Leeds University Union’s Union Affairs and Communications Officer Amara Relf welcomed the Government’s response to a joint campaign, led by Student Officers from Leeds, Liverpool and Newcastle Students’ Unions, calling for misogyny to be recognised as a hate crime.
But says that proposed legislation changes do not go far enough to protect women and girls from male violence.
Amara worked with Liverpool Guild of Students Deputy President Holly Thompson, and Newcastle University Students’ Union Wellbeing and Communities Officer Lily Allan to launch the petition – urging the UK Government to recognise misogyny-motivated abuse and violence as a hate crime, strengthen online abuse laws and invest in prevention through early education and intervention.
The campaign amassed 114,927 signatures following its launch in December 2025.
After surpassing the 10,000-signature threshold, the Government responded by proposing an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that would extend the aggravated offences under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to include sex as a protected characteristic.
By April, the petition reached 100,000 signatures and is currently being considered for parliamentary debate.
Amara Relf said:
“The change to the law that the Government does not address prevention of misogynistic crimes – just harm that has already occurred.”
“The support we have received for this campaign so far is fantastic, and we massively appreciate everyone who signed the petition to bring this to the Government’s attention.
“While we’re pleased that the Government is engaging with our concerns, we believe there’s still a way to go before we see measures to address the epidemic of violence facing women and girls.”
The officers revealed that they received online misogynistic abuse after launching their campaign and promoting the petition.
Holly Thompson said:
“Most of the abuse we have received has come from people behind a screen because that’s where they feel more confident to do it.
“It just proves the point that something needs to be done to address the growing problem of hate that women face in both their online and offline lives.
“We’ve also received a lot of male allyship comments throughout the campaign, which has been really positive.”
The petition aims to press the Government to follow the recommendations in Labour’s 2021 green paper ‘Ending Violence Against Women and Girls’, which backed changing the law to make misogyny a hate crime and to empower judges to hand out enhanced sentences when the link is shown between the crime and the victim’s sex or gender.
Lily Allan said:
“The Government’s pledge to amend the law is a positive step, but we are determined to achieve larger change. We want to see the Government doing more to stamp out every-day abuse and harassment directed at women such as catcalling, groping, and sexually suggestive comments.
“The lack of action taken against these issues and the law’s failure to recognise the misogynistic dimension of many of these behaviours both act as an enabler of serious crime and actively discourages reporting.
“We’re pleased to have been able to use our platforms as sabbatical officers to demand a change that is possible and hope our successors and Russell Group Students’ Unions continue to drive for change.”
The three Students’ Union officers visited Downing Street on June 11 to officially submit the petition to the Government.
They intend to continue to work together to lobby for change.
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