Government launches national task force to tackle misogyny
The government has launched a national task force to tackle misogyny in workplaces, online and in communities as part of a pledge to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Government launches national task force on misogyny
The government has launched a national task force to tackle misogyny in workplaces, online and in local communities. It is part of Labour's pledge to halve violence against women and girls within a decade. The task force will bring together women's organisations, educators, local leaders and ministers.
The government said the aim is to root out harmful attitudes and prevent the problem before it escalates. It said: 'We have to tackle some of the attitudes that we see emerging that are making life really hard for women and I want women to be able to lead the lives that they want to live. So this is about preventing the problem before it escalates.' The message was also that normalisation of harmful attitudes towards women damages all of society and stops women living the lives they want to lead.
The scale of the issue was set out in figures reported alongside the announcement:
- Violence against women and girls, or VOG, makes up nearly 20% of all recorded crime in England and Wales.
- At least 1 in 12 women are victims of VOG-related offences every year, including domestic abuse, sexual violence and harmful cultural practices.
- 1 in 3 women in the UK has experienced online abuse or harassment. For young women aged 18 to 34, that rises to nearly 2 in 3.
The task force includes Girlguiding, which said it has seen a big rise in sexism and misogyny. It wants all girls to know they can do anything, to feel safe and to have safe spaces to speak up. Girls described experiences including a boy telling one of them on a football bus that she should be back at school with the other girls, and another being asked if she was on her period after she refused to pick up a paper ball thrown at her. The discussion also heard that social media has led some teenage boys to believe they have a right to make sexist comments, and that girls who call out harassment are often told they are overreacting.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Channel 5 | Sky News |
|---|---|---|
| A new national task force was announced to tackle misogyny in workplaces, online and in local communities. | ||
| The task force is tied to Labour's pledge to halve violence against women and girls within a decade. | ||
| Violence against women and girls accounts for nearly 20% of recorded crime in England and Wales. | · | |
| Women's organisations, educators, local leaders, and ministers will be part of the task force. | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Sky News led with a detailed report on the new task force, giving significant space to the voices of girls and young women. Its package linked the government's announcement to personal experiences of harassment, social media pressure and a rise in sexism. It also set out crime and online abuse statistics and highlighted Girlguiding's role in the task force.
- “I was on a fixture. It was football. I was the only girl in the team and one of the boys turned to me on the bus and said, I don't even know why you're here. You should be back at school with the other girls.”
- “Because of social media, teenage boys almost believe it's their right to say these things.”
- “the normalisation of attitudes towards women that are harming all of us, all of us as a society”
5's bulletin covered the launch in a short, straight news item. It focused on what the task force will do and who will sit on it, then moved on to unrelated royal coverage. It did not include the personal testimonies or detailed crime statistics that appeared elsewhere.
- “A national task force aimed at tackling misogyny across society has been launched by the government.”
- “The force will be made up of women's organisations, educators, local leaders and ministers with the aim of looking for and rooting out harmful attitudes online in workplaces and within communities.”
- “So this is about preventing the problem before it escalates.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.