Teenage boys face investigation by anti-terrorism officers if they make sexist remarks in the classroom, The Mail on Sunday reports:
The Home Office is considering plans to allow teachers to report misogynistic comments to the government's Prevent programme, which was set up to combat Islamic extremists. Even comments about a 'woman's place being in the kitchen' could be enough to spark a referral to the unit, sources said last night.
Critics say the move would dilute Prevent's work in deradicalising potential terrorists at a time of huge global tensions.
The plan – which would place sexism on a par with Islamic extremism – was discussed in high-level meetings between Home Office and Prevent experts in recent weeks. The Home Office is looking at widening the Prevent programme to combat growing misogyny among teenagers, fuelled by vile social media influencers such as Andrew Tate, but some civil servants warn the plans risk reducing the anti-radicalisation unit to becoming 'a wing of social services'.
One Prevent source said last night: 'Lots of young boys hold extreme sexist views about girls, which teachers will hear and make referrals. This will then overload the system, and Prevent will not be able to concentrate on Islamist or far-Right extremism.'
Last year, a highly-critical Government report accused Prevent of a 'loss of focus' and warned the public were increasingly at risk because the body had become distracted by far-Right and mental health cases rather than concentrating on Islamists.
Leading terrorism experts cautioned against the plans last night.
Professor Anthony Glees, of Buckingham University, said: 'Prevent should not spread itself too thinly. There is a lot of horrible misogyny out there, but I feel teachers can have a word with pupils to stamp it out.'
And Lord Carlile of Berriew, the former Independent Reviewer of Counter-Terror Legislation, warned that Prevent should not police misogynistic thoughts
He said: 'If there is a young person who is showing signs of extreme misogyny to an extent that it can be regarded as extremism, then it's a very good idea to deal with it as soon as possible.
'But it should not be a routine. Prevent is not there for every expression of a thought that might be misogynistic. Prevent is a counter-terrorism measure, not a counter-extremism measure, so if cases are going to be referred to Prevent, they have to be of quite a high level.'
So-called 'incels' – or involuntary celibate men who aggressively blame women on them being single – have been behind a number of mass shootings in America. But in Britain there has been one such recorded case, that of Jake Davison, 22, who shot dead five victims in Plymouth in 2021 before killing himself.
Experts say misogyny is at an 'all-time high' in schools and sixth-form colleges as a result of social media influencers like Tate, a former kickboxing champion who has more than 10 million followers on X and whose videos have been watched more than 12 billion times on TikTok.
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