Women’s Perceptions and Experiences of Prevent: Muslim and Secular Black and Minority Ethnic Women, and Right-wing Women

Abstract

The ubiquity of Prevent, and its deep penetration into the UK’s social fabric, means that many will have been affected by the policy. Understanding how people perceive and engage with the policy is important to understanding both the policy’s effectiveness, and its impact on people’s lives. This chapter draws on 20 interviews with Muslim and Black and minority ethnic (BME) women, and right-wing women, across the UK. The chapter indicates that many women consider the concentration on mothers in Prevent to be a burden, especially when it falls upon migrant and BME women, who are some of the most deprived in society. It also indicates that while Prevent looks to improve women’s rights, a substantial portion of women will be left out of Prevent’s ‘empowerment’ work as they consider Prevent to be a discriminatory policy. Importantly, the integration of Prevent into safeguarding also means that women who suffer violence or abuse might be made more vulnerable, as they seek to avoid projects which collaborate with Prevent. Additionally, some women highlighted how Prevent’s framing of extremism and terrorism being detrimental to women’s rights can feed into right-wing narratives about cultural difference. The chapter argues that we need a broad and political understanding of Prevent in order to properly analyse its effect on women.