Domestic abuse rates reportedly increase during football tournaments, and with the World Cup currently taking place in the United States, Canada and Mexico, prosecutors at the Crown Prosecution Service are expecting to see more cases of domestic violence during the competition. England have so far played three games, beating Croatia 4-2, drawing with Ghana 0-0, and scoring 2-0 against Panama. Research from Lancaster University found domestic abuse incidents increase when En

Two reality shows. Two different scandals. But one question neither has been able to answer: who is responsible for keeping the people on screen safe? Married at First Sight UK: Did she say, “I do?” In May 2026, a BBC Panorama investigation revealed that three former Married at First Sight UK participants had come forward with allegations against their on-screen partners. Two women reported that they were raped during filming. A third, Shona Manderson, reported that her on-sc

In November 2024, two boys, then aged 14, raped a 15-year-old girl in an underpass in Fordingbridge, Hampshire. The girl had reportedly met one of her attackers on the online platform, Snapchat, where he asked her to be his girlfriend before arranging to meet in person. After what she told police was consensual sexual activity, the boy’s friend arrived and pressured her to have a threesome. She agreed but later told police she felt “trapped” adding: "I was so scared, disguste

A man who harassed a woman on a train, grabbing her hair and asking to kiss her, has become the first person in England and Wales to be sentenced under new sex-based harassment legislation. On 9 June 2026, David Stroud, 44, of Dartford, Kent, became the first person sentenced under Section 4B of the Public Order Act 1986 that came into force on 1 April 2026, criminalising behaviour that causes intentional harassment, alarm, or distress because of a person's sex. The case, inv

We’ve long appreciated Louis Theroux’s work, but his latest documentary raises a difficult question: did it end up offering a platform for controversial figures to amplify their notoriety, build “clout” & openly profit from misogyny? Amid lingering shots of luxury cars, designer watches & tailored suits, the documentary revealed a strain of fragile masculinity… one that seemed deeply uncomfortable with scrutiny or challenge. It also gave airtime to attitudes that went far bey

In January, following the enactment of a social media ban for U16-year-olds in Australia, the UK government announced plans to follow suit. Over the next three months, hundreds of teenagers will take part in trials to assess whether overnight curfews, time-limits or a full social media ban would be a success. Just six months after the introduction of the Online Safety Act, which is still being implemented in stages, this announcement has divided UK opinion, sparking heated de

The UK government has just released its draft National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which outlines an overhaul in its planning strategy. However, these proposals, which cover urban planning from transport to housing, entirely ignore Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) in its strategy. This omission has come as a shock to MPs and those in urban planning who emphasise the intricate relationship between urban environments and misogyny-driven violence against women and

In recent months, the AI chatbot, Grok, has been increasingly used by users to generate sexualised images of women and children, which are then posted on the social media platform X. Grok, created by Elon Musk’s company xAI, was launched in 2023. It can generate text, images and videos and is integrated into X. The platform has previously faced criticism from rights groups, including Amnesty international, for exacerbating online hate, misinformation and misogyny. Recently, t

Emotional abuse is rarely obvious at first. It is often subtle, gradual, and disguised as concern, humour or ‘just the way relationships are’. In recent years, conversations around ‘red flags’ have become more visible across social media and popular culture. Clips from reality dating shows, viral TikToks and comment sections regularly debate whether certain behaviours are romantic or problematic. Yet despite this growing awareness, many harmful patterns in relationships conti

Katie Fox was fatally stabbed in the neck whilst waiting for her bus home from the centre of Birmingham, in what is the third stabbing in the area within a month. The 34-year-old was attacked at around 9pm on 7 th November as she waited along Smallbrook Queensway outside the Bullring shopping centre – a busy part of the city often crowded with commuters and people having Friday night drinks. Katie was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth hospital but she died three days later from

Last Friday saw hundreds of women gather in cities across South Africa, wearing black, to protest gender-based violence ahead of the G20 summit at the weekend. South Africa has seen a 33.8% increase in the number of women killed from gender-based violence since last year. On average, 15 lives are lost every day to femicide- five times the global femicide rate and the highest outside of a war zone. The NGO Women For Change, one of South Africa’s leading voices in the fight aga

A year after the harrowing Pélicot affair hit headlines and shocked the world, Gisèle Pélicot returned to court in Nimes, France. Accompanied by her youngest son, Florian, Gisèle chose to waive her right to anonymity for a second time in this four-day trial. One of the worst sex-offenders of our times, Dominique Pélicot was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year when police discovered footage, recorded over a 10-year period, showing him and dozens of other men raping his t

Stalking is never simply unwanted attention; it is often behaviour that goes unchallenged and consequently ruins lives. When watching Zara McDermott’s BBC documentary To Catch a Stalker, I felt both enthralled and apprehensive. Within society we often see stalking broadcasted as something that occurs to celebrities or in extraordinary news stories. However, this documentary dismantles that notion. Instead, through the voices of ordinary women, we see how ex-partners, acquai

A new pilot launched in the West Midlands now gives individuals that have been subjected to rape or ‘serious sexual abuse’ the right to request a second opinion from an alternative prosecutor. Previously, when the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided not to proceed with charges in a case, individuals had very little choice but to accept this decision. This outcome often occurred when the CPS concluded that the likelihood of winning the case is too slim. The six-month pil

In June 2025, the Government’s Department of Justice announced that the depiction of strangulation in pornography will be officially outlawed in the UK. ‘Strangulation’, formally known as asphyxiation, refers here to the restriction of a person’s oxygen for the purposes of sexual pleasure. The decision to outlaw online depictions in pornography comes after mounting research demonstrates the very real safety risks associated with strangulation. These risks include a loss of co

Almost three years ago, I wrote an article on the role that social media played in the defamation case Johnny Depp brought against his ex-wife, Amber Heard. At the time, I was shocked by the tirade of abuse Amber Heard received. By the time history repeated itself, in the form of Blake Lively, I was less appalled, more saddened, by the abuse hurled at her via social media. Perhaps one of the key differences between Heard and Lively was that Lively’s viral condemnation happene

Sex, relationships, mental health & the patriarchy affects us all. So why don’t we talk about them properly? A bare-all, refreshingly honest guide for young women, written by young women who are still figuring it all out too... Explore the story behind our StrongHER Together book. When I was asked to write this book, I was really excited because it gave me the opportunity to talk about topics that I feel are so important for young women. From my own experience, there were

Sir Gareth Southgate, the previous England men’s football team manager, delivered the annual Richard Dimbleby lecture last week. In this first public address since stepping down as England’s manager, Southgate highlighted the increasing threat that toxic discourse on social media is having on young people, boys especially and called for a greater focus on the self-belief and resilience of young men. Identity, connection and culture are, for Southgate, the pillars against whic

A reminder of our organisational stance on porn: We believe that porn can perpetuate, condone & profits from violence against women & girls. Upon viewing, porn can influence attitudes towards & distort views surrounding bodies, relationships, consent women & sex. Whilst it is very important to draw attention to the negative effects of mainstream porn, its role in shaping unhealthy attitudes towards sex, its potential to normalise violence against women and detrimental impac

The Gaming world continues to rise as a cultural phenomenon. Over 40 million people in the UK play video games, with over 53% of women and 51% of men considering themselves gamers. Gaming has been found to foster a sense of community, as well as serving to develop a wide range of skills, from logic and decision-making to creativity, the ability to multitasking and improved hand-eye coordination. Around 70% of UK gamers say that playing games makes them helps them to feel happ