Best-selling author Laura Bates delivers an impactful lecture at the Annual Christabel Pankhurst Lecture
Over 300 attendees gathered online and in-person for the 2025 Christabel Pankhurst Lecture as best-selling author and founder of the 鈥楨veryday Sexism Project鈥� Laura Bates, discussed 鈥楾he Terrorism Nobody is Talking About鈥�.
Activist, speaker and author visited the in February to deliver an impactful lecture on extreme misogyny and why she feels it鈥檚 imperative we declare acts carried out in its name as terrorism.
Reflecting on findings from her 2021 book 鈥楳en Who Hate Women鈥� Laura shared insights into the 'manosphere' and the groups which make up this online subculture, alongside examining the current UK political and media landscape which are acting as barriers to combatting this rising epidemic.
The lecture, hosted in collaboration between the School鈥檚 and , is named in honour of the iconic suffragette and activist , who helped lead the movement for women's right to vote in the early 20th century. Each year the event aims to inspire discussion and debate on critical issues relating to gender equality, civil liberties, criminal justice, democracy, and humanitarian causes - causes that Christabel Pankhurst dedicated her life to fighting for.
Laura Bates delivered an unflinching and powerful lecture that challenged us to confront the uncomfortable realities of misogyny as a form of extremism. Her insights into the rise of online radicalisation were both sobering and urgent, reminding us that tackling this issue requires collective action and courage. It was an inspiring and thought-provoking event that honoured the legacy of Christabel Pankhurst.
As a feminist author Laura has written extensively on sexism, extremist misogyny and recently AI, which will be featured in her upcoming book 鈥楾he New Age of Sexism鈥� to be released in May 2025.
The audience engaged deeply with the issues she raised throughout the lecture during a thought-provoking Q&A session. A particularly critical question came from a student, asking how to address and counteract rising misogyny in young male family members, the target recruitment group for the 鈥榤anosphere鈥� currently.
Laura applauded the question, highlighting shame and fear as key parts of radicalisation:
A sense of shame and a sense of embarrassment and a sense of kind of stigma around having difficult and awkward conversations, that makes it really easy for those boys who are very vulnerable to be preyed on by these online groups.
Her response discussed the need for conversations to remain supportive and continuous, with a target of understanding the root of the fear drawing young men into misogynistic extremism.
Staff and students at The University of 野狼社区 can view the full lecture via the video portal for 30 days (available until 15 April 2025). .
For members of the public unable to attend the full lecture, several key moments will be made available online shortly.
Following the event, attendees made their way to the University Place foyer for a networking reception, and book signing hosted by Blackwells.
Gemma, who works in the violence against women and girls (VAWG) sector, 鈥渁ppreciated the opportunity to hear Laura speak. The passion from the academic staff was also heartening." She also felt reassured to know that our students were so actively engaged in discussions surrounding VAWG.
The 2025 Christabel Pankhurst Lecture reinforced the University's commitment to addressing pressing social issues and fostering meaningful dialogue on gender equality and social justice. Further information about upcoming events in this series will be shared on the School of Social Sciences website.