Expert Views
What students and staff can Expect from the prevent strategy this academic year
Here are the most important developments in the Prevent strategy and essential takeaways for students, parents and staff for 2023/4.
How Prevent will target a child, but ignore the cause
I spoke to a mother who confided in me that her son was so distraught by a Prevent referral made at school that he no longer wished to live. This is her story.
justice and prevent – a misnomer and impossibility
The existence of the Prevent duty in the pre-crime space means access to justice is non-existent and almost impossible for those it harms.
how prevent sets up harmful power dynamics that disrupt trust in public services
The coupling of public services with Prevent disrupts crucial trust dynamics that make up the basis of genuine safeguarding.
out of sight, out of mind? the many harms of unrecorded prevent referrals
When it comes to Prevent referrals, these three specific and unexceptional case examples illustrate the undocumented impact of Prevent.
prevent in immigration: an evolving concern about racism and islamophobia in the system
Shawcross's recommendation on Prevent and immigration urges that the policy be extended into the immigration system and into job centres. But increasing their hostility is not the answer to a safe UK.
Expert View: UN concerns on children’s rights in the UK underline Prevent Abuse
Our co-author organisation, Prevent Watch, was among at least three UK based NGOs that submitted concerns about children’s rights which have featured in last month’s publication of a report by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in the UK. The Committee urged the UK to “ … assess the impact of the […]
EXPERT VIEW: how to respond to shawcross on data privacy rights
Shawcross’s recommendations on the removal of Prevent data demonstrate his lack of knowledge about the situation that currently applies.
The Expert View: Prevent, data collection and children’s rights
The UK's Prevent counter-extremism strategy involves data collection and retention that is far from public scrutiny. It is a form of surveillance that can remain with a person for life, even when that person is a child at the first time of collection.
dr layla aitlhadj highlights peoples review of prevent at prevent watch end of year event
Speaking at the Prevent Watch annual update event this year, Director Dr Layla Aitlhadj mentioned the importance of the People's Review as the government review of the strategy continues to be withheld.
The problem with government’s idea of ‘british values’ and why the trojan horse affair matters
The new requirements introduced under Prevent in 2015 included a statutory duty on schools to promote ‘British values’. This law was published following the Birmingham Trojan Horse Affair.
rse and prevent: what parents are asking and why it matters
At a recent event I spoke about Prevent to parents who had gathered for something that may seem unrelated to counter-extremism: the changes in the curriculum with regards to relationships and sex education (RSE).
surviving society: how prevent facilitates the far-right
During our recent Surviving Society podcast, we highlighted Prevent's love-hate relationship with the far-right and what it means for anti-Prevent advocacy.
Surviving society: prevent is an ideological ‘stop-and-search’ that is dangerous to justice
In this excerpt from the Surviving Society podcast, we break down why Prevent is the tip of a separate policy architecture that is set outside of long-established principles of evidence-based justice.
Scarman Lecture 2022: How Prevent disguises far-right influence in government
Since 2008, Criminology at Leicester has invited high profile guest speakers to deliver papers on current issues in criminology, criminal justice, policing and community safety. This year's Scarman lecture was entitled "Preventing equal participation. How the government’s Prevent strategy undermines democracy." Here's the second snippet from the talk by Prof. John Holmwood and Layla Aitlhadj.
The Scarman Lecture 2022: How Prevent undermines democracy
Since 2008, Criminology at Leicester has invited high profile guest speakers to deliver papers on current issues in criminology, criminal justice, policing and community safety. This year's Scarman lecture was entitled "Preventing equal participation. How the government’s Prevent strategy undermines democracy." Here's a snippet from the talk by Prof. John Holmwood and Layla Aitlhadj.
how prevent has placed aggressive secularism in schools
Prevent and the narrative of ‘British values’ discriminates against minority faiths – in particular in education – and undermines the agency of all parents.
The PROP Briefing: Conservative Party Conference
What we can expect from the Tory conference and what we know about the long-delayed Shawcross report.
How Prevent impacts islamic beliefs and mosques
Here are two important takeaways from the podcast between Prevent Watch's Dr Layla Aitlhadj and 5 Pillars' Dilly Hussain.
underplaying the far-right proves prevent is political
Government sympathy with the far-right can be proven by the way in which Prevent functions as a political tool.
How prevent ‘adultifies’ children
By allowing counter-terrorism police to interrogate even young children with no guardian or parent present, has led to Prevent being cited as a form of 'child abuse' that is directed specifically at ethnic minority children.
surely this is the last desperate attempt to revive prevent?
Rishi Sunak is misleading the public and fear-mongering at a time when what we need is trust. Here's why his statistics are wrong.
6 spectacular takeaways from prevent watch’s 5pillars podcast
Here's the key information you need to know about Prevent, from the perspective of Prevent Watch's senior caseworker and co-author of the People's Review of Prevent.
how are we to make sense of what shawcross is saying on prevent?
With the government review of Prevent delayed, it's time to examine what the leaks suggest.
Prevent is a tool for a new secular authoritarian future
Prevent’s “pre-crime” “risk-based” legal architecture delivered in the name of “keeping us safe” will bring an authoritarian future.
The TIMES gets it all wrong on prevent – here’s why
The latest Times piece on Prevent seriously misinterprets the Prevent strategy, writes Prof. John Holmwood. Times columnist, James Forsyth (‘Islamism is a greater threat than the far right’, June 16) seriously misrepresents the government’s Prevent strategy and its relation to counter-terrorism. He writes in anticipation of the publication of the much-delayed Shawcross Report which […]
What’s the alternative to Prevent?
The alternative rests in the realm of ideas and their healthy expression, writes Prof. John Holmwood. In the People’s Review of Prevent, we showed that Prevent is not working, but also that it couldn’t work. What, then, is its purpose? Why do some people continue to advocate for it and in terms that involve […]
Government’s true face of aggression is emerging through its about-turns on Prevent
Prevent was never about safeguarding, but nor is it about counter-terrorism, writes Layla Aitlhadj. Recent reports are suggesting that the long-awaited Shawcross Review on Prevent will recommend that Prevent is ‘re-focused’ as a ‘counter- terrorism programme’ rather than a ‘safeguarding scheme’. On the one hand, this is welcome news; it confirms what has […]