Misogyny Is Wrong Even If It's a 'Woman Against a Man', Says UK Deputy PM

The UK’s Deputy Prime Minister has said that misogyny is “absolutely wrong, whether it’s a man against a woman or a woman against a man”.

Speaking on the BBC’s Breakfast programme on Wednesday morning, Dominic Raab, who is also Justice Secretary, said, “I think insults and misogyny is of course absolutely wrong, whether it’s a man against a woman or a woman against a man.” He was arguing against making misogyny a hate crime in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard, 33, by serving Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens.

Later asked if to clarify his remarks about misogyny – which is defined as hatred of women or girls – Raab continued: “just criminalising insulting language, even if it’s misogynistic, doesn’t deal with the intimidation, the violence and the much higher level of offence and damage and harm that we really ought to be laser-like focused in on.” 

The presenter Sally Nugent then said, “The dictionary definition of misogyny is hatred against/directed towards women.”

Appearing not to acknowledge his mistake, Rabb replied: “So if any of that… inciting hatred, intimidation, harassment, are already criminal offences so what I would say if don’t create other lower level offences. What you want to do is focus on how you enforce the offences that we’ve got in law which protect women from precisely the kind of intimidation and harassment that I think you’re focussing on.”

Campaigners are calling for misogny to be made a hate crime following the murder of Everard, which has increased scrutiny of the police and renewed a conversation about the safety of women in the UK.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson argued against making misogyny a hate crime, arguing that “if you simply widen the scope of what you ask the police to do, you’ll just increase the problem.”