Engender blog

Engender statement on the weaponisation of violence against women and girls

We are increasingly alarmed at the way women’s rights and safety are being weaponised to demonise minorities across the UK. This kind of distortion of the facts only causes harm to individuals and communities and does nothing to end violence against women and girls.  

As Engender, we want to add our voice to calls for action against the spread of hate and misinformation, and for protection and safe and legal routes to be provided for people fleeing war and crisis to the UK. We also want to express our solidarity with racialised and other minority communities who are being made to feel unsafe by hate speech, incitement of violence and far-right protests, including here in Scotland. 

Men’s violence against women and girls is endemic in our society and is caused by gender inequality. Spreading inaccurate and hateful rhetoric only generates more violence and creates a distraction from the political commitments that are needed to address it. Improvements to our social security system, investment in childcare, social care, education, housing and community resources, are the things that make a real difference to women. 

The false and racist narratives these groups are promoting ignore the fact that violence against women and girls is most commonly perpetrated by someone close to the victim. Last year, the UN reported that the home is the most dangerous place for women, with 60% of women killed by men globally in 2023 dying at the hands of a partner or family member. Two out of every five people arrested during far-right riots in summer 2024 had previously been reported to the police for domestic abuse.

Racism, Islamophobia and anti-migrant attitudes play a major role in the increased risk of violence that women of colour, asylum-seeking and refugee women face.  

The UK’s asylum and immigration systems compound this harm, particularly through the brutal No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition, which increases women’s risk of gender-based violence and restricts access to support, including refuge accommodation.

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