GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES NATIONAL TASKFORCE TO TACKLE MISOGYNY

The UK government has launched a National Taskforce for Tackling Misogyny, chaired by Bridget Phillipson, the Minister for Women and Equalities, the Office for Equality and Opportunity has announced. The taskforce will bring together ministers, local leaders and experts to look at how misogyny can be prevented in communities and workplaces. It is intended to ensure policy is shaped by the lived experiences of women and girls affected by harmful attitudes. The government said the aim is for women and girls to live without fear of misogyny, as part of wider efforts to tackle violence against women and girls.

Members of the taskforce will include representatives from women's organisations, academia and local government, according to the department. It is intended to complement existing cross-government work to halve violence against women and girls. Discussions will focus on reducing harmful attitudes and changing social culture, looking at approaches that have worked both nationally and internationally. The first meeting will focus on young people, the government said. Later meetings are due to look at workplaces, digital spaces and social cohesion.

Phillipson said that before entering politics she ran a refuge for women fleeing domestic abuse and saw directly the damage caused when harmful attitudes towards women went unchallenged. She said no woman should have to make her world smaller or limit her ambitions out of fear, describing the issue as everyone's responsibility. Phillipson said the government intends to lead from the front in shifting attitudes, adding that misogyny should be sent back to the dark ages. The department said the taskforce will examine approaches that have worked in tackling misogyny in the UK and abroad.