Every week in this country, on average, two women are killed by a man they once loved or trusted. Police forces record hundreds of thousands of domestic abuse incidents every year and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) makes up just under 20% of all recorded crime in England and Wales.
Where are the protests about this? Where is the anger from the far-right about this?
Nowhere.
Yet in recent weeks, we’ve seen ugly protests across the country with protesters whipped into a frenzy by far-right groups, gathering outside hotels housing asylum seekers, waving placards and shouting slogans about “protecting women.” They claim that people fleeing war and persecution are somehow a threat to women’s safety.
Let’s be clear: this is nonsense – and dangerous nonsense at that.
The biggest threat to women in Britain does not come from strangers who have crossed borders. It comes from men they already know. Statistically, women are most likely to be harmed by a current or former partner, or by a family member.
These are not comfortable truths, but they are facts. And they matter, because when far-right activists and certain sections of the media whip up fear about asylum seekers, they distract from the real epidemic of male violence against women and girls. Worse, they risk making women less safe by turning communities against one another, creating division rather than solidarity.
I know many women in our community who are exhausted by this rhetoric. Violence against women and girls is a serious and urgent issue, and it will not be solved by targeting refugees and migrants. Real action is needed – starting with better education for young men and boys about healthy relationships. If these protesters are serious about tackling VAWG, they can start by taking the White Ribbon promise, “to never use, excuse, or remain silent about men’s violence against women.” Men can show allyship to women and girls by taking action every day to challenge misogyny and sexism in the attitudes and behaviours that they witness in their daily lives and in social media channels.
Change will not be achieved by hurling abuse outside a hotel full of desperate people. It won’t be achieved by scapegoating asylum seekers who are simply trying to rebuild their lives in safety.
As Liberal Democrats, we believe in compassion, community, and the rule of law. We believe that everyone deserves dignity and safety – whether they are a woman escaping a violent relationship here in Britain or a family escaping conflict abroad. And we believe it is the job of politicians and community leaders not to fuel fear, but to confront it with facts.
So the next time someone tells you they’re worried about asylum seekers being a danger to women, remind them: the real danger to women has always been, and still is, much closer to home.
By Cllr Lou Timlin
