The Government has launched a National Taskforce for Tackling Misogyny to examine harmful attitudes towards women and girls online, in workplaces and throughout communities.
The new body will be chaired by Women and Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson and will bring together ministers, local leaders, academics and representatives of women's organisations.
Its work will feed into the Government's wider commitment to halve violence against women and girls within a decade.
What will the misogyny taskforce do?
The taskforce will examine how government policy can go further in preventing misogynistic attitudes and challenging them before they escalate into harassment, abuse or violence.
Members will consider the experiences of women and girls and examine approaches already being used in Britain and other countries.
The first meeting will concentrate on young people. Later sessions are expected to examine misogyny in workplaces and digital spaces, alongside its effects upon communities and social cohesion.
The Government says its aim is to reduce harmful attitudes and change the wider culture in which misogyny can become accepted or normalised.
Phillipson says Government will lead from the front
Phillipson said her previous experience running a refuge for women fleeing domestic abuse had shown her the consequences of harmful attitudes being tolerated and left unchallenged.
She said no woman should have to reduce her ambitions or make her life smaller through fear.
The minister promised that the Government would work with specialists to turn evidence into action and “send misogynistic attitudes back to the dark ages where they belong”.
Who will sit on the taskforce?
The membership will include people from government, local leadership, academia and organisations working directly with women and girls.
Organisations participating include Girlguiding, Everyone's Invited, Equimundo and the End Violence Against Women Coalition.
Everyone's Invited said more than 53,000 survivors had shared experiences through its online platform. Its chief executive, Soma Sara, said the growth of dangerous online spaces and artificial intelligence had increased the scale and speed of harm.
Girlguiding chief executive Felicity Oswald said girls were reporting rising levels of sexism and misogyny online, in public and in schools. She called for more education covering healthy relationships, gender stereotypes, early warning signs and consent.
Focus on men and boys
The taskforce will also consider the role of men and boys in changing harmful attitudes.
Equimundo, which conducts research and programmes involving men and boys, said misogynistic attitudes could change when they were engaged as genuine allies in promoting equality and respect.
The organisation said bullying and homophobia frequently accompanied misogyny and could also harm boys and men.
Government cites scale of violence and abuse
In announcing the taskforce, the Government said that almost one million adults experience sexual assault, approximately 1.4 million face stalking and nearly four million experience domestic abuse during a single year.
Those figures were presented as evidence of the need to tackle harmful attitudes before they develop into more serious behaviour.
The taskforce complements the Government's broader violence-against-women-and-girls programme rather than replacing criminal enforcement or services for victims.
Existing funding aimed at early intervention
The Government is already providing a £16 million package intended to challenge harmful behaviour and attitudes before they escalate. That programme includes educating pupils about healthy relationships and training school staff to address misogyny.
A separate £10 million fund is supporting intervention programmes for children already displaying harmful behaviour.
Statutory relationships, sex and health education guidance has also been published for schools, including material intended to challenge myths about women and relationships circulating through online “manosphere” content.
Further announcements expected this week
Ministers say further measures forming part of the programme to halve violence against women and girls will be announced during the coming week.
Other measures already announced include specialist rape and sexual-offence teams across every police force in England and Wales by December 2027.
Taskforce does not create a new criminal offence
The launch does not make misogyny a new standalone criminal offence or announce a revised legal definition.
The taskforce is a policy-development and prevention body. Its remit is to gather evidence, examine attitudes and recommend how government and wider society can respond more effectively.
Any future proposal involving changes to criminal law would require a separate announcement and the appropriate legislative process.