suspended sentence — of just six months, so he would have been out in a matter of weeks even if a term of immediate custody had been imposed — after stalking a woman through the street at night and sexually assaulting her in Oldham.
The judge may have been swayed by the defence’s bizarre suggestions that the attack was “quite opportunistic” and warning that the predator “would lose his job [if sent to prison] and he is the sole earner for his family, so this would have a significant impact.”
No Prison for Trans 'Woman' Who Attacked Underage Girls in Public Toilets https://t.co/ijHakEPan9
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 17, 2019
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