Citizens UK joint public response to the Law Commission review of Hate Crime

Citizens UK joint public response to the Law Commission review of Hate Crime

The following is a joint public response to the Law Commission review of Hate Crime by nearly twenty leading women's rights and hate crime organisations and campaigners including Fawcett Society, Stonewall, Citizens UK, Stella Creasy MP, Young Women's Trust, Sue Fish OBE, Former Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police Force, Dr Charlotte Proudman, Barrister Goldsmith Chambers and Fellow Queens’ College Cambridge, Labour Women's Network, Nottingham Women’s Centre, Hope Not Hate, Tell Mama, Rene Cassin, Sister Supporter, Rights of Women,  Professor Louise Mullany, University of Nottingham , Dr Loretta Trickett, Nottingham Trent University , Galop and Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities:

“The report from the Law Commission will leave many women disappointed and frustrated. Their u-turn on making misogyny a hate crime not only fails to recognise how hatred drives crimes against women but also means they have offered no clear alternative policies to help address widespread concerns about the lack of action by the criminal justice system.

"The Commission’s review is too narrow and doesn’t recognise the value of including misogyny to enable recording of incidents which are currently invisible. By not joining together hate crime legislation it especially ignores the experiences of women from minority communities who experience hatred based on multiple factors yet all too are let down by the criminal justice system because they do not fit their tick boxes.

"This report must not be used by the government to kick action on violence against women and girls into the long grass and instead should support proposals for legislation now, including urgently rolling out the recording of misogynist crimes to all police forces. Women and girls have waited too long to be equally protected and will continue to fight for this.”