Misogynistic offenders ‘should have longer jail terms’

OFFENDERS whose crimes are motivated by misogyny should spend longer in jail, says Sir Robert Buckland, the former justice secretary.

He is urging the Government to seriously consider an amendment to its policing Bill before the House of Lords today that would give the courts powers to treat misogyny as an aggravating factor in any crime and increase the sentence accordingly.

The amendment is being championed by Baroness Newlove, a Tory peer and former victims’ commissioner, who has campaigned against injustice since her husband, Garry, was murdered after confronting a gang of drunken youths vandalising her car in 2007.

It is also supported by Sir Bob Neill, chair of the Commons Justice Committee, Caroline Nokes MP, the former home office minister, with the prospect that a major Tory rebellion in the Lords could see it backed in a vote tonight.

Sir Robert, a QC, former lord chancellor and former solicitor general, said: “The amendment is a pretty good attempt to try to make sure that the full range of offences that might be motivated by hate against someone’s gender or sex is reflected in the sentencing.

“I have never been convinced that we need to create more specific offences.

“That can lead to confusion and can be self-defeating. But the approach taken here is one that merits serious consideration by the Government.”

The amendment would give courts the power to treat hostility towards a person’s sex or gender in the same way and on a par with race and religion, as an aggravating factor at sentencing.

It also requires all police forces to record and report on the number of crimes in their area where the victim feels that the crime was motivated by hostility towards their sex or gender.

Its supporters say the change would enable police and other agencies to identify patterns of behaviour, making it easier to target resources to combat violence against women and girls, and build up a national picture of misogynistic violence, which they say is currently impossible.

The Law Commission last year came out against including misogyny as a hate crime for sentencing, arguing instead that the Government should create a new offence of street harassment to help combat violence against women and girls.

It warned that it could add complexity to rape and domestic abuse prosecutions, making it more difficult to secure convictions and create unhelpful “hierarchies of victims”.

To counter this criticism, Lady Newlove’s amendment proposes a “carve out” where the new aggravated sentencing plan would not apply to sexual offences or domestic abuse.