April 28, 2025 In News

Know This: Research and knowledge sharing briefing (edition 1)

Our ‘Know This’ briefings are a regular note to alert colleagues to recent discussions happening in the sectors relevant to our work. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of major changes and developments in our sectors. If you see anything you think needs to be in a future bulletin, let us know at PracticeResearchUnit@interventionsalliance.co.uk and we will include it in the next edition.

 

Incels

 

The recent Netflix series Adolescence has generated a lot of conversation around incels, the manosphere, and subsequently male violence against women and girls. It has also brought to light new research in this area, various (and sometimes conflicting) expert voices, news and social media ‘hot takes’ and a response from Keir Starmer.  Here are some links you may find interesting relating to this topic:  

 

New research, and some arguably controversial views, on tackling inceldom: 

  • University of Portsmouth, Associate Professor Dr Lisa Sugiura talking on LBC about her response to this research, and sharing her knowledge about incels (she’s on this link from 1h33 onwards: Nick Abbot)  

 

If you are interested in reading more about incels and incel culture, we have also produced a short guide [ Link here] for practitioners, signposting to some helpful further reading.

 

Violence against women and girls 

 

Though VAWG is sadly never out of the news, there feels to have been a notable increase in fatal and non-fatal stabbing attacks against women in the England and Wales in the past month. We have linked a few stories below but take care in reading in one go. It is a lot.  

 

In three of these stories, it is referenced that the man experienced feelings of rejection or humiliation from a woman, and that was the alleged trigger for the offence. I have not seen any media or academic comment on the nature of the attacks, but this feels part of a larger, or related conversation, about the increase in knife crime in the UK right now, and its implications for male VAWG.  

 

Trans women and the Supreme Court ruling 

 

On the 16th April the Supreme Court ruled that the word ‘woman’ in the Equality Act 2010 is based on biological (i.e. birth) sex, and therefore does not include trans women, even if they hold a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) which means that they are legally recognised as female.   

 

This ruling concludes a lengthy legal battle, started in 2018 by For Women Scotland, who complained that a new bill in Scottish Parliament aiming to ensure gender balance on public sector boards included trans people as their acquired rather than birth sex. The statement provided by the Supreme Court advised that equality protections for trans people were sufficiently provided elsewhere in the Equality Act, by the protected characteristic of gender reassignment.   

 

Although the ruling is clear that it only defines the meaning of the word ‘woman’ in the Equality Act, it is being reported as a decision on ‘the legal definition of a woman’. The full implications of the ruling are not yet known, but we may see inclusion policies revised for providers of single-sex services, hospitals, sports, prisons and approved premises. It’s important to note that this ruling may mean that those who want to exclude trans people will feel more able to do so – but it also does not mean that those who want to be inclusive are restricted from including trans people.  

 

Further reading: