Government Launches National Taskforce to Tackle Misogyny Across Society

The UK Government has launched a new National Taskforce for Tackling Misogyny, bringing together ministers, local leaders and experts to examine how harmful attitudes towards women and girls can be prevented across society.

The taskforce will be chaired by Minister for Women and Equalities Bridget Phillipson and will examine misogyny in a range of settings, including online spaces, workplaces and communities. Its work will focus on prevention, changing social attitudes and ensuring the experiences of women and girls help shape government policy.

The first meeting of the taskforce will focus on young people, with future discussions expected to examine workplaces, digital spaces and social cohesion. Members will include representatives from women’s organisations, academia and local government. The taskforce will also complement existing cross-government work aimed at halving violence against women and girls (VAWG).

Bridget Phillipson said her experience running a refuge for women fleeing domestic abuse had shown her the impact of allowing harmful attitudes to go unchallenged. “No woman should have to make her world smaller or curb her ambitions out of fear – and making that a reality is everyone’s business.” She added: “As a whole society, we can and must be better. With political leadership and the best experts from across the country, we will shift the dial on the poisonous attitudes that blight women’s lives, turn evidence into action, and send misogynistic attitudes back to the dark ages where they belong.”

The announcement has been welcomed by organisations working on violence against women and girls, gender equality and the experiences of young people. Gary Barker, CEO and Founder of Equimundo, said the organisation was honoured to be part of the taskforce. He said research in the UK and internationally showed that misogynistic attitudes were increasing, while also highlighting the potential for change when men and boys are engaged as allies. “Online and offline, too many girls and women experience harassment and abuse at the hands of men, while men and boys are also harmed by the bullying and homophobia that often accompany misogyny,” Barker said.

Deniz Uğur, Deputy Director at the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said the organisation welcomed the taskforce’s focus on the root causes of violence against women and girls. She said this was particularly important in supporting the Government’s Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy and its aim of halving VAWG in a decade. Uğur also called for meaningful commitment and engagement from ministers across government departments. She welcomed the taskforce’s consideration of how the “weaponisation” of VAWG can contribute to harm, misinformation and division within communities.

Soma Sara, CEO of Everyone’s Invited, also welcomed the Government’s plans and highlighted the role of online spaces and artificial intelligence in increasing the scale and speed of harm. She said more than 53,000 survivors had shared their experiences through Everyone’s Invited’s online safe space. Sara said prevention through education was particularly important, arguing that young people needed the tools, language and confidence to recognise, question and challenge misogyny both online and offline.

Felicity Oswald, CEO of Girlguiding, said girls were reporting rising levels of sexism and misogyny online, in public and in schools. Girlguiding is calling for greater education around healthy relationships, gender stereotypes, early warning signs and consent. Oswald said girls’ experiences and perspectives should be directly represented in discussions that affect them.

The Government said preventing misogyny before it escalates was an important part of its wider approach to violence against women and girls. It cited figures showing that nearly one million adults experience sexual assault, 1.4 million experience stalking and nearly four million experience domestic abuse in a single year. The new taskforce comes ahead of a further Government announcement expected this week on efforts to halve violence against women and girls.

Other measures already announced include a £16 million package aimed at tackling harmful behaviours and attitudes before they escalate. The funding is intended to support education on healthy relationships and training for staff to tackle misogyny.

A further £10m fund will support intervention programmes for children actively using harmful behaviours. The Government has also published statutory relationships, sex and health education guidance for schools, including measures addressing myths about women and relationships spread online in the “manosphere”. The Prime Minister has also announced that all police forces in England and Wales will have specialist rape and sexual offence teams in place by December 2027, a year and a half ahead of the original deadline. The National Taskforce for Tackling Misogyny will now begin its work with a focus on young people before turning to wider issues including workplaces, digital spaces and social cohesion.