'The task falls to us'

Unite delegate Angela Duerden made an incisive contribution in support of a motion on tackling misogyny and the far right on Monday (September 8) at TUC Congress.

Angela highlighted that a new report on violence against women and girls ?should be a wake-up call for us all?.

The police chiefs’ report, she said, recognises the rising levels of violence against women and girls not only as a crime ? but as a national threat and a public health crisis.

?This is an important recognition,? Angela noted. ?For too long the pernicious risk of online influencers has been dismissed.

?We are no longer talking about keyboard warriors. We are talking about figures like the Tate brothers with millions of views ? and a whole string of charges for crimes against women.?

Angela warned that the threat is now moving from screens to our streets and workplaces.

She highlighted that the rise of so-called ?incel? online culture has weaponised a male loneliness epidemic.

?It has radicalised men and young boys who are told to blame women for their lack of success and frustrations,? Angela explained.

?Any woman knows that social media can very quickly turn into a sewer, but now self-proclaimed ?incels? have carried out enough physical attacks on women in the UK that they have started to show up in the counter-terrorism statistics.?

Angela went on to warn that this poisonous online culture has now reached our workplaces.

?Our own union?s research ? which polled women across 19 industrial sectors ? revealed how a quarter of women reported they had been sexually assaulted,? she said. ?Eight per cent had been a victim of sexual coercion. 28 per cent had even been shown pornographic images by a manager, colleague or third party.?

Angela noted that these statistics show that women in 2025 are not safe ? not online, not on the streets, nor in the workplace.

?If left unchallenged this would throw back the progress made by the feminist movement ? and the trade union movement ? by decades,? she added. ?That is exactly what the global far right are aiming for.

?Despite the overwhelming evidence of these risks our justice system lags far, far behind the threat,? Angela went on to say, pointing to evidence showing women do not believe they?ll be taken seriously if they report abuse.

Angela highlighted what the motion sets out ? to develop strategies to tackle online misogyny; to recognise misogyny as a hate crime; and most importantly to support frontline reps to counter misogyny in the workplace.

?The task falls to us ? as it always does ? to take a stand,? Angela said to applause.

The motion was carried.

By Hajera Blagg

Photo by Mark Thomas