Please let me tell you - as calmly as I can, despite this driving me insane - why making misogyny a hate crime is such an utterly terrible idea for women’s freedom. 1/10 https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1308701585015537664

Firstly it’s all there in the language of this singular clip. We’re talking about ‘protecting’ women to make them more ‘free’. Further state interference into women’s lives is the exact OPPOSITE of ensuring our freedom. Want an example of how that is the case?... 2/10

Access to abortion services & contraception show how our freedom is thwarted in the name of safety. From begging pharmacists for MAP to proving yourself to 2 doctors, restrictions on our freedom exist because of a sexist idea that 'we can’t be trusted, we must be protected' 3/10

What happens if you make misogyny a hate crime? Do the nation’s pervs suddenly pack up shop? Of course not. All this does is feed the patronising idea that contemporary feminism today seems to be steeped in that women need a watchful eye, a helpful hand to survive. 4/10

Before you get at me with the whole 'but some women do need help'. Sure - not everyone is ready to roam the streets with steel-toe caps. We shouldn't have to. But you can't mount a defence of women's liberty and EMPOWERMENT on a preference for protection over freedom. 5/10

There is *so* much material change that could benefit women today. Childcare? Fertility services? Better housing? Higher wages? The only reason politicians are backing this is because it will get easy applause among middle-class commentators. 6/10

Remaining prejudice against women - it does exist - must be fought with a defence of women’s agency and autonomy. NOT by entrenching the Victorian idea that we’ll wilt at the first sign of adversity and should report a hate crime every time an idiot is rude to us. 7/10

Most women will ignore this nonsense - but that’s bad. Like in many areas of politics, an elite few are deciding to make changes and laws on the basis that they know best, without public consultation. There has been *no* mass call for this. This is, frankly, outrageous. 8/10

Ordinary women who are sick of this have to start speaking up - and rubbish the idea that if you don’t get on board with these measures you’re complacent about sexism / have ‘internalised misogyny’. The victim mentality that making misogyny a hate crime assumes is insulting. 9/10

In short, making misogyny a hate crime was a crap idea in 2016 in Nottingham and it’s a crap idea now. 10/10

Also, if anyone would like to hear other women than me talking about this issue of safety vs freedom, I made a whole programme on it for BBC Radio 4 which is still available to listen to: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000k8d4