Combating misogyny in UK schools may take up to two decades

The safeguarding minister explains steps to protect women and girls, including ‘Raneem’s law.’

Plans to combat misogyny in schools could take up to 20 years to have an impact on society, according to safeguarding minister Jess Philips, who has announced the measures to protect women and girls.

Philips spoke after the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) claimed that 2 million women are victims of violence committed by men each year in an epidemic so severe that it constitutes a “national emergency.”

One of Labour’s five missions is to cut violence against women and girls in half over the next decade by targeting perpetrators and addressing the root causes of abuse and violence.

The minister for violence against women and girls stated that “Raneem’s Law was already working and will ensure that police forces protect victims of domestic abuse. However, evidence that some of the government’s efforts are effective, such as tackling among students, could take years to emerge.

She stated, “This is a societal problem. The data in the NPCC report speaks for itself. We have been declaring this a national emergency for as long as I can remember, really. This is going to take a long time.”

“Look at prevention education and evidence-based models that cut this type of crime from being learnt – I probably won’t be elected at the point when we can say that metric has worked. Because this about making something that will see benefits in 10- or 20-years’ time.”
Raneem’s Law will require police to respond more quickly to domestic abuse reports and to explore the immediate orders to protect women. The legislation, named after Raneem Oudeh, who was murdered along with her mother, Khaola Saleem, by her ex-partner in 2018, will also require police forces to appoint specialist officers in 999 call centers.

Oudeh, 22, and Saleem,49, were stabbed to death in Solihull by Oudeh’s estranged husband, Janbaz Tarin, who had stalked her for more than a year and used domestic violence and control.

In 2022, an inquest revealed that West Midlands police failing material contributed to deaths. Oudeh was said to have made at least seven calls to emergency service before her death. On the night she and her mother were killed, they 999 four times, but despite a non-molestation order against her former partner, no officers responded.

According to Philips, the criminal justice system’s backlog would hinder several of Labour’s plans. She stated, “The plan to get more domestic abusers, sexual offenders, and traffickers into prison is, of course, a massive issue when you look at what we have inherited over prisons.

“Another is the court backlog. Part of the manifesto was around fast-tracking cases of sexual violence. I have personally handled cases of women who were children when they came forward about their rape or sexual abuse, and they are not getting into a courtroom until they are in their 20s.”

However, she continued, saying that the Home Office may progress significantly.

However, she continued that the Home Office may still make significant progress.

She stated: “There are ideas in the Labour manifesto we can immediately implement, such as ensuring specialists in police contact centers. Raneem’s Law is named after two ladies who were murdered in the East Midlands. They made frightening phone calls to the police.

“We are already looking over the different options of how that will work.”