‘Young men could be radicalised into extreme misogyny by online influencers’

Online influencers like Andrew Tate could radicalise young men and boys into extreme misogyny in the same way terrorists draw in their followers, a senior police officer has said.

Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth, national lead for policing violence against women and girls (VAWG), said the influencing of young boys online is “quite terrifying”.

She said the Online Safety Act needs to go further and that faster action should be taken to protect children.

Ms Blyth said senior officers who focus on violence against women and girls are in contact with counter-terrorism teams to look at the risk of young men being radicalised.

Speaking about harmful content online, she said: “We know that some of this is also linked to radicalisation of young people online, we know the influencers, Andrew Tate, the element of influencing of particularly boys, is quite terrifying and that’s something that both the leads for counterterrorism in the country and ourselves from a VAWG perspective are discussing.”

The National Police Chiefs’ Council published a report on violence against women and girls on Tuesday, framing it as a national emergency.

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe called for harmful content posted online to be taken down much more quickly and age verification systems tightened up.

She said there has been an increase in non-fatal strangulation among young people who do not understand how dangerous it is.

“The prevalence of non-fatal strangulation between young people, and a perception that it’s a healthy part of a sexual relationship, is really frightening.

“All of the academic research will tell you that the difference between non-fatal strangulation and fatal strangulation is millibars of pressure.

“We’re talking about really harmful things that I just don’t think enough people are taking seriously.

“And there are opportunities to deal with these things before they ever come across policing.”