London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 23, 2025

With misogyny now a hate crime, we’re criminalising what people think. We’ll soon have thought police exploring our private lives

With misogyny now a hate crime, we’re criminalising what people think. We’ll soon have thought police exploring our private lives

Silence the wolf whistles, don’t say ‘you look lovely in lycra’ to that woman at the gym, and don’t tweet about transgender women not being real women. You could be breaking the law and be charged.
Welcome to an Orwellian world where what you think about women, gays or Muslims may now be criminalised under hate crime legislation proposed by the Law Commission. Since its invention in the United States in the 1980s, the number of different hate crimes have been growing and growing.

In Britain, misogyny is set to become the sixth hate crime after race, religion, disability, sexual orientation and transgender identity. Once misogyny is rebranded as a crime, it is only a matter of time before negative attitudes towards others will also be criminalised. It raises the possibility that hatred of men might also become a crime, while it seems that every identity group is out to gain legal support for its claim that its critics are hate criminals.

Groups as disparate as vegans and fat people are demanding to be protected through the enactment of new hate crime legislation.

The invention of hate crime was and remains a travesty of justice. In a civilised society, people are prosecuted and judged for what they have done rather than what they think or how they express themselves.

We may not like the fact that many of us are biased and have prejudices towards a variety of people, cultures or religions. But our prejudices are a personal matter and should be of no interest to police or the criminal justice system. Citizens should only be held responsible under the law for their actions.

Once we criminalise what people think, it is only a matter of time before a thought police is established to explore our private inner life.

Another reason why hate crime is wrong in principle is because by focusing on subjective attitudes it deprives the legal system of its objectivity. The expression of the emotion of hate is in the eye of the beholder.

An act of communication like “you look great in your bikini” may be motivated by admiration or by the impulse to put someone down. Under the existing law, it does not matter what you intended to communicate, what matters is how it is perceived.

The subjective dimension of hate crime is recognised in UK legal procedures. The charge can never be totally disproven. Take the example of Harry Miller, a former constable, who was visited by an officer from Humberside Police in January 2019, after posting a comment about transgender people on Twitter. The officer informed him that, “I am here to check your thinking”.

Though Miller was informed that he had not committed a crime, he was told that his tweet - which questioned whether transgender women were real women - would be recorded as a “hate incident” and his social media account would be monitored.

Miller was lucky, because when he appealed against his treatment by the police, the judge supported his case. Mr Justice Julian Knowles indicated that the police had violated his democratic freedom. He added that, “in this country we have never had a Cheka, a Gestapo or a Stasi. We have never lived in an Orwellian society.”

But not even Mr Justice Julian Knowles could bring himself to reject the College of Policing guidelines on hate crimes. He stated that they “serve legitimate purposes and [are] not disproportionate”.

As it happens, they are anything but proportionate. Under these guidelines, police must record not only criminal actions but also all non-crime hate incidents. A non-crime hate incident can be any event that is perceived by someone to be motivated by hostility towards a so-called protected characteristic.

‘Perceived’ means that it is in the eyes of the beholder. As the Operational Guidance points out: “The victim does not have to justify or provide evidence of their belief, and police officers or staff should not directly challenge this perception. Evidence of the hostility is not required for an incident or crime to be recorded as a hate crime or hate incidents.”

This is dangerous territory: there need not be any evidence of hatred for an incident to be registered in the police-recorded hate-crime data. All that is required is that somebody reported an event to the police!

The most insidious dimension of the enactment of hate crime is that by its very existence it shuts down discussion and debate. Hate crime is an enemy of freedom of speech. People have already become wary of voicing their beliefs in case someone becomes offended by them and decides that the offending words were an expression of hate.

Those who are genuinely concerned about challenging hateful ideas in all their forms should uphold the ideal of tolerance. Instead of policing people’s thoughts and words, tolerance demands freedom for the expression of all points of view.

Why? Because an open clash of views provides the best opportunity for educating society and combating prejudice.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
×