Peers set to make misogyny a hate crime as they debate policing bill amendments

Peers are expected to vote this week to make misogyny a hate crime, as the House of Lords considers a string of amendments to improve protection for women in Priti Patel’s controversial policing bill.

- ANDREW WOODCOCK

With Labour backing, Tory peer and former victims commissioner Baroness Newlove is set to defy opposition from Boris Johnson in her bid to make sex or gender a protected characteristic alongside race, religion, trans identity, sexual orientation, and disability when judging whether a crime was motivated by hate.

Meanwhile, Labour will push for votes to outlaw “sex for rent” and toughen up action on stalking and the “spiking” of women with incapacitating drugs by injection or the adulteration of drinks.

At present, landlords accused of demanding sex from tenants can be tried under the Sexual Offences Act charges of causing, inciting, or controlling prostitution for gain.

But Labour’s justice spokesperson in the Lords, Fred Ponsonby, told The Independent this effectively brands the victim a prostitute, discouraging women from reporting the crime to police.

He is seeking to create a specific new crime of requiring or accepting sexual relations as a condition of the accommodation, removing the stigma from victims.