Petition Legislate crimes motivated by misogyny are hate crimes, fund support & training

Hate crime legislation in England and Wales covers five protected characteristics: race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and disability. Sex, or presumed sex, has not previously been covered, meaning that ‘misogyny’ currently falls outside the scope of the hate crime legislative framework.

Under the proposed amendment, sex will be added to the list of protected characteristics under the aggravated offences in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, ensuring that offences motivated by hostility towards someone’s sex or presumed sex can be charged as aggravated where the evidence supports it. This amendment delivers the Government’s manifesto commitment to level up protections by expanding the aggravated offence framework so that hostility based on sexual orientation, disability, transgender identity, or sex or presumed sex attracts the same penalties as offences motivated by racist or religious hatred, thereby creating parity across protected characteristics.

Aggravated offences are crime types such as assault, criminal damage, harassment, stalking and certain public order offences where it can be proven that the offender was motivated by hostility towards a protected characteristic. These offences carry higher maximum sentences than their non‑aggravated equivalents. The offences mirror the (non‑hate crime) equivalents already covered under sections 28-32 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. No new criminal offences are being created; the amendment simply extends the existing aggravated versions to additional protected characteristics.

The Government keeps hate crime legislation under review, strengthening it where necessary to protect those most at risk. As part of this ongoing commitment to ensuring the framework remains robust the Home Secretary announced the Independent Review of Public Order and Hate Crime following the terrorist attack at Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester in October 2025.

The purpose of the Review is to test whether public order and hate crime law remains fit for purpose, assess whether thresholds and safeguards are right and effective, and recommend reforms that improve consistency, protect rights and reassure affected communities. The Review is due to report its findings by the end of March.

Tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a top priority for this Government. “Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls”, published on 18th December 2025, sets out the strategic direction and concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators, and support victims, and to deliver our unprecedented commitment to halve VAWG in a decade.

Prevention and early intervention are fundamental to our approach. We will tackle the root causes of these crimes instead of only responding to the impacts, including supporting our education system to teach children about respectful and healthy relationships and consent.

We recognise the destructive role that misogynistic attitudes can play in society, including the impact they can have on men and boys. Tackling entrenched societal issues like misogyny requires a whole society approach, and we are working across government, public services, the private sector and charities to achieve our ambitions.

The commitments made by the Government through the strategy to tackle the root causes of these crimes can be found in “Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls Vol 2.”, available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/697c7e21aacd0dc9777b502a/31.260_VAWG_02_Action_Plan_Slip_FINAL_v3_WEB_290126.pdf

Home Office